A box with a lid sounds like the kind of project that needs six sheets of paper, a lot of glue and a fair amount of patience. This one needs none of those things: one square sheet, fifteen folds, and you end up with a proper little gift box with a lid that actually fits.

The secret is that most of the work happens before the box looks like a box at all. You spend the first half of the tutorial laying in creases — halves, then thirds — and by the time you start assembling, the paper practically folds itself. Press each crease firmly as you go and the sides will stand up squarely on their own.

How to Fold

Step 1. Prepare one square sheet of origami paper.

Step 2. Fold it in half and make a crease, then open it out again. Folding with the coloured side on the inside will make the later steps easier.

Step 3. Fold it in half in the other direction, crease it and open it out again.

Step 4. Fold all four corners in towards the centre.

Step 5. You should now have a smaller square with the four corners meeting at the centre.

Step 6. Now make creases along the dotted lines, dividing the square into thirds both vertically and horizontally.

Step 7. Crease all the way across in both directions, then open the paper out flat again.

Step 8. Your crease pattern should now look like this.

Step 9. Open the paper out until it looks like the photo.

Step 10. Make a crease one square in from the top, as shown in the photo. Crease every line as a valley fold, then open the paper out flat again.

Step 11. Now start to assemble the box in three dimensions. If you follow the creases you have already made, it folds up easily.

Step 12. Fold the top section as shown. This forms one side of the box.

Step 13. Fold the other side in exactly the same way. Once you reach this point, the rest is easy.

Step 14. Working along the creases, shape the paper into a three-dimensional box.

Step 15. Tidy up the section that forms the lid, and your box with a lid is finished.

After Folding

You now have a cute little box that looks just like a miniature gift box, complete with its own lid. It is lovely for holding a small present, a piece of jewellery or a few sweets.

Patterned origami paper works beautifully here, and folding the coloured side inwards at the start gives you a neat two-tone box with the pattern showing on the outside.

If the sides feel soft, remake the box from slightly heavier paper — the extra stiffness helps the lid keep its shape.