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Be Creative! Projects : Bazooka Gum Wrapper Origami

Bazooka® Gum Wrapper Origami: Fold a Shirt & Pants

Gum Wrapper Origami: Bazooka® Comic Shirt & Pants

By Chris Dunmire

Gum wrapper shirt and pants origami Don't ever underestimate the value of being able to fold dollar bills and gum wrappers into neat little items like mouse-sized shirts and pants. Once your family and friends find out how talented you are they'll be begging you to show them how too!

Here I'll show you how to fold the comic wrappers from Bazooka® bubble gum into a shirt and pants set. You can apply the same folds to other rectangular-shaped paper such as money / dollar bills to create larger models and fun-themed shirts.

Project Materials Needed:

Two comic wrappers from Bazooka® bubble gum or two $1 dollar bills

Try It! How to Fold the Shirt:

Flatten the comic.

1. Start with one comic gum wrapper. Flatten out the comic so it's smooth and has no turned corners. Don't use the comic if it's torn.

Turn comic over.

2. Turn the white side up: Turn the comic over so the blank side is up.

Fold comic in half and then both sides into the middle.

3. Fold lengthwise: Fold the comic in half lengthwise, unfold, and then fold in the two outer sides to meet in the middle.

Turn over and fold collar down.

4. Fold the collar:. Turn the comic over. Fold the top down about 1/8" for the collar.

Fold collar tabs inward.

5. Fold the collar tabs: Turn comic over to front. Fold the collar tabs at an angle inward to meet in center.

Double fold shirt body.

6. Double-fold the bottom up: First fold comic to about half the length of the whole shirt, and then fold again to slightly overlap the collar.

Unfold and fold on first crease.

7. Undo what you just did: First unfold the double fold. Then carefully open the bottom of the shirt (leave the collar intact) and fold on the first crease from the double fold.

Fold tricky sleeves.

8. Turn the shirt around and fold sleeves: The sleeves are a bit tricky, so don't worry if it takes you a few tries to get them right. Fold one sleeve at a time: Pinch the edge of the comic and push inward to create the sleeve. It tucks in naturally on the previous folds, but needs encouragement. Study the picture closely if you are having difficulty. You'll eventually get it, I promise!

Redo double fold and tuck under collar tabs.

9. Final tucking: Once the sleeves are done, redo the double fold and tuck the edge up under the collar tabs. This is what the shirt looks like finished.

Try It! How to Fold the Pants:

Start with #3 fold from shirt.

1. Steal from the shirt: To make the pants, start with the # 3 fold from the shirt.

Fold in half.

2. Fold wrapper in half lengthwise.

Fold in half at angle.

3. Fold wrapper in half at the angle shown.

Fold down to secure.

4. Turn the wrapper over and fold down the top about 1/8" to secure. Optional: cuff the pants.

Congratulations! You've completed folding your origami shirt and pants set. Now go find a mouse and fit him with it.

What You'll Learn:

Patience! If you got through that tricky step # 8 on the shirt successfully, then give yourself a big pat on the back! Wasn't that fun?

The NEXT Creative Step...

If you enjoyed this project, check out Creativity Portal's origami section for more paper folding fun AND my special article on the creative genius behind Bazooka® Gum.

What else can you do with the comic wrappers from Bazooka bubble gum? Create your own nifty project out of a bunch of them — anything your creative heart desires. •

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Updated 12/20/13