Waldorf Window Stars

Waldorf window stars are beautiful folded stars made from transparent paper which show intricately detailed patterns when the light shines through your windows. They are simple to make for adults and children alike. Many designs exist and you can make up your own once you get the hang of how they are created.

All you need are some squares of transparent paper, a little bit of pva (or other transparent) glue, and a tiny bit of tac to fix it to your window.

I discovered these stars within our Waldorf school. Here all the children made stars every year, they quickly became adpt at folding them and they became a regular fixture in our Christmas windows. Now, it is a must do each year to make a few new stars, and maybe to find a new variation. They are quite common in Germany and Scandanavia, where Waldorf education is more popular, but they can suit every home with their simple geometric beauty.

First let's talk about the paper. Many years ago it was known as kite paper - did people make kites out of it? It was a coloured translucent paper which had a light coating of wax on it. This made the paper a little more robust and able to crease easily and accurately, and hold the crease well. Nowadays I don't think that they actually use wax on the paper anymore, and it is generally marketed as transparent paper. It comes in blocks of 100 or 500 multicoloured sheets and will make a huge number of stars! 10cm square is ideal for a window star - if you want a really big star then you can get the paper in 15cm and 20cm square sizes.

If you want to try out some window stars you could have a look at my shop where I have some small inexpensive kits which give you the opportunity to try individual stars with the appropriate paper.Click here.

You can practise with any lightweight paper, remember that some of the finer patterns may not show up if the paper doesn't let enough light through.

To make the red star shown above you will need 4 squares of paper. I suggest that 10cm square is a good startingsize.

1. Cut square in half:  Fold square in half and use a sharp knife to carefully cut paper in two.

2. Fold rectangle lengthwise, unfold to show crease.

3. Fold in each corner to the crease line.

4. Fold in top corners to the crease line. 

5. Unfold bottom corners and fold tip of each corner to crease line.

6. fold in bottom corners along crease line.

7. Fold 8 rectangles in the same manner.  Using a very small dab of glue, stick down each flap.

8. Make up the star with point X at the centre. 

Taking each folded shape in turn, match the centres, and line the edge of the folded shape (X-B) along the centre crease line of the shape underneath.  Use small dabs of glue to fix the shapes.  Continue around the star until all 8 pieces have been placed.  To fix the last piece in place, lift the first piece and slide half of the last piece into place underneath.  Fix with small dabs of glue.

Stars look great fixed to a window with light behind.  Fix the folded side to the window with a small piece of tac or clear double-sided tape.

There are other designs that you can make .....