How to Cut a Paper Heart Doily

Who said a doily has to be round? Want a heart instead & wonder how to cut a paper heart doily? Easy. Just do as you’d normally do with a circular paper doily.

How to Cut a Heart Paper Doily

Step-by-Step Tutorial

01

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Shaping the heart

Fold a rectangular sheet of paper over, length-wise.

Draw a half-heart shape along the folded edge of the paper.

Cut along the line you just drew.

Fold the paper back open to see you have a real full heart shape now, and fold it back over, as we need this fold as our first fold.

02

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Making More Folds

Fold your paper over again (resulting in 4 ‘portions’)

Make nice smooth lines.

03

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Fold your folded work over again. (resulting in 8 portions).

And again (resulting in 16 blocks folded into a wedge) .

See the image here and count the sections in the heart. There should be 16.

04

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Folding Tips

If you have a tiny piece of paper, you probably will stop at 8 blocks. Larger paper can handle 16 blocks, allowing you to make a more detailed paper heart doily.

I did not flatten the doily 100% so as to show you all the folds that I’ve made.

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Cutting into your wedge’s edges

If you cut off the tip of your wedge, you’ll have an open circle into your center. If you cut a triangle in the side of your wedge, you’ll end up with a repetitive pattern of diamonds (2x a triangle). If you cut a 1/2 heart in the edge, you’ll get a pattern of little hearts, or half a flower and you’ll end up with rainbows of flowers. Etc.

This is the most creative part, and there is no end to the possibilities. I’ve noticed that there is a huge learning curve after experimentation, so go for it. See how the top and the bottom of the doily differ. Take advantage of the different lengths of paper that are within your folded wedge.

Meanwhile, realize that even a 6-year-old can create beautiful paper doilies by just ‘hacking at it’, so be sure that you’ll end up with something quite beautiful!!

Tip: if your doily turns out too plain to your liking, simply use a pair of sculpting craft scissors and create a sculpted edge to your heart. Instant solution.

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Unfold Your Doily

You’re done. Admire your work. Flatten as needed before use.

You can use the doily to make a fancy Valentine Greeting card, or glue the heart onto a gift wrapped in bold red or pink. The contrast with the white will be nice.

Easy & fast craft, suitable for office doodlers, elementary school kids and home crafters.