past & present: pajaki chandeliers + get your own A couple of years ago, these Polish paper chandeliers began popping up on design blogs. And a couple of years ago Grace asked me to write a Past & Present column on them. So two short years later, I finally decided to dig into the pajaki chandeliers. Luckily, they’re still as colorful and cheerful as ever. The literal translation of Pajaki is “spiders of straw” and these paper chandeliers were part of the elaborate Christmas celebration of Polish peasants. {Big thanks to Izabella Waszkielewicz for help with the Polish translation!} Image above: Illustration by Julia Rothman Image above: Pajak from PolArt, $129.95 There is a strong folk arts and crafts tradition in Poland and it was particularly strong in the Lowicz region of Poland – an area located little more than 50 miles outside Warsaw. And in the winter, when much of the outdoor work was suspended, Polish peasant families passed the time by preparing for their two major holidays – Christmas and Easter.

Paper cutting became a popular folk craft in the mid-1800s when Polish peasants would create elaborate cutouts to decorate the walls and ceiling beams of their homes. These cutouts were called wycinanki and decorated the walls of peasant homes. For the ceiling decoration, pajaki were crafted using colored paper and straw. Image about: Pajaki from the Polish Art Center $135 The most common type of pajakii were made from a bunch of wheat tied to one end and when opened, the grain formed a lacy border. chandelier kabyleThis type of pajaki was known as the dziad and was hung over the Christmas Eve table. chandelier kubusThe pajaki remained over the table until New Year’s Day, when it was carried on visits to friends and was beaten with a stick while chanting “For your good luck, for your good health.” chandelier equitation vendre

After the visiting concluded the wheat was thrown into the fields when cabbages would grow in the spring or placed under a cow in the stable as a symbol of hopefulness for the harvest in the year to come. Polish-American folklore by Deborah Anders Silverman Image above: Pajaki chandeliers from the Polish Arts Center, $95 – 175 Image above: Lena Corwin’s modern take on the pajaki If you want to bring a Pajaki chandelier into your home, you can find ones made in Poland at Polish Arts Centers. But you can also try your hand at making your own like Lena Corwin (above). Sarah Neuburger from the small object has also tried her hand at making these mobiles and if you’re attempting your own, she suggested these Swedish straws. If you’d like to see a tutorial, Tea in The Sea made a pajaki with just things lying around her house! And if you’ve made a Pajaki, we’d love to see it! Put a link in the comments.(Image credit: Ashley Poskin) A recent search for an "elaborate, colorful chandelier" for our living room lead me down a fantastic pająki rabbit hole.

The paper and straw sculptures, typically Polish folklore holiday decor, were originally constructed to hang from the ceiling to resemble elaborate crystal chandeliers found in homes of the upper class. (Image credit: Ashley Poskin) Pająki are usually made using wood straws but I wanted lots of color, so I changed it up a bit and used printed paper straws. The fantastic thing about this project is that you can raid the craft closet and use almost anything to decorate your pająki. Depending on what size hoop you use, it can be very time consuming. I had an old lampshade that I stripped down and used for my largest chandelier which took me about 5 hours from start to finish. If you plan to make more than one pająki, prepare all your supplies ahead of time so you can work in an assembly line. Note: About halfway through the project I pulled out my 7 cm plastic needle and started using it to string the paper and straws together. This made the garland come together much faster than simply stringing it by hand!

Another way to speed things up: clip a coupon to your local craft supply store and splurge on a flower die cutter. This saved me from hours of work and helped the overall piece look really consistent, which was super satisfying! Cardstock or construction paper Paper, plastic, or wood straws Thin gauge wire (I used 28 gauge) Strips of fabric, ribbon, or trim Miscellaneous craft items like beads, pom poms, silk flowers or the like. 7 cm needle (optional) Die cut flower pattern (optional) 1. Layer each of your colors or tissue paper three sheets deep. Cut the paper into 3" strips for approximately 3" flowers. If you want larger flowers, cut the strips wider. Layer the strips 2-4 pieces deep and begin to cut the fringe (be sure to only cut 3/4 of the way in!). If you plan to use a large amount of tissue paper flowers I recommend buying fringe scissors to for speed and accuracy. 2. Grab a pencil or straw and being to roll the fringed, layered paper around pencil.

3. Gently peel the layers of fringe back to create the flower. 4. Continue to do this until you've reached the desired number of tissue paper flowers you want for your pająki. 5. Choose the colors you want for your paper flower garland. Mine were approximately 2" in diameter but you can cut them as large or small as you like. I highly recommend purchasing pre-cut flowers, or buying a die cutter -this will make your experience much more enjoyable! 6. Cut your straws. These can be as long or as short as you like. For the yellow and black chandelier I cut the straws about 2" in length. I used a box of 24 straws and ended up with just enough. The only way to know exactly how many straws to cut is to decide on the number and lengths of garlands you want on your chandelier, then make one for reference. I used five strings of garland on the top part of my chandelier, each strand had 14 straws and 12 flowers. Be sure to cut more string than you need so you'll have plenty of room to tie the ends to your hoop.

7. Wrap your hoop. I used a thick gauge wire hoop from an old lampshade, so this step was really important because of the pre-existing ugly factor. I wrapped mine with extra lace trim that I had, but you can really use anything, colorful Washi tape would work really well here. If you use fabric, be sure to secure each end with craft glue. 8. Begin to construct the garland for your pająki. Position each string on the hoop and tie off the end. If you are going to add garlands to the bottom of the chandelier, leave a 3"-4" tail so you'll be able to connect the additional garland with ease. Thread the open end of your twine or string through a 7 cm needle and begin to string the paper and straws onto the strand. Once filled, tie a double knot to keep the straws in place. 9. After all the top garlands have been strung, bring the loose ends of the string up together at the middle point where you want the chandelier to hang (this step can be tricky to do by yourself so you might want to wait until there are extra hands available!).