Today we have three folds: two are well known as map folds, the third is not but fulfills the same function in that it can be used to add a large page to a small book. From front to back in the picture below are models of a ‘napkin’ fold, a ‘Turkish’ map fold, and a simplified version of an ‘oyster’ fold.
The ‘napkin’ fold, while suitable for decoratively folding table linen, works well for maps. A large sheet of paper is made much more compact, but opens easily and fully when two opposing corners are pulled. You can find a downloadable and printable copy of the crease pattern here.
If the corners look familiar, it may be because you have seen them before on this blog. Day Three of this year’s Advent Calendar showed how to make this mash note fold.
The same corners turned up when I accidentally invented the Shrigley binding. You can find that post here.
If you can follow picture-only instructions, here’s a set.
I have used the napkin fold for an actual map.
For an alternate set of instructions using card stock, you could go to this post by Candy Wooding on My Paper Arts.
Next up: the ‘Turkish’ map fold. You can find the downloadable, printable pdf here.
This fold is well known in the book arts world, but I have been unable to find any evidence that it comes from Turkey. It is known in the print industry as a ‘popout’, and has been used for small maps, particularly for city guides for tourists.
The earliest documentation I could find is the patent record for the fold. Patent was granted in Sweden in 1948, in the U.S. in 1950.
Perhaps we should call it the Anders Palm Fold.
If you would like folding instructions and some lovely images of the popout in artists’ books, check out Green Chair Press.
Third, the simplified Oyster fold. You can download the printable pdf here.
You need a sheet of paper with a ratio of 2 to 3. The two centre squares in the image above become the front and back inside pages, while the upper and lower squares fold into alternating points. (See the image at the top of the post.)
Fold —or score, then fold— your paper so that the folds match the crease pattern shown above. (You could print out the crease pattern and make a model by folding along the printed lines.) To close your simplified Oyster, push the left and right edges of the middle squares together while folding the top corners down and the bottom corners up. The points created by the folded corners should alternate: bottom left corner up, top left corner down, bottom right corner up, top right corner down.
While this fold does not have the automatic opening and closing that the Napkin Fold and the Anders Palm Fold provide, it does permit the folding of a large surface into a significantly smaller area. It also creates five pockets. If you plan to use the fold for that purpose, you may want to create notches to create easier access to the contents.
Tomorrow’s post will provide four different ways to make a twist box.
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