What is Book Folding? And other FAQs

"WHAT IS BOOK FOLDING?"

Good question! Book folding is the art of folding pages, or parts of pages of a book, in order to make a pattern/picture/word on the side, when the book is open. Essentially like book origami! There are two main types of book folding - the "mark and fold", and the "mark, cut and fold".

 

The 'mark and fold' is a simpler, and quicker method of book folding, where each page is measured and folded. You can only have 2 measurements per page, which means this method is mainly used for words, or very simple logos and symbols. A page of a 'mark and fold' book may look like this:

As suggested in the name, the alternative method of "mark, cut and fold", has an additional step, where multiple cuts are made along the edge of the book, with alternating bits of paper folded in. This method is much more time consuming, but it does allow for much greater detail, as there is no limit to the amount of measurements you can have per page. A page of a "mark, cut and fold" book may look like this:

 

Both methods are incredibly useful, depending what your final desired outcome is. For both methods, the process is repeated on each page of a book, with the measurements varying per page, creating the final image on the side of the book. The book stays open once it's been made, as the process of "folding" parts of the pages, results in the book becoming thicker, allowing it to free stand, and make a perfect home decor item!

 

"HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A BOOK FOLD?"

This can hugely vary! A book fold can take a couple of hours - most of the simple folded "word" books ie. Mum, Dad, Nan etc, I can do between 2 to 3 hours. They can also take much, much longer, over the span of several days, which are for the more intricately detailed ones, like the Freddie Mercury one, and require a lot of patience! It really depends on how much detail the final picture has. On average though, I would say they take between 4 and 7 hours each, from start to finish. I have been doing book folding for almost 8 years though, so I would definitely say I'm much faster than the average person!

 

"CAN I HAVE A GO AT BOOK FOLDING?"

Of course! I sell a huge variety of patterns, so you can have a go at doing it yourself, and you really don't need much equipment to start! I understand it can be hugely daunting if you haven't done it before, so all my patterns come with detailed instructions, as well as a Youtube video I've made so you can visually see the instructions too. I'm also free to answer questions at any time! I definitely think it's much easier than it looks and isn't that complicated once you're stuck into it - I always multi-task and do it watching TV. Although it's easier than a lot of people think, it is also much more time consuming than people initially anticipate, so do keep that in mind! It's not something that you'll be able to complete in one evening, and does require a lot of patience, so if that doesn't sound like you, then maybe choosing a different hobby would be a good call...

 

"HOW CAN YOU DESTROY A BOOK LIKE THAT?"

I get this comment A LOT. And whilst I understand that the idea of book folding art is a new concept for a lot of people, I certainly don't see it as destroying a book - rather giving a book a second lease of life! Charity shops in the UK have to dispose of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of unsold books every year, and so every book I use is one less book that is thrown away, and instead made into a unique piece of art! I predominantly use very good quality, second hand Reader's Digest Books in my book folds (other than a few exceptions which are stated in the listings), and so I like to class it as upcycling and creating something new, rather than destroying! No one likes to see books being destroyed!

 

If you have any other questions, then do feel free to message me, either on any of my social media accounts, or on my contact me page and I will be happy to answer!