Napkin artichoke

I learned to fold an napkin artichoke like this from Ria, the wife of one of my colleagues. It can be used at any occasion and at any time of year, because you can choose another colour or another design for particular events (e.g. for Easter). 

What you need

- 56 paper napkins

- paperclips

1. Folding the napkins in six steps (56x)

Step 1

Place one napkin in front of you, diamond-shape. Fold the lower tip tothe upper tip.

Step 2

Fold over the triangle, so that a smaller triangle results. 

Fold back,so that a folding line results.

Step 3

Fold the right-hand side of the triangle down toward the folding line. 

Step 4

Repeat this for the left-hand side and turn it over.

Step 5

Fold the outer tips, so that a new triangle results.

Step 6
Fold the tips onto each other, and turn it over. You now
have half a boat. Make 56 of such semi-boats.

2. Making the artichoke

The artichoke consists of seven layers of eight folded napkins. You
start with the bottom layer. Fix the eight semi-boats with a paperclip
in the middle. After this, attach the eight semi-boats to each other (also with paperclips)
so that they make up a circle (see picture).

For the second layer of eight semi-boats you also fix the boats in the

middle by way of paperclips. This makes sure that the boats stay
together.

For the third layer of boats, this is not necessary. Place the second

layer of boats half-way on top of the first. It is not necessary to
fix them on the sides. Make seven layers of boats.