Cut And Fold Instructions

People often think that cut and fold is very complex and takes hours and hours to complete. The truth is that it is remarkable quick and actually just as easy as traditional folding methods.

We have developed out cut and fold methods to mimic and be as close to normal book folding as possible, incorporating the ‘mark and measure’ system that everyone knows.

So let’s get started…

• 1 book
• 1 pattern
• 1 pencil
• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 square piece of card

Just like a normal book folding pattern you will need a book that has the correct number of leaves for the pattern. You work this out the exact same way that you would for a normal fold. A pattern that needs 250 leaves needs a 500 numbered page book.

The only difference is that a normal fold pattern has 2 measurements on every leaf BUT a cut and fold has measurements every other page and there could be 3 or 4 on every leaf, but we will go into this in more detail. If you do not know how to center your book because there are more numbered pages than you need drop us a line and we will send you our unique calculator which will work it out for you.

Grab your book and place a piece of card over the first page inside the book. Trim the card so that it is 1cm short of the edge of the book and can fit in the book like in the picture

Now we are ready to start…

On the first page fold the edge of the page over the card you cut and press it flat

Remove the card and it should look like this

Press the page flat as it will go over the fold you created. If you lift the page it will look like this.

On the next page, you make your first marks just the same way you would on a normal pattern, holding your ruler at the edge of the page and marking it in cm and mm.  You may notice that the pattern has 6 measurements or even more whereas a normal pattern has only 2. This is correct and all the marks go on the same leaf. You will notice also that there is a line of measurements and then a blank then measurements on the pattern. This is correct, the blank page is your folded page.

Once you have marked the page your first and second pages should look like so.

Repeat this process throughout the pattern. The next page needs to be folded over using your card template so it matches the first, then the next page will be marked. Then folded then marked then folded and so on until you reach the end of the pattern.

 

Now we are ready to cut

Cutting is very simple, you just cut into the page directly on the marks you made on the page. The more accurate you are the better it will look. Cut into the page up to and inch, as long as the cut goes further than the folded edge. An inch should be ample.

 

Repeat this on every page you marked.

It should look like this against your folded over edge page when cut.

Now we fold the little pieces we cut over the edge of the previous page. The page we folded using our template.

Pull the page you folded the pieces over out from under the folded pieces and it should look like this.

Press the little pieces flat as you can and when you place the previous page against it, it will look like this.

Another angle below

Simply repeat this process throughout the book until complete.

Like normal folds you will find you get quicker as you go.

Happy folding!