Happy Holidays from the Scandinavian Weavers!

At our annual holiday gathering this year, we wove Danish-style paper hearts. The idea for the project was prompted by an article in the Norwegian Textile Letter, “Edvard Munch’s Christmas Tree Baskets – A Christmas Story,” by Geir Thomas Risåsen.

Peg Hansen, Scandinavian Weavers Study Group member and a former art teacher, guided our party activity. She supplied strong, beautiful paper, detailed instructions, and enormous enthusiasm.

Peg also ordered a book with many advanced designs, How My Mother Taught Me to Weave Christmas Hearts, with patterns by Knud Vaegter.

The paper hearts are traditionally filled with candy and hung as festive ornaments on the Christmas tree, as in the photo below from the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.

Peg Hansen wove many of the hearts in the book. She then taught us the basic pattern, shown in the middle of the top row in the photo below.

The paper weaving technique is a bit tricky until you get the hang of it. As you can see from the photo below, we all had to concentrate very hard!

Peg recommends a high-quality paper that won’t tear during the weaving process. Bone folders come in handy to make clean folds, and a good sharp pair of scissors are a must! Peg wove the lovely and meticulous heart below.

Lori Labs wove the star below, an extra-tricky pattern due to the sharp points, which are susceptible to tearing.

Nancy Ebner’s simple heart found a home on her Christmas tree.

Mary Erickson wove a variety of hearts using paper, felt, and even birch bark.

Mary shared her pattern for making Danish hearts. Feel free to give it a try and send us photos!

Wishing all our readers PEACE and JOY in the New Year! Thanks so much for subscribing to our blog!