5 Reasons to use Real Origami Paper

5 reasons to use real origami paper for your folding projects – plus an origami dress tutorial that is super cute!

When I was looking for something else in a drawer the other day I found my stash of origami paper. As an ex-Japanese language teacher, I collected quite a bit of paper over the years and taught many classes where we finished up with a little paper folding. The students loved it – and so did I!

Some of the papers were so beautiful that I didn’t want to use them but I know that when I let the students use “real” origami paper, they always thought it was extra special and the results were inevitably better than when we used coloured copy paper instead. The copy paper may have been cheaper and easier to get hold of here in Australia, but the origami paper was worth it.

So in case you’re wondering here is my top 5 reasons why it is better to use real origami paper rather than copy paper for your origami creations.

5 Reasons to use Real Origami Paper:

#1 Origami paper is thinner than copy paper. These means that the folds are flatter and your finished creation is less bulky. This can make a big difference on a very tricky origami with many folds.

#2 Origami paper is pre-cut into perfect squares. There is nothing worse than trying to do precise folding and finding that your paper is not quite square or one edge is a little wonky from the trimming you’ve done to start with.

Tip: If you do have to trim your own square, using a paper trimmer will be more precise than scissors.

#3 Origami paper comes in lots of patterns and solid colours. I have seen animal print papers, shiny, glitter or matte papers, spots, stripes and novelty patterns on papers as well as every colour of the rainbow – prefect for 31 days of rainbows!

#4 These papers have precise sizing so they are perfect if you want to make a whole set of things the same size to then fit together. For example, a couple of years ago at Creative Craft Retreat we offered a class making an origami ball. Each piece was individually folded then they were all stitched together to make the ball. If different size papers had been used then the pieces would have all been different sizes and would not have fit together at the end.

#5 Origami papers can be double-sided, either with print on one side and pattern on the other, or combinations of patterns and plains. This can look great in certain origami folds where both sides of the paper can be seen in the finished project.

Origami Dress Tutorial

I couldn’t resist folding some rainbow coloured dresses to go with these tips. These would be super cute as gift tags or on the front of cards. Here’s where I found the tutorial on Youtube:

More Origami Projects:

     

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post to Amazon. This just means that if you click through and choose to purchase something I may get a small commission – at no extra cost to you, of course. This helps me keep the content here at The Crafty Mummy free for everyone.