Wheat Straw High-Visibility Himmeli

Wheat Straw High-Visibility Himmeli

The Himmeli is a centuries-old, Scandinavian harvest tradition that brought people together in the design and making of intricate decorations to hang in the home; these acted as a token or charm to ensure prosperity and an abundant harvest in the coming year.

At GATHER - our LDF 2014 installation - we brought these ancient practices together with modern innovation, using a specially-formed, high-visibility yarn to connect the wheat straws. This yarn produces waves of brilliant light when photographed with a camera flash.

YOU'LL NEED:
  • wheat straw
  • High-visibility yarn
  • ruler
  • scissors
Step One
Step One

Take your wheat straw and cut twelve pieces of equal length. We suggest cutting pieces of either 5 or 10 or 15 cm.
Step Two
Step Two

Cut a piece of yarn to the length of all your twelve straws combined plus about 20 cm extra. Example: if you cut your straws to 5 cm then you need: 12 x 5 +20 = 80 cm.
Step Three
Step Three

Thread three of your cut straws onto the yarn.
Step Four
Step Four

Make the three straws into the shape of a triangle and make a tight knot in the yarn. ( knot 1)
Step Five
Step Five

String two more pieces of straw onto the long end.
Step Six
Step Six

Bring the yarn to the corner of the triangle you made so the two new straws create another triangle. Loop the yarn around, tighten and make a knot. (knot 2)
Step Seven
Step Seven

Repeat steps Five and Six until eleven straws have been used. So each time thread two straws, create a triangle, loop, tighten and knot. You now have a row of five connected triangles.
Step Eight
Step Eight

String your last straw onto the yarn after your last knot and gently lift your himmeli up by the third knot you made. When lifting it the himmeli folds and gives an understanding how the 2D turns into a 3D shape.
Step Nine
Step Nine

Bring your yarn and the single straw back to your first knot . Creating a bridge between your first and last knot. Loop the yarn around the knot, tighten and make another knot.
Step Ten
Step Ten

Take the end of your yarn and string it back through the straw between your last knot and the corner without a knot. Pull it through and loop it around the other corner without a knot to close your himmeli. Make a last tight knot to secure and you're done!
CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS

You have now mastered the technique of how to make a straw himmeli!

Please see the following images for some inspiration and tips and tricks as the possibilities are endless!
Shapes
Shapes

By changing the amount of triangles or the length of your straws a whole range of shapes can be made. The change in length as shown above for instance results in an unequal sided diamond.
Growing
Growing

By starting a new himmeli from a straw of one that is already finished you can create a whole cluster of himmeli! To do this use one side of an existing himmeli as one of your three straws from step Two then continue as normal.
Tie himmeli together
Tie himmeli together

Of course any other method of connecting one himmeli to another also works! You could for instance tie them to each other simply by threading your yarn through a straw of another himmeli and making a knot.
Bridge connections
Bridge connections

Loose extra straws can be used to make a bridge between two himmeli and thus fixing them together as well.
Everything Else!
Everything Else!

Use your imagination on what can grow from your very first himmeli. Add flowers, dangling straw, grow it out of your window or whatever you can think of. Everything above is just to teach you the technique and help you to get started. From here; Enjoy!

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