Some people have trouble opening this type of note, so it's perfect for passing secret notes to your friends. It's a small square, perfect to toss.

Show Ads

[edit] Steps

Hot Dog style fold #1

Fold a plain piece of paper(upon which is written your secret note) hot dog style (fold it along its long axis) into a pentagon. Make sure the side with writing on it is facing the outside, so you can see it.
Hot-dog style fold #2

Fold it a second time (hot-dog style, along the long axis again) so that now you have a long, thin piece of paper. See the tip below to make sure you did it right.
Fold over on diagonal

Fold the ends into triangles by folding them over diagonally. Make sure the two edges of the triangles are parallel; not like a trapezoid, (two parallel sides and two non-parallel sides) but like a parallelogram (two pairs of two parallel sides).
Fold over diagonally again

Fold each triangle over diagonally again, forming a thin parallelogram on each end. If you fold the triangles inward, you will get a rectangle, and this is wrong. You have to fold the midpoint (the middle of the line) of each triangle's hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) in a diagonal line over its peak. If you do this with both triangles, you will create something that looks like an "S" turned 90 degrees counterclockwise:
Fold each end straight over

Take each end and fold them straight over, one in front and one behind (also see "Alternate Method" below). There should be equally-sized triangles sticking off the top and bottom of this square. Look closely at the picture, this step must be done correctly to enclose it properly.
Tuck in triangles

Fold the top and bottom triangles toward the inside. Fold the first one underneath the main triangle opposite it, so it tucks inside the square.

Then, turn it upside down and repeat.
Now you have a note square!

[edit] Tips

Ensure that your creases are nice and smooth. This makes it look nicer and also makes the paper easier to handle.
Note squares are compact and portable; they can be a good way to keep a to-do list or other paper with you without taking up too much space!

[edit] Warnings

These instructions were designed for 8.5 x 11 inch paper commonly used in North America. To make it work with the A4 paper, you should trim the paper 3 centimeters. If you don't cut the A4 sheet, after step 5 you will have a rectangle instead of a square. Fold a little concertina in the middle of this to form a square.
Be careful when passing notes in a classroom; some teachers get really upset about it and you might get in trouble!