If you accepted the assignment put forth in last week’s Craft Corner and folded at least 10 cranes for this week’s project, you’ll probably understand when we say that by the time we finished folding our 175th origami crane, we decided to make our completed project a 300-crane endeavor instead of a 1,000-bird extravaganza.
We love the idea of the 1,000 cranes but – our attention span and commitments to such things as working, eating and sleeping being what they are – we believe that it’s a project best suited to groups so that a bunch of people can share in the folding fun.
Plan to make at least 100 birds for a decent “flock.” As mentioned, our final tally was 300, but we’ve heard tell of 400- and 500-bird projects, and the one seen in our friend’s home was the full 1,000 – a very impressive sight to behold.
The number of cranes you decide to make will also depend on the size of the individual birds. Ours were made from papers that were about 6 inches square; the 1,000-crane project was made from smaller birds, the papers probably between 3 and 4 inches square.
When you or your group (classroom, club or whatever) have finished the number of cranes decided upon, it’s time to string them.
To begin, take a single completed crane and look at the bottom; you should see a little hole in the center.
Using a long doll needle and heavy thread (with a bead or large knot at the end of the thread), run the needle through the hole in the bottom of the bird and out through the top point of the body.
Make sure that the length of thread is long enough to accommodate the number of birds you plan to string, with 6 to 8 inches left over. We used 30 cranes per string, each of which ended up measuring about 40 inches.
Also, make sure that the bead or knot at the end of the thread is large enough to serve as a base for the entire string of birds, without slipping into the hole in the first crane.
When stringing your cranes, you can fold the wings down (as in our sample) or up, and you can have them facing all the same direction (our choice), or switch back and forth to suit yourself.
Next, you’ll need to decide how to group the strings into a cluster for hanging. The easiest way is probably to gather all of the strings at the top, tie them together and make a loop at the center.
We decided to use a metal ring for our base, and to hold the strings in place, we crocheted a row of single crochets over the ring.
You can attach the strings to the base ring in a couple of ways, both of which can be challenging. Either hang the ring from something and tie the strings on at equal intervals around, or place the ring on a flat surface and attach the strings on the work surface.
If you choose the hanging option, be sure to attach one string, then another opposite to it to keep balance, and so on around.
Working on a flat surface (which is the option we chose), take a few pieces of masking tape and secure the ring to the surface so that it won’t slip around as you add the strings. With the tape in place, you don’t need to worry about working with opposite strings to keep balance, but it’s best to work that way – place one string and one across the ring from the first and so on – so the strings are placed at equal intervals around.
To finish, tie three lengths of heavy thread or cord at equal points around the ring and gather them together at the top center to form a hanger.
As mentioned above, the project is a great group effort which can serve as a token of support for someone undergoing medical treatment or other stressful situation, or as an impressive gift for just about any occasion.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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