SnipFold

Wrapped Rosebud

A tight tapered rosebud with six shingled conical petals, a hollow paper center and a five-point calyx.

Materials

  • 100-120 gsm colored paper
  • Scissors
  • PVA glue
  • Round pencil for precurving (tool only)
  • Millimetre ruler

Finished size: 19 x 19 x 37 mm

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Print and cut eight pieces

    Print at 100%; confirm the ruler is 50 mm. Cut C1, P1-P6 and K1 on solid outlines. Use 100-120 gsm colored paper for all pieces. Keep the narrow tips intact; no slits or extra tabs are required.

  2. Roll the hollow center support

    Precurve C1 along its short arc direction with a round pencil. Bring the radial edges around into a tapered tube, 37 mm high, 18 mm base diameter and 3.2 mm top opening. Glue the marked final sector over the starting edge: 4.05 mm overlap at the base, tapering to 0.72 mm at the top. Hold 60 seconds and let set for 5 minutes. The bottom remains open; the included paper tube is the entire center support.

  3. Precurve the inner petals

    Roll P1-P3 gently around C1 without creasing or stretching. Each wraps 160 degrees; its bottom arc is 23.32 mm long. Keep the tall middle above the short side edges. Only the bottom 4 mm band receives glue; the upper petal remains free.

  4. Attach the first overlapping layer

    Set all three lower edges 4 mm above the bottom of C1. Looking down from above, start P1 at the support seam, P2 at 120 degrees and P3 at 240 degrees. Glue each bottom band to C1 or the previous petal. Adjacent petals overlap 40 degrees, about 5.83 mm along the lower arc. Tuck the last edge beneath P1 before setting the glue. The middle tips finish at 35 mm above the base. Hold each band 45 seconds.

  5. Wrap the lower outer petals

    Precurve P4-P6 to the same taper. Their 23.74 mm lower arcs sit at the same 4 mm height. Start P4 at 60 degrees, P5 at 180 degrees, P6 at 300 degrees measured from the support seam. Glue only the bottom 4 mm bands to the inner layer. Overlap neighbors by 40 degrees, 5.93 mm at the lower edge; tuck the final edge beneath P4. Outer middle tips reach 31 mm. Leave upper edges free and dry 5 minutes.

  6. Close the five-point calyx

    Precurve K1 into a tapered collar. Align its lower edge with the bottom of C1; wrap its 5 mm glue band around the support and the petal roots. Close the marked end seam with a 4.25 mm overlap at the bottom, 3.71 mm at the 6 mm-high band edge. The five pointed sepals rise to approximately 19 mm and remain unglued above the band. Do not fold them flat or cup them into a sphere. Hold the seam 60 seconds; allow 15 minutes to dry.

  7. Set the tight bud silhouette

    Maintain a roughly 19 mm base diameter and 37 mm overall height. Let the six free petal rims retain their conical curl; do not flare into a flat rosette. The small top opening and hollow underside are intentional. This is a flower head without a stem; physical printing and assembly verification are pending.

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.