Modular Caddys

Late last year I created a modular caddy made from two sheets of American Letter sized paper or card. The divider had triangular feet which pointed forwards and were then tucked in with the skin. The skin was then swept upwards and tucked into the triangular pocket at the center top of each end.











I have been revisiting this design because a publisher wants to include it in an upcoming book.

The publisher wanted a large caddy for a photoshoot. This worked better in card weight material than it did in text weight material. Unfortunately, large sheets of decorative heavy weight material of the type the publisher wanted were hard to find. So I tried using lighter material. This was not particularly successful. The large prototype in soft wallpaper required the use of - ahem- glue to keep it from falling apart. Thanks to Paper Mojo, an internet store with a wide selection of gorgeous papers, I eventually found large sheets of paper with the required qualities that was stiff enough to use successfully. .

This was not the end of the story. The problems I had been experiencing encouraged me to explore ways to improve the original design so that it could be made with softer material. I knew that I had to make the external walls stronger and the tuck in method firmer.

Finally I came up with a model which achieved these ends. I used two large squares of paper and box pleats and some optional pieces of card to provide additional strength to the walls.

The feet, which were tucked upwards in the original series, are now tucked underneath by being inserted in the box pleats on the base of the caddy. The front flap is also tucked into these pleats instead of being tucked into the top triangle. The side skin is now tucked into pockets on the ends of the internal divider.













The pictured model was made from soft wallpaper. It works!

The central wall is strengthened with a square of heavy card. You can see this showing as a colored slit in the center of the end wall. If you don't like the look of this it can be covered by inserting a decorative square into the front pockets.

The side walls can also be strengthened by inserting squares in the side wall pockets or, better, by inserting a rectangle (two squares end on) underneath the divider floor which is tucked into the wall pockets on each side. This makes the model extremely sturdy, even when made from floppy vinyl coated wallpaper.

The plastic coating on the paper means that the model can be used in situations where it will get damp or have food dropped on it. You can wipe it clean. You can also poke pencils or pens into the pockets and not worry about the mess these will make.






Here are the crease pattens.

Hexagon Star Twist Box: Variations

I have been preparing diagrams and sample foldings for a forthcoming publication.


In the process I reworked one of my hexagon designs for a Star Twist Box (the white box with the copper star in the center which is shown far left) and came up with some variations (the brown and white boxes shown on the right).

The crease pattern does both of the boxes shown on the right. One is put together by tucking the top sections under the adjoining left section and the other is put together by tucking the top sections under the adjoining right section.

The CP shows shading for the version on the far right - the box with the raised center section. Mate the colored sections with the corresponding color. Pale yellow sections indicate the that the mating surface is on the other (back) side. Mate the bright yellow parts with the underside of the pale yellow sections.

Modular Vase: Part 3

The middle section of the modular vase has been folded. It has been connected in a circle but not connected to the base yet. There are some logistical problems with doing this.

I have decided to fold the top section pieces first. Then I will undo the base and middle groupings and re-connect the three pieces vertically before trying to connectthem all horizontally.

This may work better. OTOH, this will make construction of the floor difficult as it is slotted together from the top, not from the bottom. I may not be able to reach inside to put the last section together.

I think I am in for a frustrating time until I figure this puzzle out.

The Modular Vase: Part 2

After a labor intensive foray into non-origami-related areas, I am returning to the Obsession.

This morning I completed the Crease Pattern for the eight unit base section of the Modular Vase. Here it is.


Each section is 3n wide x 2n high and most usefully divided into 12 columns by 8 columns. A parsimonious folding sequence does not, however, require that all these columns be creased. First fold all the binary-based creases. Next use my Division Helper to make a vertical crease at two-thirds of the width. All the other third-based creases can be found from this one in combination with foldings using the binary-based creases.

The thin lighter-shaded lines are those which are required to find other lines or are used in the creasing or folding process. The alternating red-and-blue lines change direction during the process.

Yesterday I spent all day making Step Foldings for this base. There are 30 of them, which will give you an idea of the work I will need to put into converting these into standard format diagrams. Hint: LOTS. Needless to say, you won' t be seeing these tomorrow.

Today I intend to spend some time working on the eight unit middle section.

Modular Vase: Part 1

The past couple of weeks have been spent doing a lot of things other than origami. Life needs variety. Sometimes, however, I wish that the variety could be a little less stressful :-)

In between my other tasks I have continued to develop a large scale modular vase. It has lots of box pleats which I can use to shape the final product. I have got as far as putting together the bottom of the three major sections. Like the other sections, it is made up of eight other sections, if you don't count the "plug" to cover the central hole. The result, with a little modification of the parts which will later be used to connect the middle section, is a large dish.

There will be no edges showing in the final product. All the seams are hidden in the box pleats which are locked by the square foldings at the intersections. Although they look like square twists, these ones are not actually twisted. Once you know the secret of producing them they are not as impossible or as slow to collapse as you might think. Mind you, it took me a lot of trial and error and lateral thinking before I found a relatively easy way to make them. I shall eventually reveal all, so keep your bookmark or your feed subscription current.

This is a photo of the prototype base section. The central plug had not been added at this point.

This prototype has been folded from graph paper. There are a number of advantage to using graph paper in the early stages. Folding is faster when you do not have to find all crease lines in relation to previous folds and landmarks. Changes are easier to track. Transferring the creases to a master pattern is facilitated.

