Kusudama Manufacturing Technology for Beginners

Kusudama is a special modular origami technique. It allows you to create a variety of interesting products. Balls made using this technique can become an original decoration for almost any interior in your home. Today we’ll talk about what it takes to make such items and how to make them.

The modules from which the products are made using the kusudama technique can be of a variety of colors and styles.

The main types of modules include the following varieties.

• Classical Kusudama. This option is the most common. It is based on triangles, from which modules are created. They allow you to create beautiful and original balls. Moreover, such products are made quite easily and quickly. The classic type is considered the most suitable for beginners.

• "Kite". In this case, the square is taken as the basis, but at the same time it should be at an angle of 30 degrees, so in front of you will be a figure that looks more like a rhombus. Such a figure folds in half along the diagonal line.

• Super Bowl. Such a module is made of a square sheet of paper. It is folded in half with the front side inward. The resulting element is deployed, and then again wrapped in half, but only in the other direction. At the end, the square is folded along the diagonal with the wrong side inward.

• "Sakura". To make such a module, you need to prepare several small squares of the same size. Each sheet needs to be bent in half, and then unfold.After this, the edges should be bent towards the central fold and opened, the squares should be rotated at an angle of 90 degrees and the same lines should be drawn. At the end, you need to bend the upper left and lower right corners, the left and right edges to the center, the second right upper diagonal square. In this case, the edge of the sheet will bulge.

• "Lily". To make such modules, you need to take several squares of the same size. They need to be bent alternately on two diagonals. Then the sheets are turned on the other side and folded in one and the other side. After that, the product is bent so as to obtain a “double square”. In the end, you need to fold two opposite corners to the middle, turn the workpiece over and do the same again.

In advance, you should prepare all the necessary materials for creating products using the kusudama technique.

• Thick paper. To make the product interesting and beautiful, it is worth choosing a multi-colored paper base. It should not be too rigid to make it convenient to work with.
• Needles and threads. It is better to pick up thin needles.
• Glue. It is better to take PVA and glue stick. The adhesive mass is needed at the end when connecting the individual modules into a single ball.
• Ribbon and beads. These decorative elements are optional, they can be used to make the ball more original and beautiful.

Currently, there are a large number of different schemes and workshops that will help you step by step to make balls using the kusudama technique.

Each of them is folded first in the direction of both diagonals, and then they all unfold and fold in half 2 times in different directions.

The resulting preform is bent so as to produce a “double square”. After that, you need to carefully bend the sides to the diagonal. Each of these sides is expanded and lowered a little. The corners of the workpiece should also be bent, all sheets fully open. A module is assembled on the received lines. In total, at least 30 pieces with dimensions 9x9 and the same with dimensions 7x7 will be needed.

Each small module fits in a large one. The first circle of the magic ball will consist of 9 pieces, the second will include 6 modules, and the third circle is made of only one blank. Thus, you should get 2 hemispheres. They should be glued together with glue.

In the kusudama technique, you can also gradually make a multi-colored openwork ball out of paper. To make it, you first need to prepare strips of paper in white and blue colors. In total there should be 60 pieces (30 pieces of strips of each color).

First, blue stripes are taken. They bend in half, later open them, the upper left corner is slightly bent up to the middle. Do the same with the right corner. After that, the upper left corner of the strip is lowered down, and the right - up to the center. All this is repeated several times. Next, the blanks are folded in half. All sheets are unbent and brought to their original position and set aside.

White sheets are also bent in half, later from the end of one of the sides they make a small indent (0.6-0.7 millimeters) and again they all fold. The sheets are bent to the middle with an accordion. The second side of the sheets should do the same. Next, connect the upper right and lower left corners. In the end, blue blanks are taken- In their middle lay white paper.

The blue blanks are already folded along the outlined fold lines. Further, the entire product is folded along the marked stripes. White parts are glued with PVA glue.

After that, you need to continue connecting the modules in a circle until a ball is formed.

In the Kusudama technique, you can make simple crafts for beginners. In this case, you can prepare squares of colored paper of the same size (it is better to take 8x8 or 9x9). All of them must be bent alternately on two diagonals. It is also necessary to make other fold lines, folding the sheet two times in half, but before that all the blanks must first be straightened and turned over on the other side. All blanks are again folded into small squares, while the upper and lower corners should be connected.

Next, the corners of the workpiece should be folded to the central part of the product, then each of them must be bent into the inner part. After they are lowered a little and all the blanks are folded along the vertical marked line. At the end, the upper and lower corners connect to the central part. The workpiece is deployed so that large corners of a triangular shape are obtained.

To make the assembly of the whole craft, you first need to prepare 4 ready-made paper modules. They are glued together with PVA glue.

So you need to make several products. At the end, the finished large elements are attached to each other, and this creates a lush, colorful ball.

If you want to decorate your home a little, then a colorful ball with small lilies can be a good option. Flowers can be made from orange paper. In their center, you can put additional elements consisting of small beads or beads. This will make the craft more original and beautiful.

The rest of the ball can be made from green and brown paper. From this base, foliage is created. It can be made in the form of a small accordion or folded rhombuses.

Also, for the interior, you can make a ball of kusudama, consisting of small bell flowers. Such crafts will include flowers with thin triangular-shaped petals. If you want to create a whole composition, then you can make several such plain balls at once and place them in a suitable place.

Another unusual option could be Star ball product. It has an unusual and complex design. The craft is a ball consisting of many figures resembling a cone in shape. Moreover, they should be of different sizes and volumes.

Also, they often consist of figures of different shades of the same color. As in the previous version, you can make several such plain products of different sizes at once and place them together, creating a composition.

See how to make kusudama from paper in the form of a ball with curls.