Scandinavian Star Ornament
Introduction: Scandinavian Star Ornament
A few years ago, I wanted to have an Ornament Exchange where each person made one ornament, the same one, for the number of people coming to the exchange. So if there were 10 people coming, each person would bring 10 of the same ornament that they made. Then, they would come to the gathering and exchange, leaving with one of their own, and 9 different ornaments from each of the other guests. This Scandinavian Star was the one that I chose to make when I hosted my exchange. This one in particular is made from an old shirt and pair of paints. Although, you can make with just about any fabric from traditional locations (fabirc stores, etc).
Supplies
* Scissors
* Rotery Cutter
* Cutting Matte
* Straight Edge/ Clear Ruler
* At least two different fabrics, up to four different fabrics
* An Iron
Step 1: Finding Your Material
You can look to a variety of places to find your material. In my case, I looked at some clothes that I was going to throw out because they had been worn or torn in some way. I chose a shirt with a lobster pattern and some olive colored pants. But, this decoration can also be done with material bought from a local store as well. All you need to make sure is that you have enough of your recycled material to make at least one strip 3 1/2 inches by 12 inches. You will need up to 4 strips of material - so each one can be different, although I made mine with two strips of each color.
Step 2: Ironing Before Cutting
If you iron before cutting, your edges will be a lot smoother. Plus, your material will fold more easily when the time comes. At this point, you may also consider using spray starch to help give your material a little bit of stiffness, since some materials are "softer" or "more flimsy" than others. Using some sort of cotton material is best, but even within cotton materials, some are stiffer than others.
Step 3: "Pre-cutting"
In this step, you are actually just cutting out flat portions of fabiric that you can use to cut the pieces you need later on. At this time, cut out the seems, pockets and other accessories that your clothing might have. In the case of the pants I used, I cut out several internal and external pockets, as well as some exterior decorative buttons and tabs. 316
As for the shirt, I cut out the collar, cuffs and seems that linked the sleeves to the body of the shirt. In both cases, there was plenty of fabric left for multiple stars, like we will make, or enough fabric for another project if you have one in mind.
Step 4: Cutting Down to Equal Strips
Once you have pre cut your fabric for the largest pieces you can, iron your fabric one more time. Then using a cutting board, rottery cutter and straight edge (like the clear ruler pictured) measure as many 3 1/2 inch by 12 inch strips as you want from that material. Remember, you can use 4 different colors of material for this project. Altough, I did use two of the blue, and two of the olive for the star shown. If you have the ability, you can cut multiple layers of material with the rotery cutter, so if given the opportunity, that's what I would do to save time. Make sure that all edges are square / straight to help your final pieces be ready for folding in the next step.
Step 5: Iron Folding
To this point, this might be the "most difficult" part only because it takes the most time. Taking each strip of material, you will fold each one up to 4 times. First you will fold it in half lengthwise, or as my middle school kids used to say, like a hotdog. Then iron that fold. Next, unfold that fold to then fold and iron each side in half to the middle, one side at a time. Once each side has been ironed down, leave them folded, and fold then entire piece in half along the first fold you made. Essentially, you are putting the raw edges of the strip of material in the middle of the piece, or hiding the edges, so they don't fray. Do the same process for all 4 pieces of material you have cut to the 3 1/2 by 12 inch strips. Now that you have all 4 strips done - the only thing left to do is fold them in half vertically - so they are half the length ( or about 6 inches long ).
Step 6: Fabric Origami Time
Now is the time to be something of an Origami Ninja - because there's a bit of folding that will happen. The two main tools that will be very helpful will be an iron and some scissors, in addition to your fabric. 316