How to Fold an 8-Page Mini Book

Monday, January 07, 2019

A few weeks ago, I created an 8-page mini book for Christmas that my French students illustrated before the holidays. It was a real hit among all of my classes and many of my students put great effort into their drawings and colouring. Because of this, I plan on creating more in the future and yes, I will be sure to share! In the meantime, I have put together a little tutorial on how to fold and cut so that you can turn the letter size sheet into an 8-page mini book without glue or staples.

Here are few things to keep in mind:

A hotdog fold consists of folding the sheet on the middle of its widest part, similar to a long bun that folds over a hotdog.
A hamburger fold, in contrast, consists of folding the sheet on the middle of its shortest part.
Ensure that the folds are as precise as possible and crease the folds firmly.
It is recommended that you fold your paper so that the printed side is always visible. I find this makes it easier to fold it into a book in the final step since it reduces the number of folds you will have to reverse.

How to Fold an 8-Page Mini Book

Step 1: Fold your paper in half using a hotdog fold.

Step 2: Unfold the paper, turn it 90 degrees and fold it in half again using a hamburger fold.

8-page mini book - Step 2: hamburger fold.

Step 3: While still folded, fold it again using the hotdog fold.

Step 4: Unfold the hotdog so it is back in the hamburger fold, as in Step 2, and cut along the centre line/fold halfway up. Important: Be sure you start cutting from the folded edge, not the open edge. The dotted line on my livret de Noël indicates the cut line.

8-page mini book - Step 4: cut along dotted line

Step 5: Unfold the paper completely. You will notice the cut is in the centre of the paper. Now return to the original hotdog fold in Step 1.

Step 6: Begin folding your paper into a book by holding either ends of the hotdog and pushing them towards each other. You should notice that the centre will open up to form a diamond shape.

Step 7: Continue pushing the two ends together until the pages begin to lay on top of each other. Look for the book cover and fold the last page back by reversing the fold. This is the tricky part but it gets easier with practise.

I hope to have a generic template posted soon if anyone wishes to have students write and illustrate their own stories. Welcome back et bonne année!