DIY: Geometric Straw Mobile by Marilyn

We were recently inspired by a few different geometric store displays and products to create this straw mobile. In middle school for geometry class, I created a stellated icosahedron out of straws similar to this one. And I never forgot how much I loved the project. Of course that was my favorite part of the whole class that year since I wasn't very fond of math. But it got me to thinking that we could easily create some similar geometric shapes to use as decorations. This is the first of those projects. You can really create a multitude of fun shapes using this basic idea. We hope you will be feeling inspired to create some fun shapes and let us know how it goes!

Step 1: Gather your materials. You will need 12 straws, 1 thin wooden skewer (to pull through your straws), yarn or string, tape, and scissors.

Step 2: If you have bendy straws, you will need to cut off the bendy short part of the straw so that each of your straws is the same length.

Step 3: Tape your yarn or string to the wooden skewer.

Step 4: Pull your skewer through 4 of your straws and tie off.

Steps 5-6: Pull the skewer through one of your straws and add 2 more straws. Pull the skewer through another one of the straws directly diaganol from your first one. Tie both ends off.

Step 7: Pull your skewer through the straw next to your last tie-off and add 1 straw. Pull the skewer through one of the straws that is standing and tie off. 

Step 8: Repeat the last step to create and 3D pyramid shape.

Step 9: Repeat steps 2-8 on the other side of your pyramid. And now cut yarn all the same length to add to the corners of your new geometric shape. I cut about 3-4 pieces for each corner and made them about 6 inches long each. Tie a final long string the length of your choice to the top of your shape. Hang and enjoy!

Photography by Marilyn Nimz