Content

• Part 2 of 3: How to use Flexagon
• Part 3 of 3: How to Create Your Own Flexagon Design

1 Print sample flexagon. Various flexagon templates can be found online by searching for the phrase “flexagon”, “flexagon with three surfaces” or “flexagon with six surfaces”. In the search results, you will find templates with different pattern combinations. Choose among them what suits you best and print.

• You can also print a blank template so that you can color the flexagon as you like.

2 Cut out the part of the template. Take scissors and carefully cut out the part of the template along its outer border. Try to cut as straight as possible and along the lines. The cuts must be accurate in order to subsequently fold the paper correctly.

• Children are advised to work with scissors under adult supervision.

3 Press the center line of the fold on the template and fold the paper there. When you cut the template, you will need to make a series of folds on it to create a flexagon. The first fold needs to be done in the middle. Sell ​​out the intended center line by drawing an empty ballpoint pen along it with a ruler. This will make it easier to fold the paper evenly.

• Fold the paper so that the colored side of the part is on the outside.
• After folding the paper, finally crease the fold with the edge of the ruler.
• Glue the shorter half of the template with the longer one.

4 Mark all fold lines and fold each triangle of the template. When the two halves of the template are glued together, you will need to outline (push through with an empty ballpoint pen) and fold along the edges of each triangle in the template. Making folds along the lines outlined in black, bend the paper several times in one direction or the other.

• Preliminary preparation of the folds facilitates the further assembly of the flexagon.

5 Fold four triangles to the left. The shorter part of the part should be on top. You should see in front of you two open (inner) triangles at the ends of the paper and eight colored triangles in between. Count four triangles to the right and fold along the far edge of the fourth triangle (which will also be the third colored triangle, since there is a white triangle at the end of the paper).

• Fold the paper down so that the fold stays at the top.

6 Fold four more triangles on the other side. Flip the piece over to the other side and count four triangles from the left edge of the template. Fold the paper so that it begins to take on a hexagonal shape. If you do everything correctly, you will see a hexagon made up of five triangles of the same color (or pattern) plus one white, and another white triangle on the side.

• If you make a mistake at this stage, just unfold the folds you made and start folding the flexagon again.

7 Fold the protruding white triangle over the other white triangle and glue them together. Take the protruding white triangle and fold it over the other white triangle. Now you will have a hexagon of six identical triangles in front of you. Glue the two aligned white triangles together.

• If you flip the flexagon to the other side, you will see a second set of triangles with a different color (or pattern).
• The third set of triangles with the third color (pattern) is hidden inside the flexagon on the backs of the visible triangles. Turning out the flexagon, you will see a third color (or pattern).

Part 2 of 3: How to use Flexagon

1. 1 Bend and unfold the flexagon along all three of its diagonals. Working with a flexagon takes some practice, but it will be easier if you bend and unbend the folds several times. You should fold in all three diagonals and fold and unfold the paper back and forth several times in these places.
   • This step is not critical, but in the future it will be much easier for you to play with flexagon if you follow it.
2. 2 Bring two adjacent triangles together. Press two adjacent triangles together with the fold between them facing down and facing the inside of the flexagon. The triangles to be compressed must fit snugly against each other.
   • The more you play with the flexagon, the easier it will be to turn it inside out.
3. 3 Expand the third color (or pattern) of the flexagon. When you connect two adjacent triangles, the flexagon itself will begin to practically open up. Hook up the top corners of the triangles in the center and pull to the sides to reveal a new third color (pattern).
   • Practice turning the flexagon over to see if you can see all three of its surfaces.

Part 3 of 3: How to Create Your Own Flexagon Design

1. 1 Print out a clean white flexagon template. Make sure the template triangles are numbered according to which of the three flexagon surfaces they belong to, so that it is easier for you to create your pattern. In other words, the triangles that make up the pattern should have numbers indicating the side of the flexagon that they form.
   • The 3-surface flexagon pattern will have the numbers 1, 2, and 3 in triangles.
   • The six-surface flexagon pattern will have triangles numbered one through six, since it must have six different surfaces.
2. 2 Color the template according to the numbers in the triangles. You can do this in any way you want. Just make sure that the triangles with the same numbers are decorated the same way. You can also print some ready-made patterns, cut out triangles from the printouts and glue them onto your flexagon template.
   • For example, you can make all the triangles with the number 1 red, the number 2 green, and the number 3 blue.
3. 3 Try making different variations of flexagons. There are different types of flexagons. You can make a flexagon with a different number of surfaces and patterns. A description of all the available types is beyond the scope of this article, but you can safely make any kind of flexagon by printing the appropriate template and folding it correctly.
   • Pentagon flexagons, rhombus flexagons, square flexagons and heptagon flexagons are all quite interesting types of shapes that you can make yourself to play with.