How to Inside Reverse Fold the Neck and Tail from a Bird Base
To inside reverse fold the neck and tail, precrease each narrow lower point upward, unfold it, open its layers slightly, and raise the point between those layers. Close and flatten the paper along the prepared creases. Repeat with the other point so the two ends rise on opposite sides of the body. ORU’s crane instructions show this crease–open–reverse–close sequence.
This guide starts with a completed bird base and explains the direct reverse-fold method for shaping a crane’s neck and tail. The checkpoints below help you distinguish a correctly tucked fold from a point that has simply been bent across the outside.
1. Check That Your Bird Base Is Ready
Place the bird base flat with its two separate lower points facing toward you. These split points will become the neck and tail. Keep the broad upper flaps available as the wings. Before proceeding, check that both sides have completed petal folds: Origami.me identifies the bird base immediately after the second petal fold in its crane tutorial.
For the narrow-necked crane shape, fold the lower outer edges of the front layer toward the vertical centerline. Turn the whole model over and repeat on the back. Leave a small gap beside the centerline rather than making the folded edges overlap; Origami.me recommends that gap to make the later folds easier. Keep these narrowing folds in place.
Pause and identify the two lower points individually. You should be able to move one without lifting the entire model. For this walkthrough, designate the left point as the neck and the right point as the tail. Those labels simply keep the instructions consistent.
2. Understand What Changes During an Inside Reverse Fold
An inside reverse fold changes the direction of a folded point while placing the reversed section inside the surrounding layers. The paper opens briefly, changes its crease arrangement, and closes flat again. Origami Guide demonstrates the basic movement as three actions: precrease and unfold, open the section slightly, then push the corner inside and flatten. See its inside reverse fold tutorial.
On this bird base, the long point rises upward while its base becomes tucked between the body layers. You do not need to feed the pointed tip through a separate hole. Open the fold around the point’s base enough to let the paper change direction, then close it around the raised point.
Use this visual checkpoint: the finished neck should emerge from between the body layers. If the whole flap lies across the visible front face, reopen it and check the tuck before pressing anything firmly.
3. Precrease the Neck Before Opening Its Layers
Keep the split points downward. Lift the left point upward and outward toward the left, making a temporary fold near where it joins the body. Choose the position you want the raised neck to occupy, press the crease, and return the point to its downward position. Steve Donie’s original crane photo sequence explicitly shows a preparatory fold before the neck-and-tail reverse folds.
If the crease resists moving in the other direction, reinforce the same line from the opposite side and unfold again. Origami.me’s beginner’s guide teaches an inside reverse fold by preparing the crease on both sides before pushing the paper inside.
Keep the temporary fold confined to the selected narrow point. Before continuing, trace the crease with your eyes from one edge of that point to the other. This is your hinge. Avoid adding a second nearby crease while trying to strengthen the first.
4. Open, Raise, and Close the Neck
Work through the movement slowly, leaving the other point and both wings alone:
- Hold the body near the base of the left point.
- Separate the layers around that point’s base just enough to open the prepared fold.
- Guide the point upward toward its precreased position.
- Let the folded edge at the base reverse inward as the point moves between the layers.
- Bring the surrounding layers together and flatten the neck base along the prepared creases.
Donie’s photo tutorial describes opening the sides and turning the point inside out, then shows the neck flattened. The useful distinction is between opening the paper to permit the reversal and pressing it closed to finish it.
Before sharpening the fold, inspect both faces. The neck should be narrow, the body should close around its base, and the wing flaps should remain separate. If you see a bulge, reopen that small area and locate the original crease instead of pressing the bulge into a new fold.
5. Repeat the Fold for the Tail
Return the model to the same orientation, with the unfinished right point facing downward. Precrease that point upward and outward toward the right, then unfold. Open its layers, raise the point inside them, and close the paper around the new position. ORU lists the neck and tail as separate but matching sequences: prepare a crease, unfold, open the layers, reverse upward, and close.
Compare the two ends while the body is still flat. For this walkthrough, aim for similar angles so you can assess the folds easily. Treat that symmetry as a practice target. If one end needs adjustment, reopen its base slightly, reposition it, and flatten again.
Leave the tail pointed. The neck becomes distinguishable when you add the smaller head fold in the next step.
6. Resolve Common Problems Before Making the Head
The following checks are practical deductions from the sources’ shared sequence of preparing a crease, opening the paper, reversing the point, and flattening it. Use them to locate the unfinished action rather than repeatedly pressing the same area.
| What you see | What to check | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| The point lies across the front | The flap may still be an ordinary outside bend | Unfold it, open the layers, and guide its base inward |
| The base forms a rounded bulge | The crease may not have fully reversed | Open the bulging area and close it along the prepared hinge |
| A wing moves with the point | You may be holding an extra layer | Return to the flat base and isolate the narrow point |
| The point starts upward but will not flatten | The layers may still be pinched closed | Open the base slightly farther before completing the reversal |
| The neck and tail sit at unwanted angles | Their preparatory folds may differ | Adjust one base at a time before sharpening the creases |
Check the tuck before the angle. A neatly flattened point on the outside still needs to be reopened and reversed; changing its angle alone will not complete the inside fold.
7. Add the Head and Check the Finished Folds
Once both long points are positioned, fold a short section near the neck tip downward to establish the head crease, then unfold it. Open the neck’s layers slightly and reverse the tip inward along that crease. This is the same technique on a smaller section. Origami.me’s crane instructions describe precreasing the head, unfolding, and pushing it down into an inside reverse fold.
Open the wings gently after the neck, tail, and head folds are set. For a final check, look at the model from both sides: the two long points should emerge between the body layers, their bases should lie flat, and the head should turn down from the neck. When a fold needs correction, return to the same manageable sequence—open the local layers, follow the prepared crease, and close the paper around the point.