December 23, 2022

Folded Star Ornament Tutorial

A no-sew project to make. Over the years, we’ve made Swedish Woven Heart ornaments, both paper and felt ones. They are so fun for the kids to make, hang, and then look inside to find chocolate treats inside them on Christmas morning. A few times I taught this craft project with their classes at school, which was also fun.

I’ve seen these woven star projects shared occasionally on social media, and I thought they’d be fun to make. My daughter and I wanted to make some, so I picked up some Christmas themed fabrics from the local shop.

Found a tutorial and had my daughter watch it, so she could make some for her tree. It didn’t go very smoothly. So I made some with her and it went a little better, but it seemed to me there has to be some better way to explain it. Some things to pay attention to in order for it to make it less frustrating.

As we worked through it together, we both figured out a few things that weren’t pointed out in the video we watched, things that would make it go much smoother. I’m sure there are tutorials out there that may have been better, but I didn’t want to go searching on the internet when we had already figured out the concept and had made some observations. My daughter discovered a tip that made the last folding step easier to do and I also realized certain things would help the points look great every time.

I thought we could write this tutorial for others, in case others have run into some of the same issues or were also struggling to understand the technique. It actually is less confusing when these things are given attention, and we then found it relaxing to make them while chatting and listening to carols. The folding part went much quicker, taking about 15 minutes each.

Watch our video tutorial here, using 3 1/2″ x 14″ strips. It shows me making a star from start to finish.

Materials

For each star, 2 coordinating or complimentary fabrics: large scrap (at least 7″ x 13″), fat quarter, or quarter yard of each.

Floss or ribbon for hanger

Fabric glue, we used Unique Stitch

Starch alternative spray (optional, but helpful), we used Flatter

Roll and Press tool, such as Clover Perfect Press (optional, but helpful)

Iron/board

Scissors

Cutting Instructions

For each star, cut (4) strips of fabric 3 1/2″ x 13″, 2 of each color.

We also tested a couple other widths, but very much liked the size of the finished star when using 3 1/2″ wide strips best.

If cutting 4″ wide, then you will need more length. 4″ x 15 is recommended.

If cutting 3″ wide, you’ll need less length. 3″ x 11 1/2″ is recommended.

In the end, I did not care for the amount of waste and plan to experiment further with the lengths. They do take a fair amount of fabric to begin with, so there’s that as well. You can get 4-6 strips from a fat quarter, 3 1/2″ wide, but one would need to be cut in a different direction. I found cutting from yardage I could cut 2 strips, 3 1/2″ x wof, and that yielded 6 strips in the same direction (3 stars worth). When buying more fabric, a quarter yard cut was better for this project than fat quarters.

You can make them in pretty much any size, I suppose. I decided to start with 3 1/2″ strips. Most tutorials have you cut strips 14″ long for this width, but I cut off about 2″ total for each strip. 13″ length was better, but would probably even work with less. I didn’t test other lengths.

Instructions

Fold and press the fabric strips.

We found it did help to spray the fabric strips with starch alternative before pressing. This made it easier to make shaper points, pull the four patch tighter, and work the last step. We did some without the starch alternative and found it creates a softer, puffier star, which was also nice.

1.For each strip, fold in half lengthwise and press.

2. Open up the fabric and fold the raw edges to the center crease.

3. Fold in half lengthwise enclosing the raw edges and press.

We found it looked best when the folded edges were exactly even, because both sides will show as you fold and create the star.

Fold and press 2 strips of 2 different prints for each star

Weaving the 4 patch center

Using 4 strips, 2 each of 2 different fabrics, fold each strip in half, so that 1 end is at least 1″ longer and on top.

Place them into this layout to start. This made it so much easier to understand and get it right.

The open edge with the folds should all face the center. This made the stars look way better, and also made folding the points easier to manage.

Layout. It should form the 4 patch design like this.

The folded ends are all at the center, and the shorter lengths are on top.

Open edges of the strips should all face toward the center point. The arrows show which side has the open edges.

First work with the 2 horizontal strips. This helps keep it all straight as you work.

1.Move the folded ends of the vertical strips down or up until each is on top of a horizontal strip, and slide the horizontal strips inside the vertical strips.

2. Pull the folded edges of the horizontal strips past the vertical strips and weave the vertical strips inside the horizontal strips.

3. Pull on the strips to close up the center gap. Working to get this 4 patch center tight was a key element for a better looking star. It should be flat and not puckering either.

4. Flip the whole project over, and create the other side’s 4-patch.

5. Fold the longer ends across the middle, one at a time in a clockwise direction. When you get to the last strip, weave it through the first folded strip.

6. Pull to tightened.

Make the Points

Here is where we found that little things helped a lot.

It works much better when the tucked end doesn’t cross over the center bulk, but instead folded onto itself and tucked in between itself and the one layer of strip that creates the 4 patch.

If you look closely at the project, you’ll notice there is some center bulk where the straps are folded/woven into a four patch design. 4 straps are on one side of the middle bulk and the other 4 are on the other side of the center bulk. Knowing this was key to getting them tucked in neatly, but the tutorial didn’t mention specific details about where to tuck these end in. You won’t want to have the strap end crossing over the middle bulk, nor did it work to tuck into the middle bulk.

You want to tuck the end in on the side it is coming out of, so it gets folded onto itself, with nothing in between, instead of crossing over the center bulk first. I hope that makes sense.

We found working 4 points at a time and paying attention to the fabric of the 4 patch helped to keep this all straight.

The first fold for each strip should be made with the bulkier side facing up and the strap flat on the table. It’s easy to tell this side, because the adjacent square of the four patch that’s facing up will be the same as the strip. In the photo below, you can see the plaid strip that is being folded into a point has plaid in the four patch touching it. This is what it should look like when you make your first fold.

Flipped over, the four patch square that is touching the plaid strip being worked is the red print. This is what it should look like when making the second fold and tucking the end in.

Flipped over and ready to make the second fold of the point.

When tucking in, the strip end should be tucked under the other fabric print.

To make each point:

1.Choose one strip end. Fold the strip end away from the center, into a point and use a pressing roller or finger press to the point.

2. Flip the project over and fold again to create the top point. Use a roller tool to crease (or finger press).

For the second fold: We found holding the strip down at the point with your thumb gave us sharper points and made this easier. It kept the strip folded neatly as we worked the point and used the roller tool.

3. Fold it onto itself. The strip end should be now on top of the four patch.

4. Cut away the extra strip fabric, so the end is shorter than the square closest to it and the cut end won’t show after it is tucked in under that square.

We found that cutting before you tuck in the strip end worked better than cutting after tucking in the strip end (the video we watched cut after tucking it in, which made it difficult to keep the center and other points tight).

Here is what it would look like when the uncut end is tucked in.

5. Tuck the end inside and smooth it out.

It’s important not to disturb things (the 4 patch center or points already finished) as you tuck in the end. We found the best method was to gently open the one strip of the 4 patch center and use your thumb to ease the end in.