Origami Heaven

A paperfolding paradise

The website of writer and paperfolding designer David Mitchell

 

 
What's new?
 
9th February 2021 - New pages in the History section for Die Praxis Des Kindergartens by Auguste Koehler,1873 and Mary Gurney's partial translation into English, Kindergarten Practice: Part II Froebel's Plane Surfaces, 1877
 
27th January 2021 - New pages in the History section about Card Castles / Houses of Cards / Chateaux de Cartes built with folded cards.
 
26th January 2021 - New page in the History section for a newly discovered pictorial story by Apeles Mestres dated 2nd August 1883 which features the earliest known illustration of the Flapping Bird.
 
25th January 2021 - New page in the History section for Paper Magic by Robert Harbin, 1956
 
19th January 2021 - Diagrams for two simple visual illusions, the Counter-Rotating Cube and the Counter-Rotating Cuboctahedron.
 
18th January 2021 - New pages in the History section for Aanhangzel volmaakte Hollandsche keuken-meid by Jan Willem Claus van Laar, 1746, Jeux et Occupations Pour les Petits: Guide des Mères et des Institutrices by Henriette Suzanne Brés, 1894, Petit Manuel de Travaux d'Amateurs by H de Graffigny, 1909 and El Trabajo Manual en la Escuela by Félix Martí Alpera, 1914
 
12th January 2021 - Diagrams for Factory and Dark Satanic Mill and - two closely related drawing with paper pictorial designs.
 
10th January 2021 - The existing page in the History section for De Kleine Papierwerkers: Volume 1 by Elise Van Calcar, 1863 has been completely revised and new pages have been added for Volume 2 and Volume 4.
 
5th January 2021 - Diagrams for Mix and Match Animals - a series of mix and match naive designs.
 
5th January 2021 - New pages in the History section for Exercices et Travaux pour les Enfants Selon la Méthode et les Procédés de Pestalozzi et de Froebel by Fanny and Charles Delon, 1873, Cours de Travail Manuel (Pour les Garcons) by A Planty, 1887, Enseignement du Travail Manuel a L'Ecole Primaire by Emile Faivre, 1887, L'Enseignement Manuel by Rene Leblanc, 1895 and Geometrie, Dessin et Travaux Manuels - Cours Moyen - M E. Cazes, 1895.
 
29th December 2020 - New diagrams for P-P-Pig, Pigasus and Stretch Pigo - three closely connected naive origami designs.
 
29th December 2020 - New pages in the History section about the 1910 book Distractions Enfantines by Marie Koenig, the 1892 book Le Travail Manuel a L'ecole Primaire by MM Jully & Rocheron and the official French educational document Bulletin de la Societe de Protection des Apprentis from 1891.
 
21st December 2020 - Diagrams for Raven in Flight and Parakeet in Flight - two simple variants of the same naive origami idea - and for Sea Monster - an extremely simple multiple sheet design.
 
14th December 2020 - Diagrams for Naive Hound and Naive Turtle - both very simple multiple sheet naive designs.
 
8th December 2020 - Diagrams for Naive Butterfly - a multiple sheet active play design.
 
5th December 2020 - revision of diagrams for the Playing Card Cube - a traditional Western European design.
 
3rd December 2020 - Information about the properties of three useful rectangles - the Silver Rectangle, the leftover rectangle and the Bronze Rectangle - and an exploration of Perfect Mappings, which was previously included in my book 'Exploring Mathematical Ideas with Origami'.
 
1st December 2020 - Diagrams for Pinwheel Cubes - a series of modular cubes which become progressively more challenging to assemble as more of the wings are folded away inside the cube.
 
24th November 2020 - Diagrams for Apollo - a previously undiagrammed modular sculpture.
 
18th November 2020 - Diagrams for Swan with Cygnets - a multiple sheet design.
 
16th November 2020 - Diagrams for Hexagonal Tessellating Tables and explaining several methods of Folding Octagons. Revised diagrams explaining how to fold Equilateral Tiles and the Interwoven Star of David.
 
