SnipFold

Slender Crocus Cup

Six upright slender tepals surround an orange three-way stigma above a narrow structural flower tube, with three grasslike basal leaves.

Materials

  • 140-160 gsm purple and green paper
  • 160 gsm orange and pale yellow paper
  • 200 gsm green paper for base and tube
  • Scissors
  • PVA glue
  • Ruler
  • Blunt scoring tool
  • Tweezers

Finished size: Approximately 40 x 40 x 88 mm; 12 mm corner-to-corner support tube

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Cut and score

    Print at actual size; check the 50 mm ruler. Cut each of the 13 pieces once. Score marked hinges. Keep upper petal facets flat; do not stretch or cup them. B1 is a 40 mm diameter support disk.

  2. Close the load-bearing tube

    Fold the five full-height T1 hinges 60 degrees in the same direction to form a regular hexagonal tube. Fold the final seam hinge 60 degrees and glue its 3 mm lap behind the first face, matching top and bottom. Tube height 40 mm, face width 6 mm, opposite corners 12 mm. Fold the six 4 mm bottom feet outward 90 degrees.

  3. Attach the ground disk

    Center T1 on B1 with all six feet flat on the disk. Glue the undersides of the 5.2 x 4 mm feet to B1; keep the tube perpendicular to the disk. Let dry fully.

  4. Build the orange style

    Fold S1 vertical hinges 120 degrees to make a triangular prism with 3 mm sides. Glue the 1 mm seam lap behind its first face. Fold three 2 mm feet outward 90 degrees. Fold each 12 mm branch outward 30 degrees from vertical. Center the style on D1, aligning its three corner directions with alternate D1 corners. Glue its three 2.2 x 2 mm feet onto the diaphragm and dry.

  5. Seat the internal support

    Fold all six D1 tabs downward 90 degrees. Apply glue to their outward faces. Lower the assembly into T1, matching hexagon corners, until the diaphragm is 2 mm below the tube rim (38 mm above B1). Each 5 x 4 mm tab contacts an inside wall from heights 34 to 38 mm. Press with tweezers and let dry. Orange branch roots are now at height 70 mm and tips at 80.4 mm.

  6. Set the first three tepals

    On P1/P3/P5 fold at y=10 mm outward 12 degrees from the vertical root, then at y=40 mm another 10 degrees outward. Glue each 6 x 10 mm root onto alternate outer tube faces, root bottom at height 30 mm and first hinge flush with the 40 mm rim. Center roots on the 6 mm faces. Leave blade edges unglued.

  7. Complete the six-tepal cup

    Form P2/P4/P6 with the same 12-degree and 10-degree outward folds. Glue roots to the three remaining outer tube faces at heights 30-40 mm. Six tips should stand about 87.9 mm above B1 and about 18.9 mm from the axis. The narrow blades form an upright open cup around the orange branches. Dry without squeezing petals together.

  8. Add the grasslike leaves

    Fold each leaf at y=10 mm outward 12 degrees, and y=40 mm another 6 degrees outward. Glue the 4 x 10 mm roots to alternate tube faces below P1/P3/P5, bottom at height 2 mm and first hinge at 12 mm. Leaf roots occupy heights 2-12 mm, clear of the tepal roots. Leaves remain narrow, with free tips at about height 75.6 mm. Allow every joint to dry before handling the disk.

Notes

The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.