Divide Paper into Sevenths

Divide Paper into Sevenths: Method 1

It does not occur very often, but sometimes you need to divide a square sheet of paper into seven equal segments. It is near impossible to "eyeball" or estimate seventh divisions without a ruler, however with a few simple folds, origami can help find 1/7 division accurately. The method leaves 4 crease lines.

• Fold and unfold a square sheet of paper along the diagonal. Repeat in the other direction to get an "X" crease mark.








• Fold the top-right corner of the paper to the center. Unfold.










• Repeat the procedure: fold the top-right corner of the paper to the intersection of the crease lines closest to the corner. Unfold.










• Fold and unfold the paper as shown: the crease line should start at the bottom-right corner of the page and pass through the intersecting crease lines nearest the corner of the paper (shown with a black dot).









• The location where the crease meets the top edge of the paper is the 1/7 division. Make a fold/unfold here.









• Use this 1/7 division to fold the remaining 6/7 of the page into equal 1/7 divisions.
  You can achieve this by doing an accordion fold (origami fan fold) across the length of the paper.
  Or you can fold the large section in half (making them each 3/7 in width) and then use the 1/7 segment as a guide to fold equal 1/7 divisions.






• more ways to divide into 1/5
• Origami Basics page
• easy origami instructions
• more origami instructions
• Home Page
• Site Map

Divide Paper into Sevenths: Method 2

This method of dividing a square sheet of paper into 7 equal segments leaves 4 crease lines. Diagram is from R Lang's web site.

• Fold and unfold a square sheet of paper in half. You can crease down the entire sheet or make a pinch-crease at the top of the sheet.








• Fold and unfold the right half of the paper; make a pinch-crease at the 1/4 mark.











• Fold and unfold along the diagonal from the bottom-left of the paper to the 1/4 pinch crease.










• Fold and unfold the right side of the paper as shown. The top-right corner of the paper should touch the diagonal-crease made above (connect the dots), and the resulting crease should extend to the bottom-right corner of the paper.










• The location where the crease meets the top edge of the paper is the 1/7 division. Make a fold/unfold here.







• Use this 1/7 division to fold the remaining 6/7 of the paper into equal 1/7 divisions.

Divide Paper into Sevenths: Method 3

This method of dividing a square sheet of paper into 7 equal segments leaves 4 crease lines. Diagram is from J Montroll's book, Origami Polyhedra Design.

• Fold and unfold a square sheet of paper in half making a horizontal crease. You can crease across the entire sheet or make a pinch-crease at the left edge of the sheet.







• Fold and unfold the bottom half of the paper; make a pinch-crease at the 1/4 mark.











• Fold and unfold along the diagonal from the top-right corner of the paper to the 1/4 pinch-crease.










• Fold and unfold in half along the diagonal (bring top-right corner to meet with bottom-left corner).













• The location where the two diagonal creases meet marks the 3/7 and 4/7 division. Make a fold/unfold here.











• Fold the 4/7 section in half to achieve 2/7 divisions.












• Fold the 2/7 divisions in half to achieve 1/7.














• Use this 1/7 division to fold the remaining section of the paper into equal 1/7 divisions.