In my last post I showed you some little books I made using various sew, and no-sew techniques. I thought the map fold book was especially fun. I assume the name is because this is how you would fold down a huge map to fit in your pocket and be usable as you walk around the countryside.

This post is to, first, show you how to make one, and second, do some fun things with them. So here goes:

(a little note if you’re reading the email version of this. Videos don’t seem to get sent in the email version so, if you want to see the little video folding tutorials, click the “read on blog” link at the top and it’ll open in my website.)

Square map fold instructions

A Square map fold book starts with a square piece of paper. See further down for rectangle instructions.

First I tried to create a photo tutorial, but you have to open out some folds and then pop them inwards. Very tricky to show in photos! But super simple to actually do, so I made video tutorials. If you’ve ever done much origami, then this will be familiar, and it’s pretty simple and quick for anyone. (Yes, my nails always look like that. I paint them about once a month and they start to chip immediately. I embrace the aesthetic.)

Rectangle map fold instructions

Very similar to the square version, but you start with a rectangular piece of paper. Some instructions for the rectangular version involve measuring and marking, but this method doesn’t need any of that.

Ok I’ve folded my paper, now what?

Once you’ve folded your piece of paper, you can leave it as it is, or add a cover to protect it. You could also make a few and stick them together to create a concertina chain booklet. Very arty!

I kept mine as a single page and added covers. To add a cover, cut a strip of paper or card slightly larger, and twice as long as your folded map. Fold the cover piece in half and glue the map so that the pointy end touches the centre fold line. If you glue it away from the centre fold then the book won’t be able to open flat. If you want the book to lay completely flat when closed, then you can also cut the cover in two along the centre fold line.

Oh, the possibilities!

I think these would make great greetings cards. The cover could be made to look like a wrapped present and then inside you can write your message and draw whatever gift you like. Flowers would be cool.

This day though, I had it in my head that I wanted it to be a plate of food. so I followed the square map fold instructions but started with a circular piece of paper.

My daughter joined in and we drew and decorated various circles. She drew a map on hers and chose a gelli print card for the cover. It turned out beautiful!

I wanted to wrap my fish and chips in newspaper, and I think I spent longer creating this custom front page than I did making the map fold!

I used a template from google slides (which I didn’t even know was a thing before today: google slides old newspaper template) and found photos on Unsplash. It turned out pretty great:

I also made a takeaway pizza:

I’d love to see any other ideas you guys come up with! Drop me an email or a comment.