A few weeks ago now, I had the opportunity to participate in the show “Silence, ça grouse!” » ! As part of this shoot, I proposed folding small origami pockets to store a few seeds. It turns out that it is a traditional Japanese folding, which we call “ tato”.

The term tato refers to paper packaging and more specifically the type of small paper envelope that I will present to you below. There are a multitude of possible opening patterns, more or less complex.

This folding is ideal for slipping in a few seeds for sunny days but it can also be used to hold needles, a few buttons, a little change, a little sweet word...

If you want to get your bearings with this folding before starting with your “final” paper, do not hesitate to practice with some plain origami papers, less expensive, like those from the TOYO brand for example. They have the advantage of being colored on one side and white on the other, which allows you to clearly identify the front from the back, without getting lost in the steps.

THE SMALL “TATO” PAPER POUCH

In order to make a small “tato” pouch in Japanese paper, you will need:

• 1 square of Japanese paper measuring 15cm by 15cm (colored on one side and white on the other) in the colors and patterns of your choice (1 square corresponds to 1 pocket ).

AT THE END OF THIS TUTORIAL, discover a video which covers the folding steps, presented below.

1. Take your square of Japanese paper, white side towards you. Mark the medians and diagonals. Unfold. Fold the tip (indicated by the red dot) at the top left towards the center of your fold.
2. Repeat the operation for the other three points (indicated by the red dots) of your fold (top right as well as bottom left and right).
3. You get a smaller square. Grasp the four points (indicated by the red dots) located in the center of your fold, one after the other and fold them to the edge of your fold.
4. Grab the 4 folds thus formed (indicated by the red lines) and unfold them. From this step, depending on the folding carried out, you can vary the final pattern (find two other examples of folding below) .
5. You get an octagon. Fold the bottom fold (indicated by the red line) towards the center of your fold, along the horizontal median.
6. Fold the left fold (indicated by the red line) towards the center of your fold, along the vertical median.
7. Fold the top fold (indicated by the red line) towards the center of your fold, along the horizontal median.
8. Fold the right fold (indicated by the red line) towards the center of your fold, along the vertical median.
9. You get this. Grab the bottom right part (as shown in the photo), lift the center of your fold by sliding one of your fingers and tuck it inside.
10. You get this. TADA Your little paper “tato” pouch is finished!

As we indicated to you in step 4, it is possible to vary the folding in order to obtain a different pattern at the opening of the pocket. Below are three variations that we wanted to offer you: the “traditional” opening, the “butterfly” and the “windmill”.

Here is the rendering of these three variations with the papers from our “Garden” range that we chose for this tutorial. What do you think ?

If you liked the assortment of Japanese papers presented throughout this article, it is available in different sets of origami squares, under the name “Garden”:

• 20 Origami Papers - 10 x 10 cm - Garden
• 20 Origami Papers - 15 x 15 cm - Garden
• 5 Origami Papers - 20 x 20 cm - Garden - 20G

This allows you to vary the size of your tattoo pouches.

If you would like to discover my passage in “Silence, it grows!” », from the broadcast of December 18, 2022, here is the link to the france.tv website !

I hope you enjoyed this article ! Don’t hesitate to share your creations with us on social networks or in comments (@adelineklam)

Warmly,

Adeline