> > has anyone here tried folding origami with fabric? Hi Gerardo,
I have done quite a bit of work with fabric, as has Chris Palmer. My work is exemplified by my artwork oribotics http://www.oribotics.net see this video for an overview: https://vimeo.com/16429167 There are two basic techniques for placing creases in fabric, my 2012 book "Designer Origami" covers both techniques in a chapter covering fashion. The first technique is “smocking", which I learnt for the first time from Chris Palmer, he uses it when making tesselations, however his advanced knowledge of designing tessellations gives him a serious advantage over most, and his smocking patterns which can be found in a book co-authored with Jeffry Rutzky called Shadowfolds has some amazing patterns. The second technique is known in the fashion industry as pleating. Pleating involves the application of heat to a paper-fabric-paper sandwich. Two sheets of paper hold the fabric in a folded shape and heat sets the memory of the fold in the fabric. Basically, you fold two identical patterns and unfold - I find kraft or elephant hide works well - lay in the sheet of fabric and fold them back up, clamp them together and cook it in a large industrial steam oven, or it you don’t have one of those lying around, just use the oven in your home :). For polyester fabric (a synthetic fabric) I find 160 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes does the trick. Put a tray of water in the bottom of the oven to get a bit of steam to stop the paper from drying out too much). Silks and synthetics tend work well. Silks because the natural silk proteins are deformed by heat, and synthetics because the plastic is deformed by heat. In synthetics, the folded memory is permanent, in silks, the folded memory can be somewhat reset again by heat. You can see an example of my oribotic waterbomb flower petal being folded up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQnGmnCmuZI If you have access to a laser cutter, you get a perfectly heat sealed edge on the fabric. I find it very interesting as an industry specific application of origami. When I first visited a pleater in Melbourne, he was amazed at the scale and precision of my folding, I think most organists will find that their skills could be highly valued in the fashion industry. all the best with your fabric folding, Matthew http://www.matthewgardiner.net
