How to make a functional Magnetic Origami Pocket Cube
Designed by Jo Nakashima (10/2020)
Difficulty level: Intermediate
The Pocket Cube (also known as the Mini Cube) is the 2x2x2 version of the Rubik’s Cube puzzle. This is a modular origami and each cube is made from a square sheet of paper. The “stickers” are also origami units connected to the cubes without glue nor tape.
To make it fully functional, I’ve attached magnets inside the cubes using double sided tape. Although it’s an easier puzzle, the magnet positioning isn’t as straightforward as the 3x3x3 version. I made it based on Larry D. Nichols cube puzzle, but using pairs of magnets.
To make this Pocket Cube you’ll need:
- 12cm x 12cm origami paper (8x black, red, green, blue, yellow, white, orange)
- 5mm diameter x 1mm thick magnets (48 units)
- Double sided tape
Helpful Videos
To make each cube you’ll need to fold a 5×5 grid on every sheet of paper. In the tutorial I show the “origami way” to do that, without a ruler or any kind of tool. However, there are easier methods and the videos below can help you in this task:
To cut the rectangles for the stickers units I recommend this paper cutter:
Support my work!
If you like my work, please consider visiting and subscribing to my YouTube channel! You’ll find all my work, including models that are not in this website and also models from other origami artists. The easiest way to support my work is simply watching my videos, clicking the like button, leaving comments and subscribing to my channel!
You can also contribute with small donations on Patreon or YouTube Channel Membership. It’s basically like paying me a tip as a thanks for my work and get some rewards in return, like early access to my tutorials and your name in the video (the “thank you” list). They work with recurring payments, but you can cancel anytime so one-time donations are also possible.