I am working on a conventional folding plan so that the model can be folded without the need for a printed guide. This is important because the top sections of a full sized jar use paper which is too large to be put through a normal printer. Besides, the need to print out CPs restricts the type of paper which can be used.

It is too early to provide diagrams or CPs. First, this is just the base section. Second, the model may go through several more changes before I am satisfied with its shape, locking mechanisms and ease of folding. I will post updates as I fold them.

I expect to be tied up with other rather time-consuming matters for several more weeks so postings will be a little more spaced out than the hectic activity in recent weeks. If you want to follow the vase through its development then consider subscribing to the RS feed. There is too much of interest on the Net to waste your time coming back here each day just in case you miss the next exciting installment.

CPs for the Water Lily Kusudama Series

Here are crease patterns for the Water Lily Kusudama and its derivatives and attachments. Unfortunately the CPs do not tell the whole story. There are some twists and tricks in putting these things together which are not at all obvious from the CPs. If you are a novice to middle level folder you may have to wait until I complete the diagrams before enlightenment is possible.

Begin by making a hexagon from a rectangle. The pattern is scaled for American Letter paper but the same concept applies equally well to an A4 sheet.

These are "rough and dirty" instructions which avoid me posting a full set of careful diagrams. If they leave you confused try Googling for better ones until I post some myself.

Divide the paper into four equal parts lengthwise. Mountain fold the bottom corners up to the quarter crease marks. This will give you sharp corner angles and two sides of the hexagon. Make the valley creases by appropriately lining up the edges. Complete the hexagon by mountain folding the paper along the appropriate edges. If you consider how the creased section will reflect when folded you can figure out which edges to line up. Try it out with a piece of scrap paper first.




The following CP is a stage along the way to making the Water Lily Kusudama units. It will provide you with the hex star and legged dish. I suggest that you fold the overlapping sections half way around and then unfold them and start at a different point. The final moves are a lot less confusing when the paper has already been primed to fold in the right direction.




The additional creases shown here will provide you with the water lily unit. Although they are shown on the back side of the paper they are made from the front. If you end up with the unit by following these CPs in the absence of step by step diagrams I will be quite impressed. Send me a photo to prove it. You will need eight water lily units for the kusudama and/or outer skin of the chopstick holder or vase.

The units are put together with the aid of strips made from the cut offs from the starter rectangle. They are four hex grid triangles long by one hex grid triangle wide. You need three of them per flower. Double the ends over and insert them into the matching shape that you will find by gently lifting the internal petal of a hex section and carefully pulling up the two flaps. Push the internal petal back down to lock them in place. Bend the strip on the central crease and insert the angled other end into a corresponding side of another flower. Continue until you run out of flowers to connect.

The next CPs are for the upgraded version of the central tube/vase. In order to get one that exactly fits the dimensions of the square left by the edges of the connected flowers, take a starter rectangle of the same size used to make the starter hexagons and crease it at the three-fifths point. Use my division helper to do this easily. (See earlier post.)

Next divide the three-fifths section into four equal parts and relect two of these on to the remaining paper. Cut off the left over section. Fold the rest according to the CP.


Roll up from the right hand side. Loosen the central section a little and twist the left hand rolling under the right hand rolling at the central point or thereabouts. I am afraid this a hard to describe in words. If you have made Kenneth Kawamura's twist box you will understand the procedure. If you can't figure it out then omit the odd configuration on the right hand side base section, roll the thing up starting from the right hand end and simply tuck the last flap under. The only difference is that the internal floor does not look quite so neat. If you are going to fill the tube up with something and don't intend to peer into its depths very often then this is probably quite adequate aesthetically and quite strong enough as well.

Unlike the model in the earlier photographs, this one has a triangular slash on just one of the external walls and a matching one on an internal wall. As well as being decorative, the slashes prevent noticeable sagging on the long side walls.

The result is pretty strong and sturdy but not, alas, waterproof. Don't fill it with fluid and use it for real flowers. If you are going to fill it with heavy things then you can strengthen it further (at the expense of shortening it) by turning over a narrow strip at the top. You can avoid unwanted crumpling by making 45 degree creases in the corners of each section before folding the material over to top. You can then ease it over a section at a time. Of course, pictures or detailed diagrams would help. Unfortunately preparing these takes more time than I am prepared to spend at the moment. Manana. (Where's the tilda when you need it?)



Filling in the square holes begins with a procedure similar to the internal tube. Take a piece of paper the same size as that used for the hexagon starter for the kusudama flower. Make a crease at the three fifths mark. Fold two squares from this section and discard the remainder. Fold each square to match the CP. You will need four squares (that is, two sheets of paper.)

In order to make the side tabs match the hexagonal angles into which they will slot make a template angle from a piece of the scrap, line its base up with the base line of each tab and fold the right side of each tab around the template. Lift up tabs in the pockets of the remaining hex sections of the water lilies and slip the tabs into them. Adjust. These square sections are not held together as firmly as the water lily pieces are to each other but they are not especially fragile either.

Enjoy!

Water Lily Kusudama Vase Update

The Water Lily Kusudama now has inserts for the square holes and a new inner tube. I am working on CPs and diagrams. More on these later.

It's a nice sunny day and I and my family need to make use of it.