How To Make A Cootie Catcher Step By Step | Paper Fortune

You probably remember these folded paper gadgets from elementary school. Someone would hold the cootie catcher between their thumbs and forefingers, ask you to pick a color and a number, then lift the flap to reveal a silly fortune or dare. The folds look complicated, but the whole thing takes about three minutes with a plain sheet of printer paper.

This guide walks through each crease in order, from making your first diagonal fold to opening the four pockets. You’ll also get ideas for what to write inside and links to free printable templates so you can skip the drawing step entirely.

What You Need Before You Start

Cootie catchers require exactly one material: paper. A standard 8.5 x 11 inch sheet works fine once trimmed into a square. Origami paper, construction paper, or even a page from a notebook will also do the job.

You do not need scissors, glue, tape, or markers to finish the folding. Markers or pens are useful only for writing the messages afterward, and scissors help if you want to cut the paper into a clean square instead of tearing it.

No prior origami experience is required. The folds are basic — diagonal, corner-to-center, and half folds. Each step builds on the last, and by the end you’ll have a fully functional cootie catcher ready for play.

Why The Old Folding Trick Still Works

Paper fortune tellers have been a schoolyard staple for decades. The structure is simple but satisfying: four flaps that open and close by pinching the corners, revealing hidden text underneath each flap. The player controls the reveal by picking numbers and colors, which adds an element of suspense.

• No tech needed: The game requires zero batteries, screens, or internet. It’s pure analog fun that works anywhere.
• Easy to customize: You can write fortunes, jokes, trivia questions, chores, or activity ideas inside each flap. The only limit is your imagination.
• Quick to teach: After folding one, most kids can teach a friend in under a minute. The steps are repetitive enough to memorize quickly.
• Low cost: A single sheet of paper makes one cootie catcher. If you make a mistake, you just grab another sheet.

Teachers and parents often use cootie catchers as a hands-on tool for learning. The folding process itself teaches following multi-step instructions, spatial reasoning, and patience. The game afterward rewards creativity and social interaction.

Folding Instructions: Step By Step

Start with the diagonal folds that create the base crease pattern. Take your square sheet and fold it diagonally, bringing one corner to the opposite corner to form a triangle. Crease firmly, then unfold. Repeat with the other two corners so you have an X-shaped crease across the square.

Now bring each of the four corners to the center point where the X creases intersect. Fold and crease each one. You should now have a smaller square with all four corners meeting neatly at the middle. Flip the paper over so the folded flaps are face-down on the table.

Fold the four new corners into the center again. This creates an even smaller square on the opposite side. Flip the paper back over so you see the eight small triangles radiating from the center. You’re almost done with the folding — now Instructables provides a full photo walkthrough of every crease in its to make a cootie guide, which is especially helpful for the final shaping steps.

Fold the square in half, matching the top edge to the bottom edge, and crease. Unfold, then fold in half the other way, matching the left edge to the right edge. Unfold again. You now have a square with a grid of creases that allow the paper to open like a four‑pointed pocket.

To open the finished cootie catcher, place your thumbs and index fingers under the four flaps and gently pinch them together, then pull outward. The paper will form a four‑pocket shape that opens and closes as you move your fingers. It should feel like a hand puppet when you pinch and release.

What To Write Inside Your Fortune Teller

Once the folds are done, you need to add the messages. Flip the cootie catcher over so you can see the eight inner triangles — four on top and four on the bottom when the pocket is closed. Write a fortune or instruction inside each triangle.

1. Pick a theme: Fortunes, jokes, trivia questions, chores, or activity ideas. Camp‑themed catchers often include outdoor challenges like “do ten jumping jacks” or “name three birds you saw today.”
2. Assign colors to the outer flaps: On the four outer diamonds visible when the catcher is closed, write a different color (red, blue, green, yellow) or a shape. These are what the player picks first.
3. Number the inner triangles: On the eight inner triangles, write numbers 1 through 8 (or 1‑4 repeated twice). The player picks a number to open and close that many times.
4. Write the hidden messages: Under each number, inside the innermost flap, write the fortune or activity. For example, “You will find a dollar today” or “Do a silly dance.”

Printable templates can save the drawing step. Many free PDFs include pre‑printed numbers, colors, and even themed fortunes, so you just fold and go. The PDF from Citherapies includes a blank template alongside finished examples — check its fun uses for cootie catchers section for ideas on how to fill the flaps for different games.

Printable Templates, Themes, And Variations

If drawing and writing feel tedious, free printable cootie catcher templates are widely available online. Sites like Cassie Smallwood and Skip To My Lou offer PDF templates with themes such as unicorns, animals, truth or dare, and blank templates for custom messages. The step‑by‑step folding instructions are often printed right on the template, making them ideal for children and beginners.

Creative variations include turning the cootie catcher into a shark puppet, a camp‑themed activity tool with 16 outdoor challenges, or an educational prompt for math facts and vocabulary quizzes. Teachers Pay Teachers hosts hundreds of hand‑drawn templates in JPG and PNG formats, many for free download.

You can also make larger cootie catchers using 12×12 inch scrapbook paper or small ones using 6×6 inch origami paper. The folding steps are identical regardless of size. The only change is that larger paper makes bigger pockets, which can hold longer messages or small surprises like stickers.

The Bottom Line

Making a cootie catcher is a three‑minute craft that requires only paper and a few crisp creases. The diagonal and corner‑to‑center folds are all you need to memorize; after that, you can customize the inside with any messages you like. Printable templates make the process even faster if you want a ready‑to‑fold design.

For classroom or party settings where you need multiple copies, a school‑grade printer and a stack of free PDF templates will keep the whole group busy for an afternoon. The folding itself is so straightforward that most kids can teach themselves after watching you do it once.