Circle Fold Book

 I came across this book as I was browsing Pinterest and it caught my eye.  I'm in the mood for folding and sculptural books and I'm always intrigued by circles, so I had to take a look.  

This isn't a difficult book.  The only drawback or difficulty for me was the need for double sided paper.  I don't have a lot of that kind of cardstock -- in the decorative sense, on hand. I was able to find a couple of sheets and that was all it took to make this small book.

I made my circles 3 1/2 inches because that was the size of my larges punch and I didn't want to get out my circle dies to cut larger circles or trace larger ones and cut by hand.

You need enough circles to go around in a complete circle when open.  The less you have the wider open the interior fold of the circle is (the lotus fold). The more circles you have, the more it looks like an Elizabethan ruff. The tutorial I watched said 12 - 15 I think, but I think you could have 8- 12 and still have a full book. I think the smaller the circle, the less you need.

Once cut, you first fold your circle in half.

Then find the center of the fold and fold the outer edges on that point, out to the perimeter.

Make sure these are good folds using your folder. Then open the folds, and reverse them to the center.

You will end up with a lotus fold inside a quarter circle. Once you have done this to all the circle, you will begin adhering the quarter circles together.

Check periodically to make sure that the interior folds have not been glued together.

Before adhering the last piece (or in my case, with an extra piece), trace out 2 pieces of chipboard for covers for your book.  You will also need some decorative paper to wrap the chipboard.  I used scraps left over from my circles.

Use standard techniques to wrap the covers.  I clipped the curves on my cardstock because it was so stiff and wouldn't be able to pleat or wrap neatly around the curved area.

I attached a ribbon to the back cover so that I would be able to keep the book closed when not on display.  The stiff cardstock make for quite a bouncy book.

When open, it's quite sculptural.

Here is a video of the entire procedure:

Circle Fold Book

Origami Accordion Book

 The origami accordion book starts with the 6" origami paper, pattern side down.

Flip paper back over so paper is pattern side down.

Take all four corners and fold them into the nearest intersection point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the straight sides, bring the center points into the center of your square.  This should allow the reversed folds to collapse leaving “photo” corners at each corner to hold your artwork or cardstock insert page.

 

Make six of these origami pages for your accordion book.

Cut 6 pieces of cardstock, 2 7/8” square, or use photos or artwork in these dimensions as display pieces for your origami pages.

Cut 5 cardstock squares, 2 1/8 “ and fold on diagonal.  These will be used as hinges to attach your pages together.  Makes sure you fold in both directions to ensure that your fold is flexible since your book is an accordion fold and needs to be able to work in both directions.

Note:  If your origami paper has a noticeable pattern, pay attention when you are inserting your artwork or photos, that your pattern is running in the same direction at all times.  You don’t want the pattern to be upside down  or sideways on the back of one piece when you put your book together.

When your folded pages are complete, they have a pocket in the folds, this is where the cardboard hinge will slide.  You will apply glue or double-sided tape about 1/8” from the fold line before sliding the triangle into the pocket of the origami page.  The diamond shape will prevent it from sliding too far into the pocket. Slide the next page onto the other side of the hinge and continue adding hinges and pages until you have completed your book.

You can add a chipboard cover if you wish but I just followed the directions from “Origami Card Craft” by Karen Elaine Thomas and added some additional cardstock decoration to my front cover and kept this a soft cover book.  I also added a ribbon closure to keep the book secured.

Here is a video of my process:

Origami Accordion Book

Origami Accordion Book - Hinge variation

 

 

3" square pages made with 6" origami paper

 

6" square pages made with 12" scrapbook paper