Moravian Star Liberty Decoration

Kathy from the studio has made this lovely Moravian Liberty Star Decoration.  It uses the technique of EPP (English Paper Piecing) which is really fun and a little bit addictive.

Moravian Star Liberty Decoration 

I asked Kathy about the project:

What inspired you to make this gorgeous Christmas decoration?

“I saw it on Pinterest, instantly liked it and fancied having a go at making something new.  I’ve become obsessed with patchwork and EPP and thought this would be a quick project.  I was wrong about that!  It wasn’t quick to make but I really enjoy the process of making it.”

What pattern did you use?

“I couldn’t find a pattern or any detailed instructions so I simply followed the pictures.  I knew that each ‘basket’ was made up of 5 diamonds (from a 6 point diamond star) – the use of 5 diamonds instead of 6 gives you the basket shape.  I also knew that you needed to make 12 little baskets.”

Which fabrics did you use?

 I used 3 different Liberty fabrics Capel B40, Mitsi Valeria D and Indigo Berry A

If I made this again, I would definitely recommend using more fabrics.  I would use 6 different ones so that you had 2 baskets of each colour.  This way you can plan it so that you don’t have the same fabrics next to each other.”

Moravian Star Liberty Decoration

I can see that you have done some gorgeous fussy cutting – was that hard to do?

“I decided to fussy cut the fabrics as it made each basket more interesting giving a secondary pattern.  I’m not such a fan of the fabric wastage but the scraps can always be used for other projects.  This was my first attempt at fussy cutting and I really did enjoy it.  It suits my nature for intricate detail and piece matching.”

Moravian Star Liberty Decoration

 

How do you make the star?

“I used the 1″ diamond paper pieces from the studio but you can also get the templates on the internet and print at home.  Make sure you print onto card rather than paper as with this project (unlike other English Paper Piecing) you leave the papers inside the star to give it structure.  You sew the diamonds together as per usual EPP (there’s a youtube clip of how to sew EPP here) making each basket of 5 diamonds.  After you have made 12 baskets, you sew them together (using invisible or matching thread so you don’t see the stitches).  I sewed the ribbon in before adding the last basket into the star.  As a finishing touch, you could also sew a bead  or crystal into the dip in each basket.  I choose not to do this as I didn’t want to hide the intricate detail of my fussy cutting but if you don’t use this technique but they would give a lovely finish to other Moravian Stars.”

Moravian Star Liberty Decoration

The Moravian Star is a beautiful Christmas decoration which originated as a craft project for a geometry lesson. It was adopted as a representation of the Star of Bethlehem and is used to decorate homes across the globe today.  I absolutely love Kathy’s Moravian Star Liberty Decoration.  It’s so beautiful and is so worth the hours she must have taken to make it.  Thank you for sharing your project with us!