Every good origami journey starts with a humble square, and the kite base is about the humblest — and handiest — fold you can learn. It is officially the simplest base in origami: three creases, no flipping, no tucking, and in under a minute you have a shape that honestly looks a bit like a kite, which is exactly where the name comes from.

Do not let its simplicity fool you. That tidy little kite is a workhorse — it shows up again and again in models that build on this shape, and it is the perfect first fold for teaching straight, confident creases. If you have never folded anything before, start here. If you have folded a hundred models, make one anyway, just to remember how much magic fits into a single line down the middle.

This is the simplest base in origami, and it looks a bit like a kite, which is where the name comes from.

STEP 1. Start with a square sheet of paper with the white side up. Fold it in half along the dotted line and unfold. You will use this line as a guide in later steps.

STEP 2. Fold the right side of the paper along the dotted line to the centre.

STEP 3. Fold the left side of the paper along the dotted line to the centre.

The Completed Kite Base