Froebel Star
I’ve been saving and bookmarking tutorials for this star since last year and this holiday season I finally decided to give it a try!
This star has lots of names – Froebel Star, German Star, Swedish Star, Danish Star or Moravian Star are just a few to mention. You can read more about the history of Froebel Star (and learn which name is not correct) here.
The star is made out of four rather long strips of paper, a width-to-length ratio may vary from 1:25 to 1:30. This is not exactly an easy star, it takes at least a few tries to get it right, but after folding around 20 of them I feel like I’ll never forget it! They are so addictive!
There are plenty of tutorials on the net explaining how to make it, so I just added a couple of links to the ones I used.
| Name: | Froebel Star, German Star |
| Designer: | Traditional design |
| Units: | 4 units for a star |
| Paper ratio: | strips measuring from (1:25) to (1:30) |
| Assembled with: | no glue |
| Paper size: | 1*30 / 1.5*35 / 2*60 cm |
| Model size: | ~ 4 / 6.5 / 8.5 cm |
| Paper: | Tracing paper |
| Video: | Froebel Star – video tutorial |
Once you have mastered the star, you may want to make something more challenging out of them! I made this kusudama with a total of 6 stars (they’re only 3D on one side) – check out the video below to learn how it can be done.
| Name: | Froebel Star Kusudama |
| Units: | 6 Froebel Stars (flat on one side) |
| Assembled with: | no glue |
| Paper size: | 1.5*30 cm |
| Model size: | 6.5 cm |
| Paper: | Tracing paper |
| Video: | Froebel Star Kusudama – video |
To make a Christmas wreath with Froebel stars you will need 8 of them. Insert points of one star into another one (look at the picture to see how they are positioned relative to each other). Before you insert the points, add a dab of glue to hold them in place.
| Name: | Froebel Star Wreath |
| Units: | 8 Froebel Stars |
| Assembled with: | glue |
| Paper size: | 1*30 cm |
| Model size: | 11 cm |
| Paper: | Tracing paper |
I used tracing paper for all these stars because it’s not only thin and strong at the same time, but also available in large sheets, which is pretty handy when it comes to cutting long strips.
Tags: Geometric, Holiday Origami, Kusudama, Ring, Star, Wreath
Your Fröbelsterne are lovely. I love them too.
Thanks for sharing!
Merry X-Mas to you!
Katrin
I purchased these stars from someone in the mid 60’s and they were our
first Christmas decorations when my husband and I married.
A few years ago I took a class and made some, but the paper was inferior
and I did not attempt it again.
I think I will give it a try again now that Christmas is over and I have
some time to experiment.
thank you so much for your beautiful posts.
My grandma always made those for Xmas. I can make them too, but she will always be the master of that model :)
That’s interesting about your grandma!:) I don’t think any of my grandparents knew anything about origami at all.
My grandma born in 1908 made the paper stars and her Christmas tree was always decorated with them
In Denmark these stars are made by practically everyone for christmas. You can buy the paper in long strips ready for folding in most places. I often use plastik ribbons for gift wrapping instead. It’s a bit fiddly, but makes cute, little stars, and the ribbon slides easily through the gaps when folding the stars… :)
Yes, using gift wrapping ribbons is a good idea – I thought about it too, but that was AFTER I cut all those long strips from A3 sheets (which wasn’t fun at all:))
I made these as a child and rediscovered the process. Use a high grade paper and I suggest starcraft on Etsy.
can you tell me how to make it or give a diagram !!
i am calling my photography studio ORIGAMI and am trying some models
hope you can help
much love from EGYPT
Hello Kareem –
there are lots of tutorials for this star out there! Check out these two for example:
http://www.craftideas.info/html/german_star_instructions.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGBcevVfftc&feature=related
Do you have a video on how to make the Froebel Star that is flat?
Thanks, Todd