You can also make a "doubly symmetrical" butterfly
in which each smaller shape is symmetrical:
| 1. Make a fold in each sheet of colored paper. (Place the long edges together, then crease.) |
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| 2. Fold again. |
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| 3. Starting at the bottom of the thick fold, cut a wiggly or zig-zaggy shape that ends a bit higher up on the fold. |
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| 4. Unfold the pieces: you will have two identical symmetrical shapes. |
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| 5. Repeat for other shapes and colors. |
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6. Fold a sheet of paper in half and cut out half of a shape of butterfly wings.
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| 7. Glue one set of cutouts on one half of the opened butterfly wings. Carefully arrange the remaining cutouts on the other half of the butterfly so that they match their partners when the wings are refolded. You might want to mark their positions with pencil, then glue them down. Add another symmetrical cutout for the head, antennae and body. |
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The symmetrical butterfly at the top of the page uses both symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes. It also uses single symmetrical shapes glued at the fold under the body.
Other ideas:
Your outer shape doesn't have to be a butterfly, of course. Can you decorate two halves of a rectangle or a circle? Can you make a design with both horizontal and vertical lines of symmetry?
Let's share our ideas. Please send us a photo of your symmetrical shape, and we will post it here!
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