Classic woven Christmas hearts | Papercraft

The woven Christmas heart is one of the most recognizable classics in Danish Christmas tradition. With its simple shapes and traditional weaving, it evokes memories of Christmas trees, creative afternoons, and homemade decorations that are brought out year after year.

With this paper cutout, you get a lovely interpretation of the classic Christmas heart. Here, the work of the weaving itself is already done – you simply need to cut out the heart and find the perfect spot for it among your Christmas decorations.

Classic decorations for the Christmas tree

Cut out the small Christmas hearts and hang them on the Christmas tree, on a branch, or on a string as a simple Christmas garland. They can also be used as a small decoration on a gift or as part of the table setting on Christmas Eve.

The small hearts can be decorated with a bit of spruce or other items from nature and fit beautifully with both classic Christmas ornaments and a more simple, Nordic Christmas.

Hand-painted Danish paper cutout

The paper cutout is designed by Tall Hat Tales and has a charming, hand-painted expression that gives the familiar Christmas heart its own unique character.

At the same time, it is an easy way to achieve the classic woven look if your fingers and patience aren't quite up to weaving traditional paper hearts yourself.

H.C. Andersen and the woven heart

The history of the woven paper heart has a very special connection to H.C. Andersen.

H.C. Andersen was not only famous for his fairy tales. He was also a passionate paper-cutter, and among his preserved paper works is what is considered the oldest known woven paper heart. The heart is believed to have been made around 1860 and is preserved today at H.C. Andersen's House in Odense.

However, it is not entirely correct to say that H.C. Andersen invented the Christmas heart as we know it today. His woven heart had no handle and was likely not made as a Christmas decoration. Later, the woven paper heart was further developed with a handle so it could be hung on the Christmas tree and also function as a small basket.

Here, one could store ginger snaps, nuts, and other sweets, and over time, the woven heart became a permanent part of the Danish Christmas tradition.

When we cut and weave Christmas hearts today in December, we are therefore carrying on a tradition that can be traced back more than 150 years – with a very special connection to one of Denmark's most famous storytellers.

Product information

• Unique Danish design
• Motif with classic, woven Christmas hearts
• Printed on sturdy 300-gram paper
• A5 format
• Double-sided print
• Figures are to be cut out yourself
• Suitable as Christmas decorations, hanging ornaments, table decorations, and place cards
• The motifs are hand-painted, and the front and back may therefore vary slightly
• Can be purchased with approx. 1.5 m of string (red/white)

Need the tools?

For the fine details in papercraft, we recommend a sharp hobby knife and a good cutting mat. You can purchase our cutting set for papercraft and paper cutting, which includes an NT-Cutter precision knife with 10 blades and a Linex cutting mat.