Origami: How to fold a Tomato

Fresh and shiny red tomatoes.

They’re so delicious to eat fresh or even as a tomato sauce too.♪

Among all kinds of tomatoes, mini-tomatoes,

which makes bento (lunch box) colorful,

are the one we can even grow in our garden.★

Even if you are not good at planting tomatoes,

you can make them easily with origami paper!

How to fold a tomato Ver.1

This is an easy way of folding.

It’s so cute with its round shape and a tiny calyx.　★

1. Get a sheet of origami paper ready.  Fold it in half to make a triangle.

2. Fold it in half again.

3. Open the bag part and fold it as picture No.4 shows.

4. Fold it the same way for the other side too.

5. Change the direction.

6. Fold only the top sheet inside, along the dotted line.

7. Next, fold both corners behind along the dotted lines.

8. Fold the corner of the third layer inside.

9. Fold three corners behind along the dotted lines, making it round.

10. And it’s done!

If you draw the calyx green, it will be just like a real tomato.

If you use a smaller origami paper, it will be a mini-tomato too.♪

How to fold a tomato Ver.2

This is the way that we use two different-colored origami paper.

Of course you can use two-tone colored origami paper too!★

1. Get a sheet of red-colored origami paper

and a sheet of green-colored origami paper ready.

(They will be a tomato and a calyx.)

2. Put them together so that the colored-side can be seen.

Put the red side facing up, and fold it in half.

3. Fold it in half again.

4. Open it up all the way.

5. Fold the top side to the middle crease, and turn it over.

6. Fold both corners down, along the dotted lines.

7. Turn it over.

8. Fold the top corner (green part) down along the dotted line.

9. And turn it over.

10. Open the bag part and fold it as picture No.11 shows.

11. Fold both corners up along the dotted lines.

12. Fold both corners toward the middle along the dotted lines.

13. Turn it over.

14. Fold both corners down along the dotted line.

15. And it’s done!

Here is a tomato with a big calyx.

It’s almost the same size as the real one.

You can play store making a lot of them too.♥

How to fold a tomato Ver.3

We use two sheets of origami paper for this one too.★

If you get one-fourth-sized green origami paper of the red one,

it will be well-balanced.

1. We will make a tomato part first.

Fold a sheet of red origami in half to make a triangle.

2. Fold it in half again.

3. Open the bag part and fold it as picture No.4 shows.

4. Do the same thing for the other side too.

5. Fold the top corner inside along the dotted line.

6. Turn one layer over and

7. fold the top corner inside again.

8. Do the same thing for the rest of the parts too.

9. Fold both corners behind along the dotted lines.

10. Fold the bottom corner up and make a crease.

11. Fold the corner inside along the crease that you made.

It will be like the picture below.

12.The tomato part is done!

13. Now we will make a calyx.

Get a 1/4-sized green origami paper.  Fold it in half.

14. Fold it in half again.

15.Open the bag part and fold it to make a triangle.

16. Do the same thing for the other side too.

17. Fold the bottom corner to the top.

18. Fold both corners down along the dotted lines.

19. Fold it up.  Fold it the same way for the other side too.

20. Change the direction and

21. the calyx is done!

22. Put the tomato and the calyx together with tape or glue and it’s done!

If only the calyx’s shape changes, it looks different, right?★

Which tomato do you like?

It might be fun to put it in your bento (lunch box) as a decoration too.♪

【Translated by　 Kana Toda PIERCE】