Tissue paper and origami

General discussion area for learning about paper, and the different types available.
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Mycelium
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Tissue paper and origami

Post by Mycelium »

I see people talking about using tissue paper for origami, but I've always thought that it was too thin and weak, nor can I imagine it holding creases well. Is the tissue paper that's used the standard stuff you may find in a card shop or a special kind?
Baltorigamist
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Re: Tissue paper and origami

Post by Baltorigamist »

The answer to your question depends on who you ask--some people fold from standard tissue paper, some from various "special" varieties. (These special papers are generally things like unryu, mulberry, kozo, etc. They are usually handmade such that there is no specific fiber direction, which makes them very resistant to tearing.)

Both kinds are usable, but tissue paper needs to be treated with methylcellulose first. There's a thread on MC stickied at the top of this forum; you can refer to that in order to answer any questions you might have about it.
Usually, if you're using standard tissue paper, you'll want to backcoat two or more sheets together (more on that in the MC topic, I believe), as regular tissue is generally too thin to be folded alone, even with MC.
Even sheets of unryu or mulberry may have to be backcoated in order to achieve the desired properties, but not always.

Personally I've used both standard tissue paper and the unryu and mulberry I mentioned above. Regular tissue paper (when treated, of course) tends to be much crisper and creases more visibly, but the special papers I've mentioned are much stronger and have more of an organic look/feel to them.
I'd recommend trying both kinds if you're interested in using tissue paper. They each have pros and cons, so you'll need to decide which kind you like best. (Unryu can be difficult to find and is more expensive than standard tissue paper, but it's worth it.)
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Mycelium
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Re: Tissue paper and origami

Post by Mycelium »

Baltorigamist wrote:The answer to your question depends on who you ask--some people fold from standard tissue paper, some from various "special" varieties. (These special papers are generally things like unryu, mulberry, kozo, etc. They are usually handmade such that there is no specific fiber direction, which makes them very resistant to tearing.)

Both kinds are usable, but tissue paper needs to be treated with methylcellulose first. There's a thread on MC stickied at the top of this forum; you can refer to that in order to answer any questions you might have about it.
Usually, if you're using standard tissue paper, you'll want to backcoat two or more sheets together (more on that in the MC topic, I believe), as regular tissue is generally too thin to be folded alone, even with MC.
Even sheets of unryu or mulberry may have to be backcoated in order to achieve the desired properties, but not always.

Personally I've used both standard tissue paper and the unryu and mulberry I mentioned above. Regular tissue paper (when treated, of course) tends to be much crisper and creases more visibly, but the special papers I've mentioned are much stronger and have more of an organic look/feel to them.
I'd recommend trying both kinds if you're interested in using tissue paper. They each have pros and cons, so you'll need to decide which kind you like best. (Unryu can be difficult to find and is more expensive than standard tissue paper, but it's worth it.)
Thanks for this, I really appreciate it. I do want to try using tissue paper, so I'll check out the MC thread and see what I need to do :)
Baltorigamist
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Re: Tissue paper and origami

Post by Baltorigamist »

Alright.
I consider myself fairly well versed in using MC, so I should be able to answer most of the questions you might have.
Also, don't give up if the sheet tears on your first try. Just be a little gentler and brush with the grain. (:


On an unrelated note, 1800 posts!
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