How to Make a Jig for Making Straw Star Ornaments (Strohsterne)

Christmas ornaments made out of straw are very popular in Germany and Scandinavia, and their history goes back many centuries. They range from very simple to incredibly ornate, and include stars, angels, and other holiday motifs. Usually they were made from grain stalks after harvest, since this was a material that was readily available in large quantities. It’s an especially great craft for people who enjoy nature, and working with natural and foraged materials. Today, one can buy imported kits and tools for making straw stars.

Ooorrrrrrr….. you can make your own tools!

This Instructable covers how to make a jig for making straw stars.

It refers to two other Instructables, “How to Make Straw Star Ornaments (Strohsterne)”, and “How to Prepare Grass for Making Straw Star Ornaments (Strohsterne)”.

- Compass (or something about 3-1/4” (8.5 cm) in diameter, such as a drinking glass)

- Wood (1/2” thick, 5/8” thick, or thereabouts)

- Means to saw wood, such as a jigsaw (not shown)

- Some sandpaper (or a file)

- A piece of paper

- Drill and drill bits (not shown)

- 24 thin nails (The nails need to have heads, so brads probably won’t work, and thinner nails are better, because they leave more space between the nails for the straws)

- Rubber band (about 3-1/4” in length)

- Piece of thin cardboard

- Piece of corrugated cardboard

- Pencil

- Ruler

- Scissors

Use a compass to mark a circle on the wood that is 3-1/4” in diameter. Then mark another circle about 1/4” inside the first circle (2-3/4” diameter). Make sure the pin of the compass marks the center.

Now saw out the circle. You can use a jigsaw, rotary tool, etc. You can probably get away with sawing out an octagon, and the jig will still be usable to make straw stars.

No matter what you use, it doesn’t need to be perfectly round. Smooth the edges a bit with sandpaper or a file.

Use the compass to make a 3-1/4” circle on the thin cardboard. This can be anything, such as the cardboard from a pasta or cereal box. Rummage around your recycle bin.

Cut out the circle and set it aside.

Use the compass to make a circle on the corrugated cardboard that is 2-1/4” in diameter. Cut out the circle and set it aside.

Mark a 3-1/4” circle on a piece of paper. Cut out the circle.

Fold the paper circle in half, then open it up, and fold it the other way to make quarters. Use a ruler to trace the fold lines with a pencil.

Now fold the quarters in half, and use a pencil and a ruler to trace the new fold lines. Your paper circle should now be split into eighths.

Place the paper circle on the wooden circle, and transfer the endpoints of the lines to the wooden circle. Then use the ruler and pencil to divide the wooden circle into eighths, just like the paper circle. You can now throw the paper circle away.

Now divide each eighth on the wooden circle into three equal parts. Connect the lines across with a pencil and ruler.

The wooden circle should now be divided into 24 parts.

Use a colored pen and make a mark at every fourth “pie wedge”. There will be 6 marks in total. These will be the spots you will use to make 6-pointed stars. These are shown in blue in the photo.

Use a different colored pen and make a mark at every third “pie wedge.” There will be 8 marks in total. These will be the spots you will use to make 8-pointed stars.

A hole will be drilled at each point where each of the lines radiating from the center crosses the pencil circle that was drawn 1/4” from the outer edge.

The jig shown at the start of this Instructable used 24 ribbed nails that were misfires from a nail gun. You can use any kind of thin nails, but they should all be of the same type. I like the ribbed nails myself, because they seem to hold the pieces of straw in place better, but the ribs can also make it difficult to lift the finished star off the jig. It’s a matter of personal preference.

Ideally, select a drill bit that is large enough to allow the nail to be pushed through the wood, but is thin enough that the nail will be snug in the wood and won’t fall out. I say “ideally” – you’ve already cut a retainer to hold the nails in, so don’t worry. What you DON’T want is for the nails to be so loose that they’re wobbling around in their holes.

You may want to drill some test holes in the wood scraps leftover from Step 1. Drill holes of various sizes, and insert the nails, and make sure they don’t wobble too much.

Once you’ve selected a drill bit, drill a hole at the intersection of the second (inner) circle and each line across the circle. There should be 24 holes. Don’t worry if they aren’t in a perfect circle.

Sand away the splinters around the drill holes. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth.

Flip the jig upside down, so all the markings are on the bottom. Now insert the 24 nails, one in each hole.

Pick up the “Nail Retainer Board” (the 3-1/4” circle made from thin cardboard in Step 2), and hold it against the bottom of the jig so that it holds the nails in their holes. Wrap the rubber band around the jig and the retainer board. This will keep the nails from falling out when you flip it right side up.

Back in Step 3, you made a circle out of corrugated cardboard to serve as a retaining board for the straws. Drop it inside the circle of nails. It should fit loosely. If not, trim it a bit. This cardboard circle will be used to hold the straws in place when you’re using the jig to bind a straw star.

Your jig is now ready to be used!

The jig described above can be used to make straw stars up to about 4” across (or larger, if you use very long straws).

If you find that you really enjoy making straw stars, you might want to make another, larger jig. For instance, you can make the wood circle 3-3/4” in diameter, with the circle of nails 3-1/2” in diameter. This doesn’t sound much larger, but it makes stars about 5” across, or larger if you use long straws. It can be hard to find long straws that are wide and strong enough, so these two jigs should serve pretty well.

Enjoy!