Saturday, July 15, 2023

Tricksy Folded Wrapper

This is a clever way to make a protective wrapper for a book. It is made from a single sheet of paper or folder stock. I saw this idea on outofbinding.com. She had received a package wrapped using this technique and posted photos of it on her website, calling it the turning triangle. I thought it looked like a great idea so I wanted to replicate it.

Here it is, fully open with the book in position.


A while ago, I posted the video on Instagram and several folks asked if there were instructions for making it, so I made this rough diagram to help you figure it out.

Disclaimer: This is just a sketch. The dimensions shown here are not set to fit any particular object. You should refer to the tips below to determine the actual measurements you need. Black lines are cuts and pink lines are folds.

Tricksy Folded Wrapper Diagram
You can click on the diagram to view a larger version.

Of course the dimensions are determined by the size of the book, or object, that you want to wrap. The dimensions are also affected by the thickness of the paper that you use for the wrapper. Thicker paper will create more obvious variations in the dimensions. I find the best approach is to have the book in place as you make each fold.
  • A, B, C, D, E, F
    Each of these are based on the Height and Width of the book but there will be some small variation to accommodate the thickness of the wrapper material. A, B, C are landscape oriented. D, E, F are portrait oriented.
  • G
    This piece can be used to create a flap. The height is the height of the book and the width would be determined by how much of a flap you want to have. The flap can either fold and tuck under (as in the video above) or fold it over and attach a string to wrap around. Also, it could be on the other side attached to D, depending on how you want to use it. Alternatively, it could be cut off entirely.
  • H, I
    Book Width X Book Thickness, with some variation to accommodate the thickness of the wrapper material.
  • J, K, L
    Book Height X Book Thickness, with some variation to accommodate the thickness of the wrapper material.
  • M, N
    These should be the same length.
  • The turning triangle
    From my experiments, it seems that the size of this triangle is negotiable. It can be small or large, doesn't matter. I think the key to success is ensuring that you have 90 degree angles at the two spots indicated on the diagram.
If you are familiar with other folded wrappers, this should be straight-forward. As with most things, practice is the key to making a perfect wrapper. Have fun!