How to make a twig heart

A twig heart hooked to a cart — Make a twig heart as a gift or home decoration | © National Trust/Sophie Wilkinson

In this tutorial, find out how to make a heart from twigs in your garden or local park to give as a eco-friendly gift or to decorate your own home.

You will need:

Up to six lime tree twigs
Secateurs
Scissors
Garden twine (two pieces, 30cm and 25cm, plus a short length for a hanging loop if you wish)
Colourful raffia or ribbon (optional)

Step-by-step guide

Hands testing twigs for flexibility — Are your twigs flexible enough? | © National Trust/Sophie Wilkinson

Test the twigs for flexibility

Use your thumb to gently ease each twig into a curve. Do this several times to make sure it won’t snap.

Hands making a heart shape out of twigs — It might take a couple of tries to get it right | © National Trust/Sophie Wilkinson

Form the twigs into a heart shape

Holding the base of all the twigs in one hand, use your other hand to bend half of them around, forming half a heart shape. You’ll want these to cross over the top of the twigs, with several inches underneath and curving away. Repeat on the opposite side to complete your heart shape.

Hands securing a twig heart with twine — Secure it nice and tight | © National Trust/Sophie Wilkinson

Secure the heart with twine

Hold the heart shape in place and tie the twigs together at the bottom point of the heart with around 30cm of twine. Wrap the twine around three times and knot at the back. Although it’s possible to do this alone, you may find it handy to have help at this stage. Use 25cm twine to do a second tie at the centre top of the heart, again knotting at the back. If you would like to hang your heart, you can attach another loop of twine here.

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How to make a twig heart

You will need:

Step-by-step guide

Test the twigs for flexibility

Arrange the twigs so that the tips are roughly level

Form the twigs into a heart shape

Secure the heart with twine

Use secateurs to trim off the twigs at the bottom of the heart

Decorate

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