Craft Scherenschnitte Christmas Ornaments

Here you can see that I've used a pattern from a book. You may choose to cut and hang the scherenscnitte as single sheets of paper cuts as the book illustrates with the garland samples or you can choose to cut two of the same design and sew these together to create a three dimensional ornament. I have done so with the angel using a waxed dental floss.

In this photo you can see that I am reproducing the patterns from a book onto a thick sheet of plastic in order to work faster with the tracing work. This is the easiest way to transfer scherenschnitte patterns to black papers. Use a white pencil to trace around your template.

      Scherenschnitte which means "scissor cuts" in German, is the art of papercutting design. The art work often has symmetry within the design, and common forms include silhouettes, valentines, and love letters. The art tradition was founded in Switzerland and Germany in the 16th century, and was brought to Colonial America in the 18th century by immigrants who settled primarily in Pennsylvania. 

      Scherenschnitte make light weight, detailed ornaments that can be hung on the weakest of branches. Cutting such delicate work takes patience and practice, but once you've mastered the skill, you will be able to decorate an entire tree for mere pennies!

This video shows "how" to cut and assemble

 scherenschnitte for your Christmas Tree

Links to professional scherenschnitte artists:

• Pamela Dalton's web pages
• Jeri Laner's web pages

Where to find more scherenschnitte patterns online?

• I designed a baby in a manger scherenschnitte for Chrismon trees  
• Here is a Triquetra Knot Chrismon cut from a scherenschnitte