Fluted Diamond

created by Molly Kahn

The fluted-diamond is a two piece origami model held together by friction. It was created by Molly Kahn and is a classic beauty. Easy to make, pretty to see, and can be used as earrings, Christmas decorations, and in mobiles.
It is published in
The Art of Origami by Gay Merrill Gross.
The Magic of Origami by Alice Gray and Kunihiko Kasahara

1. With the color side up, valley fold and unfold across the diagonals. Turn paper over.
2. With the white side up, valley fold left to right and unfold.
3. Valley fold top to bottom.
4. Hold the paper along the fold made in step 3 and push them together. Continue to collapse until you get a square shape that has two layers on the left and two layers on the right (this is called the preliminary base).
5. Lift one layer from left side and squash down (this is called the squash fold). The top layer should look like a kite.
6. Flip the right half of the kite towards the left.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the right layer.
8. Turn over and repeat steps 5 through 7.
9. Completed unit should look like a kite with 4 layers on the left and 4 layers on the right.
10. Repeat steps 1 through 8 on another sheet of paper.
11. On the top layer,flip one layer from left to right. On the bottom layer, flip one layer right to left.The unit should still have 4 layers on the left and 4 layers on the right side. It will look like a kite with a visible split.
12. Assemble the two units by tucking-in the flaps from one unit into the pockets of the second unit. Ideally, there should be 8 tucks to complete the assembly process.Tips: Be patient and fiddle with it a little. You may need to rotate the model around and around to redo tucks that have come undone.

    Model is relatively stable and does not need glue. Glue is recommended if you do not want the model to be disassembled by curious admirers.