How to make a willow star wand

23 April 2025

How to Weave a Willow Star Wand

This project shows how to make a simple willow star wand using a single rod. It’s a great small craft for beginners and works well as a decorative piece, children’s project, or festive make.

Choosing Your Willow

For this star wand, a 5ft brown willow rod is used, but you can work with other sizes. If you use thicker or longer willow, you’ll just need to scale the measurements up slightly.

Start with the butt end of the rod (the thicker end).

Measuring and Creating the Bends

Cut off around 7–8cm (about 3 inches) from the butt end. This small piece becomes a measuring guide.

From the butt end of the main rod, measure up roughly 30cm (about 12 inches) and make your first bend. Using the same measure, create five bends in total, evenly spaced along the rod. These bends will form the points of the star.

Once all five bends are in place, you can put the measuring piece aside.

Forming the Star Shape

Starting again at the butt end:

Take the rod underneath the first bent section.
Bend two follows naturally.
The third bend will sit just beyond the main structure.
Bring the thinner end of the rod over the top.
Wrap it back underneath again.

With a little adjustment, you should be able to bring the fifth bend round so it touches the main stem of the wand. Gently squeeze and jiggle the bends until the star shape comes together neatly.

Securing the Structure

Once the star shape is formed:

Take the thinner end of the rod and wrap it around the main stem twice.
Point the end back towards the star.

Now use this thin end to fill in the centre of the star. Work between the inner points (often called the “armpits” of the star), weaving from one gap to the next to create a simple central pattern.

Finish by sewing the end through the middle two or three times to secure everything firmly.

Finishing Touches

You can choose to:

Leave a small tail of willow sticking out to create a “shooting star” effect, or
Trim the end neatly and cut it flush for a cleaner finish.

Once trimmed, your willow star wand is complete.