A thread with hanging coloured paper stars and red beads. This is the result from making an origami star garland for the first time.

Making An Origami Star Garland

30th November 2025 - New Experience Number 31

Jump to 'Try it yourself'

Making an origami star garland wasn’t just a craft experience – it was an unexpected lesson in mindfulness. 

In the run up to Christmas, this gorgeously festive workshop became another new activity towards my challenge of trying 52 new things in a year.

If you’re looking for a different craft to try, inspiration for a new decoration to make, or just something a little out of the ordinary to do, it’s well worth giving it a go.

What Is Origami?

Origami is a traditional Japanese craft. It involves transforming a flat, square piece of paper, into dynamic shapes and sculptures, simply by folding it.

Nothing is used to stick the paper together, it’s simply the art of creasing and pressing and the results can be astounding.

An L&S Crafts Workshop

The two hour session was hosted by L&S Crafts.  Taking place on a Saturday, it was a perfect break from the busyness of a December weekend.

Having tried beeswax candle rolling, and a Nordic willow star workshop with Laura from L&S Crafts before, I knew it would be a fantastic workshop and that I’d have something lovely and unique to take away at the end.

Providing a kit for each of us, full of festive paper, sparkly threads and colourful beads, it also included a step-by-step instruction booklet so that we could make some more at home.

A paper instruction book from L&S crafts which has the title Origami Star Garland Kit. There is a red and white polkadot origami star on the top of it.
We each had a kit which included a helpful instruction guide to refer to

The Workshop - Making An Origami Star Garland

The street below us was like a choppy sea; full of noisy shoppers laden with bags, ebbing forward on a mission to buy Christmas presents and not letting anything get in their way.

Meanwhile, eight of us had gathered in the sanctuary of the creative upstairs space of Fabrication on Stonegate.

Fabrication is a brilliant place in the centre of York that sells locally made products from talented crafts people, artists and designers on the ground floor, and uses the rest of the building for workshops.

With everything laid out ready to begin, and a nice cup of tea to warm us up, Laura jumped right in to the session.

A pretty white china cup and saucer with painted floral decorations, full of tea.
A warming cup of tea whilst we worked

The Make

Firstly, Laura demonstrated the steps, explaining the process as we watched her fold, crease, turn the paper this way and that, and flip it over. Then, all of a sudden, it came together and a star was made.

We were not quite as slick when it came to our turn. Thankfully Laura took us through the steps slowly, making sure we were all ready before moving on to the next part.

The square paper needed to be turned into a pentagon. Rather than trying to measure one out, we folded the paper into a sort of triangular shape and cut off the excess. Opening it out, it was now a perfect pentagon! It was like some sort of paper wizardry!

A piece of green paper with a cross creased into it.
Beginning with a sheet of paper
A piece of green paper that has been folded multiple times. There are a pair of scissors to the side and a white plastic tool.
Amazingly, this was part of the process to turn the square piece of paper into...
A green piece of paper with multiple creases across it. It is in the shape of a pentagon. There are a pair of scissors in the background. As seen when making an origami star garland
...this pentagon shape!

There were many, many folds. We were making a five pointed star, and that meant that every step needed to be repeated five times.

Often a fold needed to be unfolded until later, and it required concentration to focus on all of the creases we were making to ensure each step had been completed five times.

Using tactile paper in pretty colours and patterns, we made crisp creases and sharp points until the last part of the process. This involved a little extra manipulation of the paper to encourage it into position, and it was so satisfying doing that final fold and to see a pretty star appear.

A green piece of paper in the shape of a pentagon, with many, many neat creases across it.
There were a lot of folds to make
A green piece of paper which has been folded multiple times and is now starting to resemble a star. As seen when making an origami star garland
Starting to take shape
A paper star made out of green paper. It has been made when making an origami star garland
The finished star

Getting Into The Rhythm

Making the first star was a slow process. There were many furrowed brows and tongues out as we really focused on the folds and the steps.

