How to Make a Flag Book
Directions for a Flag Book
For a flag book, start with a large sheet of paper. 11x17 and legal sized paper work well,
since the main thing you need is length. I almost always use cardstock for my minibooks
simply because it holds up better.
Cut the paper to approximate dimensions of
18x6" or 44x15 cm.
The exact size of the paper does not matter.
You can use any size of paper to do this; you
just want a long rectangle.
Fold the rectangle in half and then open it up.
Fold each side in towards the middle,
shutterfold style. Now you've divided your
paper (whatever size it is) into fourths.
This next picture is important. Now the
folds on your paper neatly divide it into
sections. The outer fourths are the
covers and the center half (two fourths)
becomes the accordion spine of your
flag book.
Now begin to make your accordion spine by
folding the center half into "mountain" folds.
(They stick up like mountains, so they are
called mountain folds.) There are two
mountains here.
Now take one of those mountains and divide it
into two smaller mountains.
The goal here is to turn that entire center half
into four mountains of the same size.
There should now be two covers on the sides
and four equal mountains in the middle. You’ve
completed folding the base for the flag book.
Here is the base from a top view.
And this is what it looks like closed.
Here are the accordion folds inside.
Since the base of the flag book is
complete, let's move to the flags!
Use the measurements of a cover (one of
those original fourths the page was
folded into) to determine the size of your
flags. You need to cut four pieces of
paper because in this example there are
four mountains. Cut them slightly smaller
than the cover measurement -- 1 cm
smaller in width and length is about right.
Now cut your papers in half so that you've
got eight flags. Four mountains need eight
flags.
Here's a layout of all the pieces of the flag
book. We've got a base folded with an
accordion spine and eight flags --four for the
top and four for the bottom.
Here is another very important photo. Study this.
Maybe even mark your flag book like this. The marks
won't show because you'll be affixing the flags on those
areas. L for left and R for right.
Start with the bottom flags that point to the
right. Affix a flag to the left side of each
mountain fold on my Rs. Be sure to keep
them all lined up neatly.
Glue, rubber cement or double sided tape
be used with equal success. Choose
can
whatever adhesive you like best.
When the bottom row of pink flags is done, move
on to the top row of blue flags. The procedure is
the same, but attach them to the other side of
each mountain fold.
Here is the completed book, closed.
And here it is with the cover open without pulling out
the spine. But that's boring!
Stretch it all the way out! Voila! The flag book is
complete.
Flag Book Variations

Change the size of the flag book -- very long and narrow flags or chunky, fat flags.

Experiment with different shapes for the flags -- round the corners or try triangles What about
octagons?

Use two rows, three rows, or even four rows of flags.

Vary the number of flags. Remember, for each mountain fold in the spine of the book, you will
have one set of flags.