https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/pretty-pinwheels • Posted by Ryland Peters & Small
Add fanfare to any fête with pleasing pinwheels that gather their unique spin from patterned papers, corsage pins, and striped straws. You can make these in almost any size as long as you begin with a perfect square. Display in tall jars filled with sand or plant into desserts to lend lively panache to any party.
Add fanfare to any fête with pleasing pinwheels that gather their unique spin from patterned papers, corsage pins, and striped straws. You can make these in almost any size as long as you begin with a perfect square. Display in tall jars filled with sand or plant into desserts to lend lively panache to any party.
Each pinwheel will require a perfect double-sided square. To do this, you need to either glue two sheets of paper together with their patterned sides exposed and then cut, or cut and then stick them together using a glue stick. Most of the pinwheels shown are made using 4-in (10-cm) squares.
Once you have a double-sided square, fold in half and then again so that the square has two intersecting folds, creating four smaller squares. Using scissors, cut a slit from each pointed corner to about 1/2 in (1 cm) from the center. You will end up with four diagonal slits in the paper, or four “triangles.”
Using a small hole punch, make a hole in the left corner of each “triangle” and set aside.
Use a thumb tack (drawing pin) to poke a hole into one side of the paper straw, about 1/2 in (1 cm) from the top.
One by one, fold up the holed points of your square and you will see the pinwheel form. Push the corsage (dressmaker’s) pin through all four punched holes. Bend the pin at a right angle about 1/2 in (1 cm) from the top and gently push the pin through the hole in the straw. This ensures that the length of the pin is concealed safely within the tube of the straw, while still allowing the folded fan to spin. TINKER TIP The process of folding the paper into and onto the pin can be awkward. Step 5 shows a sideways view. You may want to practice first on a test paper. You may also want to pre-bend corsage (dressmaker’s) pins as needed. You could skip punching small holes into the paper points and simply join by pushing pins through. FANCY THIS Experiment with using a variety of papers and scales to infuse gatherings with personality and local flavor. Think: old maps and travel brochures, wallpaper scraps and paper gift or shopping parcels.