In folding an irregularly shaped tent, I managed to get the shape of a triangle, which was evenly thick. Unfortunately, the best way to fold a tent is in a rectangle that is evenly thick. How can I fold a triangle into a rectangle without making some parts of it thicker than others?

(In reply to re(3): Solution? (spoilers) by spoonie)

The scalene triangle as a whole would be asymmetrical, but when the top vertex was brought down to the base, far enough to one side so that the fold line was parallel to the base, the uncovered area at the left would be isosceles as would the uncovered area at the right.  These two isosceles triangles would be unequal to each other in size, but indeed both would be isosceles.

In obtuse triangles, it's the obtuse angle that should be chosen as the vertex to bring the other side as the base, so that the needed point on the base does not fall outside the base.

Posted by Charlie on 2005-01-01 17:03:51