Fold and cut

In your book, Maths Mela (Chapter 11), Mini makes a lovely paper design. She folds a square sheet again and again, cuts small shapes, and opens it. The design is symmetrical, because every cut was made through all the folded layers at once.

When you cut a folded paper, each layer gets the same cut. Fold a paper once and cut a small square through both layers, away from the fold. When you open it, there are 2 square holes, one on each side of the fold. They are mirror copies of each other, and the fold is the line of symmetry.

Now cut INTO the fold. Fold a paper once and make two slanting cuts in the middle of the fold, to take out a small V-shaped notch. When you open the paper, the V appears on both sides of the fold and joins up. The hole has 4 sides: it is a diamond shape.

Fold a square paper twice: in half, and in half again. The corner where both folds meet is the centre of the sheet. Make one straight cut across that corner. When you open the paper, there is a hole in the centre. It is a square standing on its corner, like a diamond.