Woven Loopy Heart - Make-Origami.com

weaved heart

These woven loopy hearts are really fun to make, but they are a bit more challenging compared to the Lucky Hearts which are also made with strips of paper. First of all, you’re going to need 4 strips of paper and you’re going to weave them into a checkerboard pattern. The ends of the paper are used to form loops. Glue is not necessary, but if you are lazy (for lack of a better word), you can use glue to keep the strips in place.

Instructions to make a Woven Loopy Heart

Step 1:

Start with 4 strip of paper of contrasting colors.
The ones used here are 1/2″ x 11″. you can do this by cutting
a 1/2″ slice off an standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper.

Step 2:

Fold the papers in half with one end a little shorter than the other end.

Step 3A:

Make a central square.
To do this, start with a strip of paper placed horizontally with the the loose ends on the left and the folded-end on the right.

Step 3B:

Place a second strip of paper so the first strip is in between the two layers of strip#2. The folded end of strip#2 should be on top and the loose ends should be pointing down.

Step 3C:

Place a third strip of paper so the two layers of strip#2 are in between the layers of strip#3. The loose end points to the right and the folded section butts up against strip#2.

Step 3D:

Lastly, place the fourth strip of paper so the two layers of strip#3 are in between the layers of strip#4. Weave the loose ends of strip#4 in between the layers of strip#1.

Step 4:

Shuffle and slide the paper to tighten the central square.

The next few steps require a bit of thought but not to worry.
Just remember the folding sequence 2-1-1-2.
You will have it memorized by the time you’ve made 4 or 5 hearts.

Step 5A:

Start at the bottom left.
Fold two strips of #2 up.
This is the “two” in the sequence 2-1-1-2.

Step 5B:

Fold one strip of #1 towards the right. This is the “one” in the sequence 2-1-1-2.

Step 5C:

Fold one strip of #4 down. This is the “one” in the sequence 2-1-1-2.

Step 5D:

Lastly, fold two strips of #3 towards the left then tuck both strips under strip#2. This is the last “two” in the sequence 2-1-1-2

Step 6:

Turn the model over to work on the back side.

Step 7A:

Start at the bottom left.
Fold the remaining strip#4 up.

Step 7B:

Fold the remaining strip#1 to the right and tuck it under #2.

This is how it looks like. The central checkerboard is quite secure. Rotate the model a little so it looks like the letter V. Determine which strips are longest. You will need the 4 of them for making loops.

Step 8:

Take one of the longest strips of paper and weave it through the adjacent “panel” (or square). Do this for right and left sides of the heart.
It does not matter whether the longest strip is behind or in front.

Adjust the woven strips so the loops are the same size on both sides.
At this point you have two choices.

Step 9A:

The easy way is to use a drop of glue to secure the two loops so they don’t get yanked out by accident. Cut off the ends if they are too long.

Step 9B:

The second method doesn’t require glue. Turn the model over. Fold and tuck the over-hanging strips of paper under an existing layer. This will lock the loops in place (right image above).

Step 10:

Repeat the process on the back side of the woven loopy heart:
– choose the two longest strips,
– weave them under the panel that is adjacent from where they are currently located,
– secure the loops with glue or by tucking them behind under an existing layer of paper.

Woven Loopy Heart is done! Top view showing all 4 loops.

top of Woven Loopy Heart page