You may not be able to play football (a typical American sport that uses an oval-shaped ball instead of soccer as we know it in Indonesia) in the office or classroom, but you may be able to play it on a triangular-shaped paper known as paper football. You can make a paper football straight from your desk in just a minute -- even if you don't have scissors. If you want to know how, follow these steps.
Step
Step 1. Find a sheet of paper measuring 22 x 28 cm
You can tear a piece of plain paper from your notebook, or use a sheet of paper you normally use for printing. This is the ideal paper size for paper football, but if the paper is a little smaller or larger, it will work just as well. Printer or notebook paper is better than thicker paper or construction paper because it will fold more easily, and because it will be lighter and easier to use in a paper football game.
Use a fresh sheet of paper so the paper football looks good. This will also make it easier for you to decorate later if you wish
Step 2. Fold the paper in half on the long side of the paper
Fold one side of the paper towards the other, either by folding the right side of the paper to the left, or the left side of the paper to the right. Make sure the two edges of the paper are straight so that you make a neat vertical crease in the center of the paper.
- Pinch the crease with your thumb and forefinger and press your finger along the crease to make the crease firmer.
- To make the crease even stronger, you can unfold the fold, turn the paper over, and fold the paper again, so that you have made strong creases on both sides of the paper.
- Unfold the paper after you have folded it and strengthen the fold.
Step 3. Cut or tear the sheet along the vertical crease
Use scissors to cut the paper along the vertical crease, or gently pull until the two halves of the paper separate along the crease, using your hands to slide the two halves in opposite directions. You will have two high strips of paper 10.8 cm wide and 28 cm high.
You only need to use one cut to make a paper football -- if you like, you can use the other to make another paper football later
Step 4. Fold one of the strips of paper in half along the long side of the paper
This will create a strip of paper that is half as wide and twice as thick. Place the paper vertically in front of you.
Step 5. Fold the lower left corner to the opposite edge of the paper to form a triangle
The right side of the triangle should align with the right side of the vertical cut. The top edge of the triangle should be parallel to the top edge of the paper width. This will essentially create a right triangle, with the right corner of the triangle at the top right side of the triangle.
Step 6. Flip the triangle towards the top side
This will form another triangle, a thicker triangle.
Step 7. Continue folding the triangles toward the top of the paper until you reach the top of the paper
Once you're good at making paper triangles, you'll be able to make lots of triangles that are nearly the same length.
Step 8. Unfold the last paper and fold it into a triangle
Fold the top corner down so the two points meet, to create two triangles. Don't worry if the triangle isn't perfect -- it takes practice to get it right.
Step 9. Cut about 2.5 cm from the point of the right triangle
You can also tear off the ends of the paper or even leave them uncut, but this will require additional handling as you will have to tuck the ends of the triangles later.
Step 10. Tuck the remaining paper into the bag formed by the first triangle
Step 11. Flatten the paper football
Flatten the triangle until the paper football is completely flat. Now that it's ready, you can start to become a champion player in paper football.
Step 12. Decorate the paper football (optional)
If you want to give your paper football a personal touch, use a marker or pen to draw stitch marks and other features that represent a football on the paper.
Step 13. Done
Tips
- You can also add 2 to 3 sheets of paper to make the ball thicker.
- Try cutting instead of tearing as you will get better folds and better flicks in paper football.
- You can also make a thicker ball by folding the paper without having to throw away the rest of the paper. You will only get one ball per sheet of paper.
- You can repeat the process to make a second ball so that you get two balls for one sheet of paper using the other half of the paper.
- Don't flick your paper football into other people's eyes.
