Pinwheel Aisle Decorations

Inspired by a picture I found on theknot.com of pinwheels sold on Etsy, I decided to try to create my own pinwheel aisle decorations for my June wedding.

Initially I had trouble getting started, but each pinwheel I made got better and faster. I ended up making approximately 50 individual pin wheels which decorated the ends of 8 rows of aisles.

Here’s how I did it.

My first inspiration came from Etsy. Before starting I spend a good deal of time on my computer looking for pinwheel tutorials. I found some tutorials here and here. These tutorials still left me with many questions.

My first attempt

I wrote a blog entry about my first attempt at creating pinwheels to use in our save the date photo. (We ultimately didn’t use them for our save the date, but mostly because the wind kept blowing them around). The biggest difficulty I had with my first pinwheels was the paper. Since that time I’ve learnt many lessons.

PAPER:

I had a lot of trouble getting started because the tutorials I found where very vague about what type of paper to use. While you can make the pinwheels with almost any paper, I found that some are significantly easier to work with than others. The papers I experimented with ranged from craft stock, to printer paper, to tissue paper, and wrapping paper.

Craft stock paper is what I used for my previous tutorial. In general stock was too stiff. If you plan to make a lot of pinwheels, folding and creasing the craft stock paper gets tiring. Also, the final pinwheel is a bit inflexible making it hard to shape and hide imperfections in the final product. (I’d also avoid construction paper, creasing it in a straight line is not easy).

If craft paper is too stiff, then tissue paper is too loose. I found tissue paper to tear, not to want to stay creased, and to lose its shape.

Use wrapping paper with caution. I enjoyed the wrapping paper because it was cheap for a large quantity of paper and I could cut it to any size I needed. That being said, not all wrapping papers are created equal. Some thinner papers had the same problems as the tissue paper. I recommend a better quality wrapping paper. If you want to use a thin wrapping paper, try to limit its use to smaller diameter pinwheels (no greater than six inches).

If you can use any paper at all, try to use paper that is similar in weight to printer paper. I had a box of light blue printer paper left from a previous project and loved practicing with this. If a pinwheel turned out bad, it was no great loss of cost. If a pinwheel turned out good the color made useable. The best paper I used was … from Michael’s. Even better was that sometimes it goes on sale for 10cents a sheet!

PATTERNS:

When I started I used solid paper. When I made the investment to buy nicer paper, I started with very subtle patterns of dots and strips. My now husband who was with us picked one bold print that I thought would never work… it ended up being both of our favorites. Don’t be afraid of bold prints, when mixed with the subtle and solids they add a lot of interest. I liked the bold print so much, that by the end of all of my wedding projects I was scribbling on white paper with markers to make my own prints.  

The middle pinwheel is a store bought pattern

The right pinwheel is a self-made pattern

Okay, let’s get started! You’ll need: 

·         Craft paper

·         Scotch tape

·         Ribbon

·         A hole punch

·         Scissors

·         A ruler (optional, for you perfectionists)

For each aisle decoration I made three pinwheels. One was 3 inches in diameter, one was 6 inches in diameter, and one was 8 inches in diameter. All three sizes were made in the exact same fashion, all that changed is the size of the paper you use.

1) Cut the paper to the correct size: For an 8 inch pinwheel I used two sheets of 8.5” x 11” paper. For a 6 inch pinwheel I used two sheets of 6” by 12” paper. For a 3 inch pinwheel I used one sheet of 3” x 12” paper.

2 - 8.5"x11" sheets, 2 - 6"x 12" sheets, 1- 3"x12" sheet

(Since I used 12”x12” craft paper this meant that two sheets of paper made one 8 inch pinwheel plus two 3 inch pinwheels. One sheet of paper made one 6” pinwheel).

2) Accordion fold the paper: This step is just like in my previous tutorial. Typically I used folds of ½ inch to ¾ inch, however you can use any fold that gives the appearance of depth that you like; just make sure the folders are uniform for each individual pinwheel you make. 

3) Assemble the pinwheels: For the 8 inch and 6 inch pinwheels, you will need to fold each sheet of paper in half. Once folded, secure the ends together using tape.  At this point you should have two circle halves. You can tape these two halves together to form one pinwheel. Personally, I liked to use a little ribbon and tie the centers together. If the circle you made is too tight (can’t be closed) you can add a third folded sheet of paper or scallop the edges to allow for more stretch.

For the three inch pinwheel I was able to fold my paper once and use it to complete the circle. Secure the ends together with tape.

4) Attaching the pinwheels: You now have a pile of loose pinwheels. To join the pinwheels together I used a hole punch and ribbon.

Securing Pinwheels with ribbons through the centers and punched holes,

Pull ribbon though punched holes and tie in the back.

To do this, I usually started by laying the pinwheels on top of each other until I found a pleasing overlay. Trying to line up the pleats helped even more. I would use the hole punch to create holes on two sides of a pleat in both of the pinwheels being attached, then 'stitched' the ribbon through the holes in each pinwheel and tied it in the back.

5) A final hole punch was used to attach a ribbon for hanging from the top of the pinwheels. I recommend that you make one and test out how it will be attached to your chair before cutting all of the hanger lengths of ribbon.

The final product.

A collection of wheels that I made

Aisles on the day of.