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Iris Paper Folding
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My sister loves nothing better than crafting. She has a house full of quilts, knitting, embroidery, etc. So when she heard of a new craft, she was all over it. Off we went to a demonstration of Iris Folding.
With the name, I figured we’d be folding flowers. But no, the iris here is named for the iris of the eye. When you see the circular pattern in the folding, I can see why.
Iris folding was developed in Holland. Some housewives who were tired of throwing away junk mail decided to find a way to recycle it. After all junk mail comes in many colors and types of paper. Iris folding was born.
You can use junk mail, but you can also use a wide variety of paper including gift wrap, scrap book paper, tissue paper, etc. As you can see here, the instructor had a fancy board that she worked on. Naturally my sister was drooling over the board. It folds up and has drawers in the sides.
The paper is cut into 1 inch strips. These strips are folded in half. The instructor had a nice paper cutter. The frame of the picture she used was round, but you can use a wide variety of frame shapes. Round is the easiest and a good way to start. She used watercolor paper for the frame. You also need scotch tape, any old brand will do.
Time to start your pattern. She used five colors of paper which she sorted into piles. The paper is alternated in the same pattern as your work around the circle. This example shows a couple of rows completed. You place the strip of paper on a numbered line on the pattern and scotch tape it into place. You just keep going around the circle following the numbered pattern.
This is a finished design. She had a book of patterns that offered flowers, animals, numbers, hearts, etc. With each pattern, your choice of paper really makes it your own.
The moment we got home, my sister was on the Internet looking for information. She found several sites online where you can get templates for patterns. The Simplicity of Iris Folding I particularly liked because it also offers video instruction.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:38 am
[...] bought, but wouldn’t it be more fun to be crafty. I just sent out three cards. I used the folding iris technique to make covers for my cards and just wrote a springy poem [...]
June 27th, 2009 at 4:43 am
[...] in the world outside of Japan.” The tour started with the pavilion where we attended the Iris Folding demonstration at a different time. The building has shoji (translucent paper panels) and verandas [...]