How to Make a Paper Football (Classic Triangle Fold)

Steps

1. 1. Pick Loose Leaf Notebook Paper or Printer Paper

   One sheet is all this takes. Rob pulls college ruled loose leaf out of a 150 sheet pack, and that is the paper to reach for if you have it.

   Tip: Wide ruled, college ruled, graph paper - none of it matters to the fold. Thickness is the only thing that changes how it behaves. Watch this step

   

2. 2. Tear the Ragged Edge Off the Notebook Paper

   A page ripped out of a spiral notebook carries a frilly torn strip down one side. Get rid of it.

   Tip: Pull the strip toward you at a shallow angle rather than straight out. It tears along the perforation instead of ripping into the page. Watch this step

   

3. 3. Fold the Notebook Paper in Half the Long Way

   Lay the sheet down with the long side running left to right. Bring the bottom edge up to meet the top edge, square the corners before you commit to anything, then press the crease flat with your palm.

   Tip: Line the two corners up first and hold them with one finger while you crease. Chasing a crooked fold later is not worth the time. Watch this step

   

4. 4. Keep Folding Until the Strip Is Two Fingers Wide

   Fold it the same way again. Then once more.

   Tip: Aim for a strip about as wide as two fingers. Wider gives you a floppy football, narrower makes the last folds brutally thick. Watch this step

   

5. 5. Start the Paper Football Triangle With a Corner Fold

   Take one end of the strip and fold the bottom corner diagonally up across it, bringing the short bottom edge over to line up with the long side edge. You end up with a triangle at the end of the strip and a small square tab hanging off to one side.

   Tip: The bottom edge should land exactly on the side edge, not near it. A degree or two off at the start becomes a visible wobble by the last fold. Watch this step

   

6. 6. Flip the Triangle Up the Folded Strip

   Fold the triangle over on itself, following the edge of the strip. Then again.

   Tip: Fold away from you rather than toward you. You can see the edges lining up that way, and the stack stays under your thumbs. Watch this step

   

7. 7. Fold the Last Square Into the Football Triangle

   Sooner or later you are down to a single small square of paper with a diagonal crease running corner to corner across it. That square is the signal you are nearly there.

   Tip: If the square is bigger than the triangle, you have one more flip to do. If it is smaller, you cut the strip too short and the tail will not reach the pocket. Watch this step

   

8. 8. Tuck the Tail Flap Into the Triangle Pocket

   There will be a small tail of paper left hanging off one edge. Find the open pocket along the side of the triangle, then slide the tail down inside it until it vanishes and the edge sits flush.

   Tip: Open the pocket with a fingernail before you push the tail in. Forcing it blind creases the tail sideways and it will never seat. Watch this step

   

9. 9. Hold the Triangle Upright and Flick It for a Field Goal

   Stand the football up on one point at the edge of a table and hold the top corner steady with one finger. Flick the back edge with the index finger of your other hand and it takes off.

   Tip: Flick low on the back edge, not the middle. Hitting it near the table makes it slide flat instead of cartwheeling. Watch this step