Accordian folds

.oOo.

Accordian folds


This is a great way to produce many interesting... things. =) I don't know what they are. They have interesting structural stability, if that interests you. I saw this on TV as a simple tent design. I then made ones more complex. Above on the right is one with a curved meta-fold. The middle one has the folds interleaved. Below is the same thing, only with the accordion fold done radially. It makes for very interesting objects (some simpler stars shown here), but they can be very difficult to make.


Here's how:


- Start by making an accordion fold along a piece of paper. To do this fold the paper in half, then in half again, then in half once more. Make the folds very crisp, use your finger nail to press the fold down on the table. Make the folds alternate as shown in the left one in the picture. Then, reverse all of them so that the accordion is reversed. All the folds should be happy to fold either way.

- Now hold the accordion all together, and then fold the whole thing. (This is a meta-fold.) You should now have something looking like the paper in the middle of the picture.

- Open it all up, and then reverse the accordion fold on just one side of the meta-fold. This can be tricky, and the only think I can do it just say try it. Make the valleys of one side become mountains, and the mountains valleys. When you're done you should have a piece of paper like the right one in the picture. That zig-zag on top is the meta-fold.