How to Make Paper Rosettes for a Birthday Backdrop

Paper rosettes are accordion-folded strips pulled around into a full circle and pinned flat at the center. A cluster of five or six in mixed sizes fills a wall behind the cake table faster than almost any other handmade decoration, and each one uses only a sheet or two of paper.

The folding is simple. What trips people up is the size (strips that are too short will not close into a circle) and the center, which springs open unless it is secured properly. Both have straightforward fixes.

What you need

• Cardstock of about 65 lb (176 gsm), or lighter paper such as wrapping paper or text-weight paper
• A ruler, a pencil and scissors
• A bone folder or an empty ballpoint pen for scoring
• Double-sided tape or a glue stick for joining strips
• Hot glue, or tacky glue plus a heavy book, for the center
• Two paper circles per rosette, about one third of the finished diameter

How rosette size works

Two rules decide everything. First, the width of the strip becomes the radius of the rosette, so a strip 3 in (7.5 cm) wide makes a rosette about 6 in (15 cm) across. Second, the total strip length needs to be about three to four times the finished diameter. Less than that and the folds are stretched nearly flat; more and the rosette becomes dense and hard to press down.

A letter sheet is 11 in (27.9 cm) long, so anything bigger than a small rosette needs two or three strips joined end to end.

Narrow folds of about 1/2 in (12 mm) suit small rosettes; folds of 1 in (2.5 cm) look better on large ones and take half as long to make.

Fold even accordion pleats

Uneven pleats are the main reason a rosette looks lopsided, so this is the step to take slowly.

Cardstock: score first. Mark the fold width along both long edges of the strip, line the ruler up between each pair of marks and draw the bone folder along it. Then fold back and forth along the scores. Scored cardstock folds exactly on the line and does not crack; the guide on how to cut, score and fold paper explains the technique in detail.

Lighter paper: fold in halves. Fold the strip in half end to end, then in half again, and again, until the sections are the width you want. Unfold, then re-crease every other fold in the opposite direction so the strip zigzags. No measuring is needed, and the folds come out equal because each one halves the last.

Each strip should begin and end with folds that point the same way, so that neighboring strips can overlap by one pleat.

Join, close and flatten the rosette

1. Mark and fold the strips. Fold every strip for one rosette before joining any of them.
2. Join them into one long stack. Overlap the last pleat of one strip onto the first pleat of the next and stick them with double-sided tape. The join disappears inside a fold.
3. Close the ring. Bring the two free ends together and tape them the same way. You now have a pleated tube, like a paper cuff.
4. Flatten it. Stand the tube on the table, gather the top edge inward with your fingertips and push down. The top edge becomes the center and the bottom edge fans out into a circle. Hold it flat with one hand.
5. Secure the center. Glue a paper circle over the center, pressing it into the tips of the pleats. Turn the rosette over while still holding it and glue a second circle on the back.

Why rosettes spring open, and how to stop it

A flattened rosette is under tension: every pleat is trying to return to a tube. A glue stick or a dab of school glue on a single side will not hold it. Three things keep it shut:

• A circle on both sides. The back circle does as much work as the front one, and it gives a flat place for tape when hanging.
• Enough glue, on the pleat tips. Hot glue grabs in seconds, which is why it is the usual choice, but it is an adult tool and can burn. Tacky glue also works: apply it generously, press the circle on and leave the rosette under a heavy book until set.
• Enough length. If the rosette fights hard, the strip is probably too short for its width. Add another strip.

The guide to glue and tape for party crafts compares the adhesives that suit this kind of joint.

Shape the outer edge

The edge is shaped before the ring is closed, while the strip is still a folded stack. Hold the stack tightly and trim one end (the end that will become the outside) through all the layers:

• Straight, left as it is, gives a plain circular edge.
• Pointed, cut at an angle to a peak, gives a spiky starburst edge.
• Rounded, cut in a curve, gives a scalloped edge.

Cardstock stacks are thick, so trim a few pleats at a time and use the first cut as the guide for the rest. Trim the same end of every strip in the rosette, or the shaped edge will end up half inside.

Centers, layers and hanging

A contrasting center circle is the simplest finish. For more depth, glue a small rosette onto the middle of a large one, or stack a scalloped circle under a plain one.

For a backdrop, make three sizes and overlap their edges in a loose cluster. Half-circle versions fill gaps along a straight edge such as a table front; see paper fan decorations for those. Hang rosettes by taping a loop of thread to the back circle, or with a removable adhesive on the back circle, tested on a hidden spot of the wall first. Keep them well away from candles and other heat.