How to Make Moravian Star Ornaments
The beautiful Moravian Star is originally from Niesky, Germany. They are thought to have started out as part of a geometry lesson at an all-boys school in the early 1800s. Peter Verbeek started making the stars to sell in about 1880, and their popularity soon caught on. During WWI, a group of Moravians in the United States continued to make the stars after the original German factory closed. The stars remain to this day a symbol of Christmastime to many. With a little practice, you can learn how to make these elegant stars.
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Things You'll Need
- Paper (8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet)
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Glue
- Thread
- Needle
Instructions
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1
Cut out eight 1/2 inch strips from the long edge of the paper (the strips will measure 1/2 inch by 11 inches).
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2
Glue the ends of two strips together (overlapping about 1/2 inch) to form four long strips, and let dry.
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3
Cut all short edges of the strips from the side on a diagonal to form a point at one end.
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4
Lay two strips out vertically in front of you. In the middle of the strips, place a third strip over the first vertical strip and under the second strip. Take the last strip and weave under the first vertical strip and over the second vertical strip. Tighten the strips together.
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5
Take the top left strip and fold down (over the point where the horizontal strips overlap it). Skip the next strip and fold the bottom left strip over to the right. Skip the next strip and fold the bottom right strip up. Skip the next strip and fold the top right strip over to the left, sliding under the loop formed by left strip. Tighten.
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6
Flip the project over and weave together like in step 5. Flip the project over again.
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7
Beginning with the top right strip, fold it 90 degrees under itself to make a triangle
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8
Fold the strip down to the front to make a larger triangle and crease.
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9
Bring the rightmost side of the strip to the middle (fold the right side of the strip on top of the left).
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10
Insert the tail of the strip in the pocket that formed at the bottom of the triangle after you folded over the top right strip in Step 5.
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11
Pull the strip tight and the point should look like this.
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12
Turn the project counter-clockwise and repeat steps 7-11 on the three right-hand strips in the remaining pairs (skip every other strip). You now have four points.
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13
Flip the project over and repeat steps 7 to 12 on the last four strips. You now have eight outside points total.
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14
Starting with the top right horizontal strip, fold it over on itself (it should look like a ribbon) and feed into the lower left pocket.
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15
The strip should be coming out of the bottom left point. Pull tight.
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16
You now have one point that looks like this.
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17
Turn the project counter-clockwise and repeat steps 14 to 16 for the last three strips. You now have four points.
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18
Flip the project over and repeat steps 14 to 17 for the remaining four strips. You now have the final four points made.
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19
Cut the excess strips off close to the outer points.
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20
Pass the needle and thread through an outer point. Knot the thread to form a loop. Cut off the excess thread and hang.
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Tips & Warnings
Cover the ends of the paper strips in tape if it becomes hard to feed them through the pockets. If using wider or thinner paper strips, make sure to change the length accordingly. The wider the paper, the longer the strip should be. Use different colored or patterned paper to make the stars more interesting. Glitter can be applied to the stars once they are complete to mimic snow. Thread numerous stars together to make a festive garland.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Stefanie Landes
