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