Swan Parent and Child

Swan Parent and Child is an easy origami model perfect for Mother’s Day
and/or Father’s Day. It features two swans, one big and one small, all made from one sheet of paper.

1. Start with a square sheet of paper with white side up. Fold the paper in half forming a triangle. Unfold.
2. Fold the bottom right edge of the paper to align with the midline crease made in step 1. Repeat with upper right edge as shown. When done, it should look like 2a.
3. Turn the paper over. Fold the bottom left edge of the paper to align with the midline made in step 1. Repeat with upper left edge.
4. Fold the model in half lengthwise (fold bottom up). When done, it should look like 4a.

5. Fold the left side of the model towards the right. Fold along where the paper changes color. When done, it should look like 5a.
6. To make the neck of the baby swan, valley fold the tip of the white part as shown. Unfold. [The exact location of where the fold occurs can vary, experiment to see which angle looks best for you. See suggestion below.]
7. Reverse fold along the crease made in step 6. This is to say, push the neck into the body, reversing some of the valley folds. When done, the neck should be in between the paper of the body. [One option is to fold step 7 such that the back of the swan’s neck points perpendicular to the body as shown in step 8.]
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to make the head of the baby swan: valley fold the very tip of the white part of the paper; then reverse fold so the head is in between paper layers paper of the neck.

9. Make the neck and head of the parent swan by repeating steps 6, 7, & 8 on the colored part of the paper. First valley fold to make the crease, then reverse fold.
10. Make the parent swan’s head by:valley fold the tip, then reverse fold the head into the neck section.
11. To keep the baby swan flush against the parent swan, you can fold back the bottom left corner of the baby swan. This tends to keep the model together.

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