Origami Container

There are a large variety of fabric containers such as pouches, wallets, bags, and backpacks for outdoor applications such as camping and cycling. These applications require protecting the contents of those containers from damage by harsh conditions. To do so, several techniques are commonly employed:

The origami container described here keeps these design goals and introduces a high degree of user configurability in virtue of borrowing techniques from the art of paper folding (or origami).

The origami container () consists of a square of fabric () with a number of holes along its perimeter (). Those holes pass through a hem () which can accommodate plastic battens ().

shows the square as folded into a number of traditional origami shapes such as the rectangle (), the triangle (), the square (), and the blintz (). That folding can happen either when the article is created or during subsequent reconfiguration by the user.

shows a fabric square with a handle () and holes that allow a cord () to pass through. These holes allow multiple hems to be stitched together (), creating a “mechanical seam” between separate articles. The end of the cord used to stitch the seam () may be tied in a knot, left dangling in order to fasten the article to something else, or attached dynamically with various fasteners.

shows a cord () used to stitch the seam, which binds the edges and corners of the hems of one or more articles (). This process can create relatively static or dynamic seams. For example, fastening the hem with an overlock stitch creates a seam which is relatively static, or at least time-consuming to undo. Seams can be created dynamically by leaving them unstitched and binding them with various temporary closures, which allows quick access to the contents of the container.

The origami container incorporates battens to stiffen the hem and to help maintain its folded shape. The use of battens () ensures that hems are bound to one another between the points bound by the cord (). Thus, the battens () that are shown incan be fastened together by a cord passing through their holes () which creates a closed seam along their entire length, and therefore along the entire hem.

A batten-reinforced seam can be dynamically “locked” in a number of ways.displays a closed seam () and a seam () in which the battens are bent open. By tightly fastening a cord across the hem, a bend is introduced in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the battens which secures the contents of the container by sandwiching the battens together.shows an alternate implementation where the battens may be folded over one another to create a “rolled seam” (), as used on various dry bags.shows one hem being secured to another by using a hardware clip (), which either conjoins the battens directly () or secures a rolled seam to prevent that seam from unrolling.

The joints between the battens along the perimeter of the square determine where the article can fold: in general, more complex origami shapes require more folds, and thus a larger number of joints.shows a small square () with rigid sides, which can only be folded into simple triangles from corner to corner. A square with at least two battens on each side () enables the creation of several origami bases as in.

It is possible to omit battens entirely and to use cord within the fabric hem. While this allows folds at any location, it does not provide a skeleton to hold a given shape, and therefore it relies on the cord to create structural integrity.shows the most simple example of this construction: a pouch () that is closed using a drawstring () within the hem (). Other configurations are possible, but if the hems are not pulled together, the space between the stitches may allow smaller contents to fall out (i.e. because that space is not reinforced by battens).

Because the battens determine the shape of the edges, non-linear battens may be used to create containers with non-linear sides. For example, battens with some degree of in-plane curvature may be used to create articles with non-square seams, as with the round batten () in, which has holes () that line up with the holes of regular battens to create an open tube.

Additional structure may be added to a folded article by using internal hems and battens, as opposed to relying exclusively on the hems and battens along the perimeter. This additional structure is necessary to distinguish between origami shapes such as the “origami square” and the “origami blintz”, which are otherwise structurally equivalent (). This increased structure allows the creation of arbitrarily complex shapes such as the pinwheel (, steps-).

As an example of a more practical configuration, the square () depicted incan be folded in quarters to create an article four layers thick (in). Binding the left edge with a running stitch and leaving the other hems unstitched creates a pocket-sized container with two accessible compartments. To secure the contents of those compartments, the unstitched hem can be temporarily sealed by tightening a length of cord () across a flap () on the unstitched batten. This operation binds the fabric hem between the bent plastic battens in a manner similar to the closure of a roll-top dry sack. Contrariwise, loosening that cord allows the battens to separate, which enables access to the compartments.