DO THE MATH!

Decorate with Geometry

Author(s): Lois M. Baron
Source: Math Horizons, Vol. 25, No. 2 (November 2017), pp. 14-15
Published by: Mathematical Association of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.4169/mathhorizons.25.2.14
Accessed: 26-12-2017 18:57 UTC

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DO THE MATH!
Decorate with Geometry
Lois M. Baron
I
’d never heard of himmeli
until a craft box subscrip-
tion arrived with thin brass
rods, wire, a rod cutter, and
instructions for a geometric
plant holder and a wall decora-
tion. After I got the rods cut, it
was quick to string together a
great-looking mobile that now
cradles a spiky air plant. Then I
went on Pinterest and admired
the spectrum of geometric deco-
rations people make this way—
including ornaments, earrings,
chandeliers, 3D wall art, and
mobiles.
Himmeli is a traditional
Finnish Christmas dec-
oration. Originally,
the geometric
structures were
made from dried
hollow stems from
plants such as rye. Small
ones go on the Christmas
tree, and elaborate large ones
hang over the holiday dinner table.
(By the way, himmeli is a Swedish
word; this puzzled me until I
learned that Finland has two of-
14 November 2017 : : Math Horizons : : www.maa.org/mathhorizons
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ficial languages: Finnish and
Swedish.)
To get you started, here are
instructions for a lightweight poly-
hedron that you can hang for the
holidays or as a year-round decora-
tion. Then you can make many, in
different colors, with different mate-
rials, and in various sizes. Add bells,
pom-poms, tassels, an air plant, or
Star Wars figures. You got this.
Materials & Directions
Authentic reeds are hard to come
by and fiddly to work with, but
you can make himmeli from any
straight tube, including paper
straws and plastic coffee
stirrers nabbed from
the cafeteria. To
go upscale on the
cheap, spray your
finished creation with
metallic-colored paint.
My first project had
22-gauge wire (available in
any craft store), but with plastic
straws, keep it simple and inex-
pensive with button thread. This
sturdy thread passes through the
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coffee stirrers better than regular
thread. (Tip: Yarn is hard to work
with unless you use jumbo straws
and a skewer.)
Cut seven feet of thread. Cut the
stirrers as needed to get four 5-inch
lengths and eight 3-inch pieces.
Thread on a 5-inch piece, a 3-inch
piece, and another 5-inch piece.
Leave three inches of thread on one
end of the three pieces and the rest
trailing out the other side. On a flat
surface, shape the straws into a tri-
angle and, keeping the thread fairly
taut, tie a knot where the thread
intersects.
Onto the long end of thread, slide
another set of straws: a 5-inch, a
3-inch, and a 5-inch. Again, shape
this into a triangle, and tie a knot in
the same location as the first knot.
Then we’ll make a square base.
Slide the long end of thread down
one of the 5-inch straws. At the bot-
tom, add a 3-inch straw. Then put
your thread into the short side of the
other triangle already constructed.
Once it’s out, add another 3-inch
straw and finish making a square of
the 3-inch straws with another knot.
 To make the bottom pyramid,
you’ll start with a triangle. Slide
two 3-inch straws onto the thread
(point 1, see below). Knot the
thread to point 2 and put the
thread through so it comes out at
point 3. Slide on two more 3-inch
straws. Bend into a triangle and
knot at point 4. To secure the
structure, slide the thread through
a straw down to the point and join
two triangles with a knot.
Done. To hang it, attach a
thread loop to one end of the poly-
hedron. Otherwise, call it sculpture
and put it anywhere. Then snap
a picture and show it off to your
friends, your mother, and us on
Twitter: @maanews.
In learning to do himmeli, I
found various ways to string tubes
together. Watch any three videos
on YouTube on the subject and see
three different ways—and get help-
ful tips from all of them. n
Lois M. Baron is managing edi-
tor of Math Horizons and MAA
FOCUS.

http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.25.2.14

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www.maa.org/mathhorizons : : Math Horizons : : November 2017 15

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