Scandinavian Woven Paper Heart Craft
It was my turn this week to host “Grace Girls,” a group my daughter Abby is privileged to be a part of. We meet twice a month to visit, learn a new craft, share a short devotional, and eat some snacks. So on Friday I taught the girls how to weave Scandinavian paper hearts — something my grandmother taught me how to do some 50 years ago.
We had to squeeze in to get everyone around the table. But it was a chilly day, so nobody seemed to mind huddling so close to do their work.
If you’ve done any standard weaving in the past, you know that you normally just go over and under to create your pattern. Not so with this weaving project.
The thing that makes these little paper hearts unique is that you’re weaving a double strip of paper, and instead of thinking in terms of going up and down, you must focus on threading the paper either around or through.
Done properly, this weaving technique will produce a little pocket inside the heart where you can store things: a love note, a stick or two of gum, a chocolate square, a gift card.
Below, you can see what the heart should look like when you have only one row woven. If you want the pink to show, you must thread the loop of white paper in between the two strips of pink. If you need the white to be visible, you must do the opposite and thread the pink loop between the two white strips.
You’ll continue this method, alternating each row until you finish all four rows (for the larger heart, or three rows for the smaller). It’s a little tricky to start with, but once you get the hang of it, the weaving goes really fast.
Here are a few of the girls showing off their finished projects. Didn’t they turn out pretty?
Our boys left the house while all the girls were here, but once they returned, they were happy to see we had plenty of supplies left for them to practice weaving Scandinavian hearts, as well. You never know when such a talent might come in handy. 😊
Ready to try this traditional craft yourself? I’ve included patterns below for both the larger hearts the girls were making above and some smaller Scandinavian hearts that work up even more quickly. Pick your favorite, or make both sizes.
Just print two pages of either design using contrasting colors. We chose pink and white, because those were the copy paper colors I happened to have on hand (and they coordinated nicely with our Valentine theme). But the hearts look just as pretty in brighter colors. Red and white is a very traditional choice, but royal blue and white or Kelly green and white are also very lovely.
Plain, lightweight copy paper is easiest to weave — especially when you are first learning. Later, once you get the hang of it, you can make some hearts using heavier cardstock. If you add a golden cord to hang it by, the smaller ones make lovely ornaments for your Christmas tree.
