How to Make a Square Sheet of Paper

Last Updated: January 26, 2026 Fact Checked

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In origami it's very important to start off with a perfectly square sheet of paper. Unless you already have one, you'll have to make one. The more square your paper, the better your origami will turn out. This article shows how you can make a square-shaped paper out of any shaped sheet.

Steps

1. 1 Take a single sheet of paper. This can be of any size, standard size however is 8 by 11. You may only do this for one sheet of paper at a time.[1] X Research source
2. 2 Hold the top right corner of the paper and fold it towards the lower left side. Bring it down until the paper forms into a right-angled triangle.[2] X Research source Make sure all the corners touch each other exactly. There should be a small rectangular section left at the bottom. Advertisement
3. 3 Cut this section off using paper scissors.[3] X Research source
4. 4 Unfold.[4] X Research source
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Community Q&A

• Question What if I don't have scissors? Community Answer Try folding the paper and then ripping it along the seam of the fold. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 82 Helpful 150
• Question Should the square be the same size as oragami paper? Community Answer Origami paper comes in many different sizes. You just need to make sure that the paper is a square, no matter what size it is. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 58 Helpful 134
• Question What are the dimensions of the paper square? Community Answer That depends on the size of the sheet of paper you have. If you are using standard copy paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches), then your square would be 8.5 by 8.5 or smaller. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 98 Helpful 65

Video

Tips

• You can also just take a second piece of paper and rotate it 90 degrees, line up the long edge of the top sheet with the short edge of the lower sheet. Fold the extra bit of paper on the lower sheet over and cut off with scissors. Your square piece of paper is "fresh" this way with no folds. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• If you do not have a pair of scissors, you can crease the rectangle along the side of the half-square. Run your fingernail over the crease repeatedly to make it sharp, put the folded paper on a hard surface, and tear off along the crease. You can also lick the edge and then tear the paper. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0

• Take printer paper and fold over the triangle like normal. Take that rectangle and fold it over to the back side. Then, unfold the whole sheet and cut along the crease by the rectangle.
• Try folding over the small rectangle and licking the fold. That way, the paper will tear apart more easily if you don't have scissors.
• If you're trying to make a square that's a specific size, measure your sheet of paper first to ensure you have enough.

Warnings

• Be careful while using scissors. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 9

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Scissors

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References

1. ↑ https://origamijapan.net/rectangle-paper/
2. ↑ https://youtu.be/B4656GszUDY?t=18
3. ↑ https://origamijapan.net/rectangle-paper/
4. ↑ https://origamijapan.net/rectangle-paper/

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• Anonymous User

  Nov 18, 2020

  "Not only was this helpful for me, it was helpful for my whole class. I was doing a project and I forgot how to make a square out of a rectangle shaped piece of paper. This article was very short but it was very well written. So I recommend this site."..." more

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