Back when I was doing a fair amount of macrame’ I had several dozen pattern books and several hardbacks with all sorts of variations on the theme of pot hangers and such. Those books are now stashed away in an area that’s too much trouble to go unearth, so I’m hoping for your help in identifying one of the features of one of the macrame’ designs. One of the most intriguing patterns involved a technique that resulted in a spiral shape as the upper portion, the more decorative section, of the hanger above where the support arms came down to form the actual hanger proper.
I suspect, though I have yet to find an actual example, the same basic idea is used in some origami foldings. But all the web serches I have tried have either lacked enough correct terminology or failed for some other reason.
I’ll try to describe how to make a simple version of this thing using a piece of paper so that hopefully you can make one for yourself and then be able to tell me what its name is. And if you know where to locate a picture of one, a link to that would be terrific.
Okay. First get a thinnish strip of paper, at least 8-10" in length and something on the order of 1/4" wide, no wider than 3/4". One of the things I will usually fold up and use for this folding task is a used potato chip bag (or something with those dimensions). I will fold it lengthwise as many times as it takes to get the width down to less than an inch.
Next, make a 90-degree fold at roughly the middle of the strip (or folded bag or whatever). The result should look like a big “L” with roughly equal length arms or branches or whatever you want to call the parts of the “L.” Turn this “L” shape so that one of the arms is the one on top. Obviously, the other arm will be on the bottom. 
Now, this next fold is the key to the pattern. It will be repeated using both arms until the whole strip is reduced to roughly a little square. The move is to make another 90-degree fold, using the bottom arm of the “L” – folding it under itself – and having the new fold come alongside and parallel to the top arm of the “L.” The result of this second fold should make a “tuning fork” looking shape with a “V” on one end and two flaps parallel to each other, with one flap being on top and the other flap being on the bottom. If you don’t have that shape, repeat the previous step until you do. The edges of the flaps of the “tuning fork” should be touching each other and facing the same direction.
As I said earlier, if you have the right shape at this point, the remaining folds involve taking the lowest “flap” and folding it under itself at a 90-degree angle so that the folded piece “catches” or “locks” under the portion being folded under. After this third fold you should have the makings of a square with two flaps sticking out at 90-degrees to each other. The flaps should be held in place by the folds so that the shape is “locked.”
The rest of the pattern is just taking the flaps and folding them under each other until they’re all inside the little square. you can either alternate flaps being folded or work all the way down one flap before starting on the other flap. Either way, you just keep folding the flaps under themselves at 90-degree angles until there’s nothing left to fold. Depending on how long the original strip was and how thin, you could wind up with the “square” having a “depth” of several inches – or more – and resembling a little box sort of thing.
The neat thing about the finished shape is that you can grasp the very ends of the folds and pull them away from each other and the shape takes on a spiral or helix form.
What do you call such a form?
If my instructions need clarifying, please say so.
When I use this method to fold up used bags and such they take up less space in the trash and don’t come undone like they do if you just wad them up. You’d be amazed at how many empty bags fit in my trash can before I have to empty it. 
