Methods of making soft absorbent sheets and absorbent sheets made by such methods

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

• compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a web of cellulosic fibers;
• creping the web under pressure in a creping nip defined between a transfer surface and a structuring fabric, the structuring fabric including (i) knuckles formed on warp yarns of the structuring fabric and (ii) pocket regions formed between the knuckles, with the knuckles being positioned along lines that are angled relative to a machine direction (MD) of travel of the fabric, wherein the angle of the lines relative to the machine direction is between 100 and 30°;
• and
• drying the web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet, wherein the absorbent cellulosic sheet includes a plurality of projected regions projecting from the absorbent sheet, the projected regions being formed in folds that are curved relative to a machine direction of the absorbent sheet, with ends of the curved folds being positioned on opposite sides of the projected regions such that one of the ends of each of the curved folds is positioned downstream from other ends of the curved folds in the machine direction of the absorbent cellulosic sheet, and
• wherein, in the absorbent cellulosic sheet, apexes of the curved folds are positioned downstream in the machine direction of the absorbent cellulosic sheet, connecting regions connect the projected regions of the absorbent cellulosic sheet, and each of the projected regions includes a plurality of the curved folds.