Origami Instructions: CD/DVD Case "Star Helena" by Carmen Sprung

In this video I am going to show you how to fold
an origami star "Helena" designed by Carmen Sprung.
You can use it as a DVD wrapper or for any other round, flat object.
Diagrams can be found in the book
"Origami: 21 Sterne", which translates to
"Origami: 21 Stars" by Carmen Sprung.
It is in German, but the diagrams are so clear
that you don't need to know German to follow along.
Indeed, this may well be the most beautiful origami book I own.
Carmen is a perfectionist and you can really tell in this book.
Now, on to the star Helena.
We need an octagon.
I already have a video on how to fold one from a square,
but I thought I'd show you a different way here.
But let's first talk about paper sizes.
If you want to fold a model for a miniDVD like this one
- you can take it out, put it in again, close it up -
then you need to start with a square that has a side length
of 21.5cm or 8.5in.
For a standard-sized DVD use a square with a side length
of 32cm or 12.75in.
More generally, if you want to wrap a circle with a specific diameter
then simply take that diameter and multiply it by 2.65
and that gives you the side length of the starting square.
You may want to add just a couple of mm
or 1/8in to 1/4in to give it a bit more space to move.
Now let's get folding.
First we're going to fold a preliminary base.
Once you have the preliminary base
we're going to squash-fold each of the flaps.
Try to work as precisely as possible,
squashing, getting a nice corner,
ensuring that both layers are aligned,
and then aligning this crease with that parting.
Flip over, do the next flap. We need to do all four flaps.
And now, to get an octagon, we need to cut off
this section of paper.
You can use scissors. I'm going to use a cutting knife.
Ensure that the layers are balanced out
to make it a bit easier to cut through all layers.
Try to cut precisely here.
The more precisely you cut your octagon,
the nicer the finished model is going to be.
There's several layers of paper here.
This is a very sharp knife,
so you can go through all of them at once.
And now we have a nice octagon.
Now we're going to start with the white side up
for a model where this light blue would be the purple
and the white would be this kind of tan color.
Now we're going to take a corner
and we're going to align it with
the vertical, central crease so that
the two adjoining corners lie on the horizontal, central crease.
So first align this point and then check that
each of these two points
lie on that other central crease.
And crease throughout.
Unfold, rotate, and repeat on the 7 other corners.
You will see that you have created this star shape with these creases.
Next we're going to rotate,
so that we have a straight edge in the bottom.
We're going to make valley folds
on this small section here, which is halfway,
and then two of the creases we just created
- kind of like a rabbit ear fold.
So these three creases already exist
and then we're going to fold it over to one side
and make a crease
and the other side and also make a crease.
And then we need to repeat that
7 more times, once on each of the sides.
Now you've got that done,
you've created these mountain folds here.
Now we're going to go along
the valley folds and those mountain folds we created
to make a twist fold.
There are different ways in which you can make a twist fold.
We're going to flip over the model
and we're first going to make mountain folds
on these creases that lie between two points.
By doing that we also want to raise this
central octagon.
I'm taking my hand and
putting that underneath, so that the octagon
starts to pop up.
Next we're going to take each of these flaps
and push them counter-clockwise
going along that mountain fold I'd shown you.
This is the first one and then the next one,
the next one,
trying to keep this relatively 3D still,
so that we can then collapse in one go.
So that all of these flaps are basically in the right direction already
and then we can turn the model over
and just push flat.
And then your twist fold is all done.
Next we're going to
take one flap and just get it out of the way,
making a crease that goes
from this point up to that point.
This gives us space to work on this section.
Now we're going to make a squash-fold so that
this point right here is going to land
right there, where there's an extra layer
and the white layer meeting each other.
In other words, you're basically
creating a crease from this point up to that point.
And then you make a crease here
and a crease there.
Then repeat on all of the sides.
For the last two
- we'd gotten rid of this -
so we're going to pull out a layer
so that it looks just like before.
That's the second to last one.
And then for the last one we're going to pull out this paper
and again repeat that step.
This is halfway done already.
So now we have this and
next we're going to form the inside star.
Again, we need to get rid of some paper first.
We're going to create a crease that goes along this edge right here
to get some paper out of the way.
Then we have this pocket right here.
We're going to make a squash-fold.
We're first going to take this whole
section and fold it along this
edge here and there and then do
a nice, symmetrical squash-fold.
Really try to put your finger
all to the bottom in there, so that you get a nice point.
And then you just align
that corner nicely to get
a symmetrical shape
and in the end a symmetrical star.
Then we're going to create a crease between these two points,
folding down one layer.
Try to work quite precisely here, so that you get a nice
star in the center.
Finally, we're going to inside reverse fold
along this crease right here
and that crease right there.
So, open up a bit, push the paper inside, and close it up
on each side.
Continue with the other points,
this time going counter-clockwise.
When you've got two remaining
remember that we folded this flap
for the first one to get some paper out of the way.
We're going to fold it back, then do the 7th squash-fold
and then the final one.
And then your star Helena
designed by Carmen Sprung is all done.
Now, to open this model
I like to take two corners and just pull.
And it opens, and this is
where you can put your DVD
or other flat, round object.
Then you can push it closed again.
It goes quite automatically.
Again, open and simply push closed.
I hope you enjoyed this model
and happy folding!