Subscribe Now!Towel Origami
April 29th, 2007 by ben
If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you’ve probably seen towel origami. The stewards or cleaning crew take a large bath towel and fold it into fun shapes (typically animals), and sometimes accessorize it to look more realistic.
On some cruises, towel creations are often a bit rushed and shoddy, but I thought these animals were atypically great.
These have been around for hundreds of years, but Carnival Cruise Lines has been credited for making them popular again (they even sell a how-to book).
What has always amazed me is that they’re all created from a single towel.
OK, quick … what is the first thing you think of when you see this picture:
A Ninja, right? It’s supposed to be a monkey, but I like the idea of cleaning crews toiling away folding up Ninjas a lot better.
If you want to learn how to make your own, here is Royal Carribean’s Towel Folding How-to (for non-commercial use only). All pics via Spluch.
I never knew such a phenomenon existed. I MUST start getting out more…
Actually, some of these are made from two or three towels. The monkey, for instance, requires multiple towels.
Still, very nicely done. I think it is a good thing to know how to take mundane objects and transform them into something fun and interesting or useful. This is part of the fascination of origami. It’s somehow very rewarding to take a few random objects and make them into a diverting juggling act, or turn a bit of rope into useful or even life-saving tools with appropriate knots. Recently, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment published a guide on how to fold Furoshiki (http://www.hiratadigital.com/ministryenvironment.html), turning a square of cloth into a wide variety of wrappers or carriers.
Being able to do these things keeps the mind active, and encourages a stance of MacGuyver-like resourcefulness. In addition, you will never be bored if you can make useful things out of ordinary objects.
Love it!
I’m going to look for the Carnival book at our library. I doubt it’s there but I can always request it. I just love these little animals! How neat would it be to leave one of these for the little ones to discover as they get out of the tub??
Thanks Ben!
Thats amazing! Never seen that before, and you are right! The monkey does look like a Ninja. LOL
I thought I had too much time on my hands because I roll all my towels.
The last one is my favourite. That takes real art.
You can even learn to make one here…
http://www.EasyTowelAnimals.com
Hope this helps.
Leslie
Oh sweet ninja!!!! I’d buy the book for that one!
Nice little monkey there.
I bought two DVDs on towel origami last month at http://www.FoldingMagic.com and loved them. The host teaches 7 different creations in detail on each DVD. A LOT better than some of the books out there on towel origami.
He also gives some helpful tips on what types of towels to use and how to make them extra special.
There is also a free video on the site that teaches you one of the creations. No form the fill out to see this video.
Sharon
realy great i want more foldings