A paper guide which has the title 'L&S Crafts' there are three pretty paper origami stars on top of it. One is a festive red, one is green and the third is a red and white Christmas pattern
Getting into the rhythm to make more stars

But as we moved on to the second star, it was surprising how incremental moments of recognition crept in and we had more of a feeling of knowing what we were doing.

By the third star, we were feeling more confident, although still referring to the instructions, but now for reassurance rather than guidance.

Giving us super helpful top tips along the way, Laura was on hand to offer support and encouragement throughout the session.

The Garland

The number of stars on our garlands was unlimited. We could make as many stars as we wanted to during the session, and we could make more at home.

However, we all began the process of putting the garland together towards the end of the workshop. Choosing a sparkly thread and some red beads, Laura gave us some much appreciated tips on how to attach it all together, and ways to make it aesthetically pleasing.

Festive patterned origami paper, a couple of colourful wooden beads, and in the background slightly out of focus is some red and white thread
We could pick the paper, the beads and the thread to make our own unique garland
6 pretty festive paper stars in different coloured and patterned paper
A good output of stars

The Finished Garland

Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair. She is smiling at the camera as she sits just under an origami star garland that she has made.
I just needed to decide where I was going to hang it!

I didn’t tie the end of my thread as I knew I wanted to add a couple more stars when I got home, but I left the workshop with the majority of my garland made.

It looked so pretty. Using different sized paper, and different colours and patterns, I really liked how the stars complemented each other. 

I wasn’t entirely sure where it was going to hang at home, but I loved that it was a new traditional trimming to add to our Christmas decorations.

The Mindfulness - Making An Origami Star Garland

It was a calming few hours, and a gentle craft that didn’t need to be rushed.

Activities that help us to slow down and get lost in the moment can be incredibly good for us, and I definitely felt that from the workshop.

The repetitive nature of the craft gave us a good dose of serotonin as we got into a natural flow and found our own rhythm.

Taking home something we had made and were proud of released dopamine, and creative hands-on activities can help to reduce stress. Isn’t it amazing how a bit of paper folding can have such a postive effect?!

We all left the session happy with our makes and pleased to have learnt a new skill.

Lots of different colourful, festively patterned origami paper. The pieces are all overlapping each other
Making an origami star garland is a calming craft

The Value Of New Experiences

Trying new experiences, especially at Christmas, is not frivolous or self indulgent.

Instead, you’ll find it’s an opportunity to give the thinking mind a break and immerse yourself into something completely different. In turn, that can leave you feeling mentally refreshed and recharged, which is incredibly worthwhile during the frantic pace of the festive season.

It can also boost your confidence. It’s incredible how quickly we can learn new processes when we focus on them. And when a new experience involves repetition, each iteration generally becomes easier, which can make us feel competent and accomplished.

Making an origami star garland reminded me how important it is to seek out novel experiences, and that carving out time to learn something new can unfold benefits far beyond the physical thing we create.

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • To take part in the same workshop that I went to, have a look at the L&S Crafts website, where you’ll find upcoming dates for this and other workshops.
  • Take a look at eventbrite to see if there are any workshops happening near you. 
  • You can also find kits to make your own origami star garland at home. Visit Etsy to see a good range that is available.

Cost Of Experience

  • The 2 hour session, which included all of the materials and hot drinks, cost £25 per person.

Recommendations

  • Try to focus. Let the to-do lists wait, and give yourself permission to concentrate on a calming craft for a couple of hours.
  • Ask for help. If you’re in a workshop and you’re feeling lost or stuck, the instructor will be happy to help you.
  • Get creative. You can mix and match the patterns and the sizes and make your garland unique to you. How about using maps, or sheets of music to make the stars? Why not add some glitter? What about sticking on some additional embelishments? 
  • Enjoy getting crafty – and let me know how you get on if you give it a go.

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