Book Folding Tutorial
I am so excited to share one of my favorite tutorials from Loren Crane of Pandora’s Craft Box. This book folding art is a great way to upcycle an old book.
Written By Loren Crane of Pandora’s Craft Box
Here’s a new craft idea I learned it’s called book folding. I occasionally saw it in store displays and I found it fascinating. I could never figure out how they made them, then a couple of days ago I took a class and they showed me how it was done. It can be a very tedious job and mind numbing, but the outcome can be fantastic. I use them as decorations on my dining room table and on my fireplace mantle. They are so easy to make and convenient if you find yourself hating the idea of throwing a book away. I love to read and throwing a book away should never be an option. So here is a great way to keep using those books you no longer want or you can go purchase bargain books at your local bookstore. I love all my books and I just can’t see myself damaging them so purchasing $1 books is the next best thing.
Here I did a simple folding which is just folding the pages in half in the same direction. It’s so easy to make! It only took me about 15 min, but it depends on how many pages the book contains. I would like to mention that a book with 600 pages would be too difficult to manage. The first picture on the page was made with a book of 600 pages, but I had to rip out the last 50 pages because the pages started to rip at the top while folding and the book became very heavy.
Now I am going to show you a very simple fold that has a dramatic effect.
Step 1: First, you want to start with using a paperback book. Tear off both covers from the spine.
Step 2: Fold the first page into a triangle.
Step 3: On the following page, fold the top part to form a 90 degree triangle.
Step 4: Again make a triangle on the next page.
Step 5: Now do a 90 degree triangle from the bottom of the following page.
Step 6: Keep alternating and repeating the pattern until you get to the end of the book.
You can make different pattern depending on the fold of the page. The sky is the limit. I hope you have fun with it. Please do post your pic of what you came up with.
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Super cool.
Thank you! Loren is amazing. Just checked out your blog… welcome to the dark side!! Get ready to be addicted! 😉
Love your book folding. Would love to purchase some patterns
i love that i am new at book folding i enjoy it so much i dont want to smoke now i have this to do
That’s great, Jackie! So glad you like it.
Thanks for what seems to be a pretty east guide. Can’t wait to try this project…..perhaps when the days get longer and colder.
SO MANY OF THE PATTERNS I WANT TO USE REQUIRE BOOKS WITH OVER 760 PAGES TO MAKE 380 FOLDS!! HOW DO I FIND THESE BOOKS (HARD COVER) OR IS THERE A WAY TO ADAPT TO A SHORTER (FEWER PAGES>FOLDS) PATTERN?
Hi Margaret, try local thrift stores. Also, your local library may have $1 book carts.