How to Make Danish Christmas Heart Ornaments
In Denmark, children learn to make woven heart baskets called “yule hearts” that hang from the Christmas tree and contain small cookies and sweets. Traditionally, these hearts use both red and white paper to represent the colors of the Danish flag. The papers are woven together to create an interlaced pattern of the two colors. Simpler versions of these hearts can use two strips woven together, while more complex ones use many strips, wavy lines or shapes to create many intriguing designs. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Fold a square piece of red paper in half to make a rectangle.
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Fold the rectangle in half again into a square.
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Open the last fold and cut along the crease.
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Repeat with the white sheet of paper.
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Hold the white sheet with the fold down and stack the red sheet on top of the white sheet. Round off the top edges opposite the fold in the paper with a pair of scissors. These will be the rounded tops of the heart.
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Cut two slits from the fold to about 1 inch from the top of the rounded edge while the two colors are still stacked.
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Separate the colors with the red on the right and the white on the left. Each piece now has three strips that will weave together.
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Insert the first strip of the red paper into the first strip of the white paper. Insert the middle strip of the white paper into the first strip of the red paper. Insert the first red strip into the last white strip.
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Pull the red paper farther up to the rounded top of the white paper to make room for the next layer of weaving.
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Insert the first white strip into the middle red strip. Insert the middle red strip into the middle white strip. Insert the last white strip into the middle red strip.
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Pull the red paper farther up to the rounded top of the white paper to make room for the next layer of weaving.
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Insert the last red strip into the first white strip. Insert the middle white strip into the last red strip. Insert the last red strip into the last white strip.
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Cut a piece of red or white paper or string and glue it to the inside to make a handle.
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Tips & Warnings
When weaving, the strip will go into or over other strips. Since the piece of paper is folded and the strips are cut from the fold upwards, the strips are really double thick. To go into another strip, open the strip slightly and insert one strip into the other. To go over a strip, insert the strip that you are going over, into the one you are working with.
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