10th November 2020 - Diagrams for a 60 part version of the Small Stellated Dodecahedron which allows each of the pentagrams visible on the surface of the form to be made from a different colour of paper.
 
5th November 2020 - Diagrams for the Headless Fish Tile - a tile that yields an unexpected tessellation.
 
3rd November 2020 - Diagrams for Tower of Columbus Cuboids - macromodular sculpture made by stacking Columbus Cuboids.
 
28th October 2020 - Diagrams for Abstract Fox and Digitalis - new macromodular sculptures based on equilateral twin open prisms.
 
27th October 2020 - New page in the History section about the book Exercises de Travaux Manuels de L'ecole Louis Vauquelin de Rouen, 1886/7 which contains surviving examples of paperfolds made by pupils at the school.
 
25th October 2020 - Diagrams for Off-Centre Stripe Cubes - variously patterned cubes assembled from the same set of six identical assymetric modules..
 
15th October 2020 - Diagrams for Rock and Roll - a modular passive play design which, given a gentle nudge to start it into motion, happily rocks and rolls its way down a gentle slope.
 
27th September 2020 - Major update to the History section including a page about The paperfolding of Miguel de Unamuno, two important early articles in 'La Escuela Moderna' by Vicente Castro Legua, one from January 1907 and the other from February 1907, and a page giving details of various articles relating to paperfolding published in the Buenos Aires edition of Caras y Caretas magazine.
 
31st August 2020 - Diagrams for Cocotte in Flight / Pajarita in Flight - an adaptation of the traditional Cocotte / Pajarita design.
 
26th August 2020 - Diagrams for Not Another Boat with Sail - a bicolour version of the traditional Boat with sail design which transforms so that the colours are reversed.
 
18th August 2020 - Diagrams for Not Another Cocotte - a bicolour version of the Cocotte / Pajarita design which transforms so that the colours are reversed.
 
13th August 2020 - Diagrams for Not a Cocotte, Giracotte and Swancotte - versions of the Cocotte / Pajarita design using an alternative folding method.
 
28th January 2020 - New page in the history section about the 1847 book 'Juegos de los Ninos'.
 
12th January 2020 - Diagrams for the Photo Frame Cube - a version of the Playing Card Cube whose faces will carry inserts to create decorative cubes of many kinds.
 
17th December 2009 - Diagrams for Silver Fir - a very simple multiple sheet design from a single sheet of A4 paper.
 
31st August 2019 - Diagrams for Four Open Box Cuboids and Cubes and updated page in the history section about The Orizuru or Paper Crane containing much new information.
 
20th June 2019 - New page in the history section about Giuseppe Baggi.
 
18th June 2019 - New page in the history section about Paperfolding in Mad Magazine. Note that the contents of this page have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
13th June 2019 - New page in the history section about Paperfolding in the Rupert Bear Annuals. Note that the contents of this page have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
8th June 2019 - New page in the history section giving details of folds featured in the book After The Dessert by Martin Gardner, dating from 1941. Note that the contents of this page have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
5th June 2019 - New page in the history section giving details of an interesting article published in Modern Mechanix magazine in December 1929. Note that the contents of this page have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
14th May 2019 - New pages in the history section about the books Paper Toy Making by Margaret Campbell, 1936 and The Art of Chinese Paperfolding by Maying Soong, 1948. Note that the contents of these pages have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
8th May 2019 - New pages in the history section about the books Winter Nights Entertainments by R M Abraham, 1932 and Diversions and Pastimes by R M Abraham, 1933. Note that the contents of these books have not yet been synchronised with all the design pages.
 
29th April 2019 - Since December I have been working on adding information to the History section. The information about main sources and individual designs is now in reasonably good order up until 1928 (though, of course, it will never be complete as there will always be new sources to discover and include). The latest source page to be added is about Fun with Paper Folding by Murray and Rigney. From now on I will update this page as new sources of information are added.
 
13th December 2018 - Diagrams for The Windmill Flexagon puzzle and for the Solution to the Cross motif of Merlin's Mat (which is the most challenging motif to solve).
 
6th December 2018 - Diagrams for Merlin’s Mat and Nimue’s Mat - both shape making puzzles using prefolded grids of creases - and the Solution to Octagramian. There is also a new page in the history section about the history of Modular Origami.
 
29th November 2018 - New shape making puzzle Octagramian. Solution next week.
 
22nd November 2018 - Diagrams for Hotel Room / Swimming Pool - a minimalist double image pictorial design.
 
15th November 2018 - Diagrams for Not Waving - a simple pictorial conceptual design - and new pages in the history section about The Pagoda, Paper Windmills, The Sparrow and The Sampan.
 
9th November 2018 - Diagrams for Birdman - a minimalist double image design - and new pages in the history section about The Cicada, The Pig, The Lily / Iris, The Blow-Up Frog, The Kabuto and Paper Flights.
 
1st November 2018 - Diagrams for Folio - a minimalist pictorial design - and new pages in the history section about the Bellows and the The Sanbo.
 
28th October 2018 - new pages in the history section about the Waterbomb and the Kettle, The Paper Banger and The Lover's Knot.
 
18th October 2018 - Diagrams for Mount Fuji and the Sea - a minimalist landscape / seascape design.
 
11th October 2018 - Diagrams for Easter Islander - a minimalist design - Nefertiti - a minimalist pictorial design - and a new page in the history section about paperfolding in the writings and illustrations of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) and John Tenniel.
 
6th October 2018 - Diagrams for Hull Down - a simple pictorial active play design - and Harbour at Skiathos - a simple pictorial landscape.
 
27th September 2018 - Diagrams for Penguin - a minimalist design and Jumbo - a simple full frontal elephant design..
 
20th September 2018 - Diagrams for South and Indian Country - both simple pictorial landscapes.
 
13th September 2018 - Diagrams for Also Comes In White - a simple double image design and Faith - a minimalist visual illusion and conceptual origami design.
 
6th September 2018 - Diagrams for Freefall / Limbo - a simple double image design.
 
31st August 2018 - Diagrams for Dogfish and Shark Attack - both simple double-image / active play designs.
 
22nd August 2018 - Diagrams for Mumbo Jumbo - a simple double image design.
 
18th August 2018 - Diagrams for Sailboard - a surprise denouement pictorial seascape design.
 
8th August 2018 - Diagrams for Merlin - a simple pictorial design.
 
2nd August 2018 - Diagrams for Head to Head - a minimalist visual illusion double image design.
 
27th July 2018 - Diagrams for Paradozical Object - a minimalist visual illusion double image Simple Solid design.
 
19th July 2018 - Diagrams for Simple Solids and new page in the history section about the Pinwheel / Puzzle Purse / Thread Container / Menko
 
17th July 2018 - New page in the history section about Folded Patenbriefs / Baptismal Certificates
 
12th July 2018 - New page in the history section about Ceremonial Wrappers / Tsutsumi.
 
11th July 2018 - Diagrams for Wot No Undies? - a double image see-through design.
 
10th July 2018 - New pages in the history section about Ocho and Mecho Butterflies and The Pajarita / Cocotte / Krähe / Hobby Horse
 
5th July 2018 - New pages in the history section about Trattato delle piegature by Mattia Giegher - the earliest known work on the folding of complex table decorations from starched paper napkins - and Carl Adolf Senff's Horses and Riders.
 
4th July 2018 - Diagrams for Llyn Dhu and Yggdrasil - both minimalist landscapes with an Welsh theme.
 
1st July 2018 - New pages in the history section about Houdini's Paper Magic, 1922, Paper Magic by Will Blyth. 1923 and Fun with Paper Folding by Murray and Rigney, 1926 which list the contents of these early books.
 
26th June 2018 - Diagrams for Lovebird a double image see through pictorial design.
 
19th June 2018 - Diagrams for Alien - a simple surprise denouement pictorial fold and brief notes about My paperfolding design philosophy.
 
13th June 2018 - Diagrams for Dodecahedron with Windows - a 30-part modular design and Upstream - a pictorial landscape design.
 
6th June 2018 - Diagrams for Egypt and Obelisk - both minimalist landscapes with an Egyptian theme.
 
30th May 2018 - Diagrams for America - a pictorial landscape design.
 
23rd May 2018 - Diagrams for A Change of Perspective - a minimalist double image design, Waiting for the Ferry - a single sheet one fold design and Flatmates - a multiple sheet one fold design.
 
15th May 2018 - Diagrams for Find the Lady - a simple minimalist pictorial puzzle, and Fishwife - a related simple double image design.
 
10th May 2018 - Diagrams for Doggone Cool! - a simple pictorial / drawing with paper design.
 
12th April 2018 - Diagrams for Old Man with Stick/Staff - a simple pictorial / drawing with paper design.
 
3rd April 2018 - Diagrams for Yacht - a simple pictorial / drawing with paper design.
 
28th March 2018 - Diagrams for Banana Boat - a minimalist design.
 
22nd March 2018 - Diagrams for Bull - a minimalist design.
 
15th March 2018 - Diagrams for Twins - an active play origami design.
 
6th March 2018 - Diagrams for The Unconventional Cube and for the 3-fold minimalist version of The Paul Jackson Cube, which uses the same module.
 
21st February 2018 - Diagrams for The Line Between - a conceptual origami design.
 
14th February 2018 - Diagrams for Standing Heart
 
11th February 2018 - New page in the history section about Froebelian Paperfolding and the Kindergarten
 
25th January 2018 - Diagrams for Fred and new page in the history section about Komoso / Yakko-san
 
18th January 2018 - Diagrams for The Twisted Square Cube
 
12th January 2018 - New pages in the history section about Symmetrical Inkblots / Klecksography / Rorschach Test and Paper, Scissors, Stone.
 
11th January 2018 - Diagrams for Windfarm - a tessellation from a large square partly slit into smaller squares and half squares.
 
4th January 2018 - Diagrams for Banded Cubes and Stars.
 
21st December 2017 - Diagrams for Piranha - an active play paperfold.
 
21st December 2017 - Diagrams for The Broken Square Cube.
 
14th December 2017 - Diagrams for The Whirlpool Cube.
 
7th December 2017 - Diagrams for Skew Sonobe Modules, the Skew Sonobe Cube and the Decorative Skew Sonobe Cube.
 
30th November 2017 - Diagrams for The Cockeyed Cube - a development of the Mondrian Cube in which each pair of opposite faces of the cube are divided into rectangles of differing proportions.
 
22nd November 2017 - Diagrams for Mondrian Modules and the Mondrian Cube.
 
16th November 2017 - Diagrams for Stargate and Nexus - macromodular sculptures made using the Artifact macromodule.
 
15th November 2017 - New page in the history section about the Kan No Mado.
 
18th October 2017 - Diagrams for the Columbus Cube and Columbus Tower - a macromodular design developed from Paul Jackson's Cube.
 
10th October 2017 - New page in the history section A Timeline of Origami History.
 
9th October 2017 - New page in the history section about The Catherine of Cleves Box
 
8th October 2017 - New page in the history section about The Buddha Papers
 
5th October 2017 - Diagrams for Give Me Sunshine - a crease and collapse bas-relief of the sun and its rays.
 
27th September 2017 - Page about Minimalist Representational Origami updated. There is also an updated page about Minimalist Abstract Origami.
 
21st September 2017 - Diagrams for Knotfish - a fish developed from the traditional fold known as the Lover's Knot.
 
20th September 2017 - Full text of 1977 self-published booklet Geometrical Compound Origami or Meditations on a Waterbomb by Kenneth M Kawamura recording the early modular origami designs and discoveries of Kenneth Kawamura and Joe Power.
 
14th September 2017 - Diagrams for Clingons - alien beings that hang together to form chains.
 
9th September 2017 - Diagrams for Shipwreck - an unusual multiple sheet design.
 
7th September 2017 - New page added to the Origami Unfolded section of this site - A Technical Analysis of Origami Design
 
29th August 2017 - Swannet - a new minimalist design.
 
28th August 2017 - Revised version of A Family Tree of Origami and new page in the history section about The Fifth Pig and other propaganda Fold-Ups.
 
6th August 2017 - Diagrams for David's Star - a collapsible tessellation.
 
21st July 2017 - Diagrams for Flapping Parrot - an action design.
 
14th July 2017 - Diagrams for Cormorant on a Rock - a simple colour-change design.
 
4th July 2017 - New page in the history section about The Salt Cellar / Fortune Teller / Cootie Catcher
 
29th June 2017 - New page added about Everyday Origami
 
24th June 2017 - New pages in the history section about The Flapping Bird and The Orizuru or Paper Crane
 
7th June 2017 - New transformation puzzle 1, 2, 3, 4
 
20th May 2017 - Diagrams for Lateral Drinking Puzzle
 
13th May 2017 - Three more pages have been added to the History section of the site about The Chinese Junk, Troublewit and Consequences and Le Cadavre Exquis.
 
12th May 2017 - Diagrams for Five in a Row - a new transformation puzzle developed from Robert E Neale's Three in a Row. The solution can also be found on the Puzzles page.
 
4th May 2017 - Diagrams for Hag - a simple multiple sheet witch-like figure.
 
1st May 2017 - Diagrams for Delta Frame - a simple photograph or postcard frame.
 
27th April 2017 - Diagrams for Imp - a very simple multiple sheet design.. Also Solution to End to End and Solution to Trading Places puzzles.
 
26th April 2017 - Short essay - A brief theory of art - and new page about the History of paper planes.
 
22nd April 2017 - Diagrams for Elephants Extreme - a selection of minimalist designs for elephants.
 
13th April 2017 - Two more transformation puzzles - End to End - which provides a clue to solving Trading Places - and Limbo - which is a simplified version of Purgatory.
 
6th April 2017 - New transformation puzzle Trading Places by Robert E Neale - published here for the first time. Solution to follow shortly.
 
30th March 2017 - Diagrams for Rhinos 'R' Us / Out for the Count - a repositionable naive multiple piece design.
 
30th March 2017 - New poem The Alphabet Song.
 
23rd March 2017 - Diagrams for the classic Star of David by Larry Hart // Diagrams for the Coy Carp which is an adaptation of the traditional Kabuto / Japanese Goldfish design.
 
16th March 2017 - Diagrams for Solution to Three in a Row by Robert E Neale // Diagrams for Bowl on Legs - a previously unpublished old school design from 1988.
 
9th March 2017 - New puzzle Three in a Row by Robert E Neale - published here for the first time. Solution to follow next week.
 
7th March 2017 - Pictures added to Informal Partnership Art - Electra for designs by Yoshinobu Mizutani using Electra as a base for kusudamas.
 
2nd March 2017 - Diagrams for Just Lion Around - a simple two piece lion.
 
16th February 2017 - New poem - The vulture
 
16th February 2017 - Diagrams and template for Night and Day - a second apparatus puzzle based on the Woven Flexatube in which the object is to turn an entirely shaded tube - Night - into an entirely white one - Day.
 
9th February 2017 - Diagrams and template for Sheep and Goats by Robert E Neale - new diagrams for a classic apparatus puzzle from an origami master - plus The Woven Flexatube, an extract from my book Silverflexagons and the Flexatube which provides a full analysis of the flexagon underlying this puzzle.
 
1st February 2017 - Diagrams for Combination Silverhedra - modular origami polyhedra whose faces are a combination of silver triangles and other regular polygonal shapes.
 
25th January 2017 - Notes on Borromean Rings, Bands, Figures of Eight and Trefoils and diagrams for The Borromean Ring Release Effect
 
18th January 2017 - Diagrams for Purgatory - an apparatus puzzle in which a surprisingly large object must be passed through the centre of a flexible mat.
 
11th January 2017 - Diagrams for the Pocket Octahedron - an octahedron which can be stored flat in a pocket then popped back into shape between the fingers when required.
 
4th January 2017 - Diagrams for the 2-part Nolid Octahedron.