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How to Make a Sheet of Paper Square (For Origami)

make paper square
Updated on 02/07/24

Sometimes when folding origami you might not have a square piece of paper handy or you may want a larger one.

The easiest way to turn a regular piece of paper into a square is to fold the top edge to meet either the left or right side edge and then cut off the excess at the bottom. The one problem with this is that it will leave a diagonal crease in the paper. If you want to avoid the crease you can mark where you would fold with a ruler and then cut that lower part off.

how to make a paper square

Here is a more detailed guide for turning a rectangular piece of paper into a square one either with or without a crease.

Easiest Way to Make a Paper Square

This is the fast way to make a paper square but will leave a crease due to the fold.

1. Fold the top edge to meet either the right or left edge

make a paper square 1

Match the top edge to either the right or left edge and crease it.

2. Fold the bottom edge up to make a crease for cutting

make a paper square 2

Fold the bottom edge over the triangle to make a crease to cut along.

3. Unfold the paper and cut along the bottom crease line

make a paper square 3

Cut along the bottom crease to remove the unwanted section.

How to Make a Paper Square Without Creasing

This method takes slightly longer but will avoid leaving a fold crease.

1. Fold the top edge to meet the left edge and make a mark

paper square without crease 1

Carefully align the top edge to the left edge without creasing it.

Make a mark with a pencil when it looks even.

2. Fold the top edge to meet the right edge and make a mark

paper square without crease 2

Carefully align the top edge to the right edge without creasing it.

Make another mark with a pencil after getting it as even as possible.

3. Connect the lines with a ruler and then cut on the line

paper square without crease 3

Use a straight edge to connect the lines and cut it as evenly as possible.

NOTE: If you are turning using a standard 8.5 x 11 piece of printer paper you can also just measure and cut off 2.5 inches (6.35cm) from the bottom to make the paper square.

Now that you know easy ways to make a paper square, check out our growing collection of easy origami tutorials to put your folding skills to work and have some fun!

To save yourself some time on future folds, consider picking up some fancy square origami paper!

Happy Folding!