“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.”
-Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith
Confused yet?
It’s the middle of October 2018, and it’s the time of year when it looks as though all the procurement departments for the major stores have collectively developed an identity crisis. None of them seem to be entirely sure where their focus should be. Promotional emails for Thanksgiving and Black Friday are starting to drop in everybody’s inbox. Some stores are full of Halloween stuff.
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Here in the UK, it is Bonfire Night on 5 November, so there are fireworks for sale in the grocery stores, wedged in between the tomatoes and the shampoo. Some shops have given up on the whole of October and November altogether and gone straight on through to Christmas. I think it’s slightly incongruous to be putting up Christmas lights up on the streets outside of the stores, with windows full of pumpkins and spooky masks right underneath. What on earth are you going to find in the ‘Seasonal’ aisle?
I like to keep things simple. One thing at a time. It’s October, so it’s time for a Halloween post. In previous years I’ve done Spooky Origami Hands, an Origami skeleton, and a Jack o’ Lantern. This year, it’s an origami Witch.
About the Origami Witch
This is a design by Robin Glynn, who was kind enough to teach it at a London Mini-Meeting of the British Origami Society last weekend. This is a good example of what you can still do with the classic origami bases, and how versatile they are. This is from a humble fish base.
The origami witch is a model with real character and a sense of fun. Because the last couple of steps are basically shaping to taste, no two Origami Witches will ever be the same, and they will all have that feeling of being a bit of a caricature. This is one of those models that makes me smile.
Folding the Origami Witch
Robin describes it as a ‘high intermediate’ design. I think that’s fair. For the most part, there’s nothing particularly challenging about this model and it’s pretty forgiving when it comes to accuracy. There’s a short sequence about halfway through where you’re forming the chin and the mouth which is a little more interesting, but if you’ve been folding for a while it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
You’re going to want some two colour paper for this one, otherwise the hat isn’t going to look very good. The Witch in the picture above is made from a sheet of 20cm x 20cm origami paper that Robin gave me that is black (for the witch hat) on one side and flesh coloured on the other. He said he got it from British Origami Society Supplies. It might look good made from paper that is green on one side and black on the other – Wizard of Oz anyone?
Robin says that you can make it from standard 15cm x 15cm origami paper, but personally I think that’s a bit small. Some people like to fold tiny models, but I don’t have the dexterity for that. I prefer to work with larger paper. Forming the edges of the eyes gets a bit fiddly – even at 20cm x 20cm so as you can see in the picture above, I didn’t bother.
Allow about 20 minutes to fold this model.
Origami Witch Instructions
Robin has a YouTube channel showing how to fold some of his models – including this one which I have included below. The origami witch video is well lit and the instructions are well paced and clear. If you like folding this he also has videos available for other models, including a Spider Leg Star and a Crow.
You can also find this witch and some of Robin’s other origami designs in his book, Origami Originals. Click here to check out his book on Amazon.
If you’ve enjoyed folding this, why not try some of these other Halloween models?
Get Involved
I’d love to hear your views on this origami witch model or any other Halloween origami models. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below, or you find can me on Instagram or Twitter. Check out my Pinterest boards too!
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Great Witch Russell! Will try it out today.
Hi Claudia. Glad you like it. I’ll tell the designer! It’s a fun model to fold.