I’ve always been far from a purist in origami, but the one line I haven’t crossed so far is incorporating cuts (though I have used a few torn edges before). This model changes that. I cut a lacy pattern into the top couple inches of the paper. I started placing the lacy pattern by laying out the folded pleats and avoiding cutting through them, drew pseudo-random straight lines between each set of pleats, and cut out segments between the lines. The pattern was deliberately laid out to make sure the paper kept enough structural integrity to be foldable, and the irregularity makes it easy to disguise minor mistakes.
Here’s a glimpse of what the paper looked like before I folded it:
And a better view of the top edge:
