Iris Folding

Iris folding is a fun way to make beautiful greeting cards. It has nothing to do with origami and it does not involve folding of any kind. However, we include it in this web site because people who like tea bag folding (which does include paper folding) also like iris folding. The two crafts go hand in hand. The word “Iris” refers to the iris of an eye or a camera. The hole which allows light to enter is called a pupil or an aperture. The area that surrounds the pupil and aperture is called the iris. In the case of an eye, the iris is made of muscles which can contrict or dilate. In a camera, the iris is a series of moveable blades. The blades come together to decrease the aperture or pull apart to increase the aperture. In iris folding, strips of paper are layered upon each other to give a pattern similar to the iris of a camera. It’s easy to do and the results look magnificent!

How to make an Iris Fold

The first thing you need to do is to choose a template: triangle square pentagon design your own template Prepare a Cut-Out Border by cutting a shape out of a piece of paper. In our example, we cut out a heart shape from a piece of white paper. CircleOfCrafters.com has a nice selection of free Cut-Out borders. Cut strips of paper of varying lengths and widths. Make sure that the strips will cover the segments in the template you chose. The strips can be of the same color or of multiple colors (3 colors for triangle, 4 colors for square, or 5 colors for pentagon). Use removable tape and stick the template on top of your work table. Use removable tape and stick the Cut-Out Border on top of the template. Glue the strips of paper onto the Cut-Out border. Start from the outside of the template and work inwards. Avoid glueing the strips onto the template itself. When done, carefully remove the Cut-Out Border away from the template. Turn over and surprise yourself with your iris fold! Books about Iris Folding Iris Folding: Techniques for Papercrafters by Eileen Goddard Iris Folding by M Gaasenbeek and T Beauveser Elegant Iris Folding by M Gaasenbeek and T Beauveser Iris Folding for Christmas by M Gaasenbeek and T Beauveser Iris Folding: Festive Iris Folding by M Gaasenbeek and T Beauveser see all iris folding books