The Origami Forum

Greetings, I'm a very new folder, primarily interested in tessellations for the time being.

I'm reading Eric Gjerde's "Origami Tessellations" and there are instructions on creation of pre-creased grids to facilitate folding. These work great but the final designs have these guideline creases in places that ultimately do not need a fold. For example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16545592@N04/5395537775/

I've seen tessellations done in cloth using string to cinch the connected (back) points and therefore do not leave the unnecessary pleats after ironing, of course, but I was wondering if there was a way to do the same in paper?

Thanks much in advance!,
bodhi

PS: I thought I had posted this last night but a search did not turn it up (nor "view your posts") so my apologies in advance if this is a double post.

Those models in cloth you mention can also be done in paper, you just need to follow the same procedure which is "transporting" the CP to the paper. First you need the CP and then by some method (lightly drawing it or folding over a photocopy of the CP) you make only the strictly necessary creases for the finished model.

Sometimes thoses unnecessary creases add a lot to the finished model.

OK, will continue to work with the creases, see how those come out.

Thanks!

Folding with a grid is just a way of having reference lines and points on the paper - you could easily transfer the needed points and lines with a pencil (or whatever), and fold only the things you need. We're limited to such things as humans, after all, but if you use a computer you can do it all without any superfluous creases.

however, I do find the beauty often involves the evidence that it *was* created by hand - I build everything I do entirely by hand. This is purely my own opinion, but of course it's also my own book, so it seemed like the right place to express that opinion

I don't know, i find some sort of satisfaction is a well-folded grid, and think of those extra lines as a sort of trophy for my hard work maybe thats just me haha