Welcome to the first post in the Byopia Press Advent Calendar for 2021. This year the theme is "Simple, Occasionally Unusual, and Mostly Non-adhesive Structures for Artists' Books". (If you are looking for more 'seasonal' projects, check the links at the end of this post.)

One of the easiest-looking book forms is the accordion (or concertina or leporello, depending on where you live). It can be used on its own or as a support for other structures, and is probably one of the most-used forms in non-adhesive binding. It can be, however, quite difficult to fold a perfectly even accordion. Today's post  will look at three different techniques. (There will be more methods shown on Day Three, December 3.) Some methods will work better for you than others. When I taught weaving I always tried to offer students several alternative ways of doing things. I was frequently asked "What's the Right Way?" I would answer "The one that works for you." This holds true for folding accordions as well.

Method Number One: The End-to-end Fold

The end-to-end fold starts like this: make a fold the width of the page you want. It continues by folding back and forth for the length of your paper, attempting to match each new fold to a previous fold.

Read more of this post