Origami Lucky Star

The origami lucky star is fairly simple to make. It's a popular tradition to fill up glass jars with these lucky stars.

Start with a strip of paper, about 11 inches long by half-an-inch wide. You can make this strip by cutting a piece from the long end of a sheet of computer printer paper:

Now make a knot near one end of the strip, as shown in the next three (3) photos:

Flatten the knot as shown, but don't crease it as tightly as you would for standard origami folds.

Now flip the knot over, and tuck the loose end into the back of the knot as shown:

Now we'll start wrapping the long end around the star. The exact number of wraps will depend on how long the strip is. Here is the first wrap:

Now the second:

Third and fourth:

Fifth and sixth wrap:

Seventh and eighth (final) wrap shown below. Don't worry if you have less than or more than eight wraps.

Now we've flipped the lucky star over, and we're tucking the loose end into the back side.

Here's what it looks like when the wrapping is complete:

Now the fun part, inflating the star! Place your thumbs and forefingers on the star as shown. Press carefully inward on four of the five edges, and the star will begin to inflate. Then rotate the star and press on the last of the five edges. This is easier to do than it sounds.

And here is your completed origami lucky star!

From Bethany in Anchorage " I have made lucky stars before, but those directions were different at the end. Instead, I pinched each individual corner and it made the other side concave =( Too bad I didn't see this earlier! I made a box with a lid to hold my brother's 100's Day project we made... 100 lucky stars! If only I had nice paper... ^^ "

From Keanne in Manila " it was kinda hard inflating the star."

From Hazumin in Cali:

From reader in Rawalpindi " My origami lucky star! "

From reader in Quakers Hill " this is my origami lucky star yah i'm feeling lucky. "

From Morgan in Bay City " This was my first time making origami luck stars and the size ranges from 5cm to 1cm. "

Nice range of lucky stars!

From Mandy in North Wilkesboro NC " LUCKY STAR! So easy, and so cute! I've made them in MANY different sizes... Here's my smallest! "

From Sophia in Kisaran "my origami lucky stars with day lilies,kusudama flower,rose,traditional lilies,wreath,lucky 4 clovers and 3 leaves clover. cute, isn't it? =D "

Very nice, Sophia!

From Molly in Birmingham " my biggest and smallest origami star and smallest against a AA battery XD "

From Abby in Crofton " This is my lucky star collection! This is what I have left. I have been selling these and the little ones are gong fast! thank you for the directions "

From Sarah in Atascadero " My origami lucky star! I got a kit to make these for christmas a year ago, but thanks to unhelpful instructions it sat in my closet. I finally made one thanks to this site! Thanks! "

Glad you finally made it, Sarah!

From Grace in Renton " These are my lucky stars. i am trying to fill my lamp up with them. as you can see im not quite done yet but im getting there! :D "

You can do it, Grace! My brother has a jar full of them too!