If you have ever been handed a little paper triangle at a shrine or a New Year gathering, you have already met this fold. The triangle lottery is the traditional Japanese pocket for tucking away a fortune slip or a lottery ticket, and it has that lovely quality of being far simpler than it looks: seven folds, one rectangle, and suddenly you are holding a little paper envelope with a flap that locks itself shut.

It is also one of the most useful folds you can learn, because you don't need a square. Any rectangle will do — writing paper, a page torn from a notebook, a strip cut from origami sheets — so it is perfect for turning a short note into something that feels like a gift.

How to Fold

Step 1. Fold the sheet in half to make a crease, then fold the blue line across so it meets the crease you just made (the red line).

Step 2. Fold the blue line over to meet the red line.

Step 3. You now have a triangle. Fold it along the dotted line.

Step 4. Fold along the next dotted line.

Step 5. Fold the blue line over to meet the red line again.

Step 6. Do the same once more, folding the blue line across to the red line.

Step 7. Fold the remaining flap along the dotted line and tuck it into the pocket. Your triangle lottery is finished.

Tips for Folding

The size of the final flap depends on the length of the short side of your rectangle, so fold it into whatever shape slips into the pocket most easily.

After Folding

This fold is also lovely for writing letters. Because notepaper is rectangular, you can fold it exactly as it is and slip your note inside.

Make a batch from patterned origami paper and use them as little fortune pockets, gift notes or place cards.