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How-to: Scandinavian Flag Gift Wrap

December 6, 2012 3 Comments

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

This week has kinda become, “hey, my great-great-great-grandparents are from Norway” week on Hands Occupied. I touched on my Norwegian heritage  on Monday when I shared my grandma’s sandbakkel cookie recipe, which I guess put Scandinavia in my brain for the past couple weeks, resulting in this gift wrap idea. If you’ve got a rectangular gift to wrap for someone who is particularly excited about their heritage, this project is for you!

To be clear, my triple-great grandparents are actual Norwegian-borns, making me a not-so-glamorous fifth generation American. The thing is, though, that I’m still almost half Norwegian. My dad’s side of the family lived in rural Minnesota up until my dad went to college. Everyone married other Norwegians, and there’s one Dane and one Irish person thrown in there. There’s a whole lot of Scandinavian pride in a variety of flavors in that neck of the woods (and a lot of phrases like “uff da” in our lexicon). The convenient thing about Scandinavian flags are their similar design. This project can be easily done for any of these countries…

Image via Wikipedia. 

Supplies

construction or wrapping paper in appropriate colors

ruler & scissors or paper cutter

clear tape

Directions

For the purpose of illustration, I’m doing the Norwegian flag and all my directions will refer to the color scheme of that flag. Not Scandinavian? Never fear – you can put together most geometrically inclined flags easily to personalize gift wrap for the patriots in your family.

Wrap your box in red as you would any gift. The Norwegian flag design features a Nordic Cross design, which will be created with overlapping paper. Cut two long pieces of paper into 1-inch strips. Wrap one around the short side of your box, cut any excess length, and secure with rolled tape, creating a band around the box like a belt. Then do the same for the long side of the box.

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

Cut your blue paper into two 1/2-inch wide lengths of paper. Wrap and tape those pieces over the white cross and secure with rolled tape just like with the white cross.

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

For the long piece, since it’s the last element being added to the wrapping, I recommend placing your rolled tape as you see in the picture below. This  sticks it to the short side of the cross and helps keep it from sliding.

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

I kinda wish I’d have remembered to put a gift in this thing before wrapping it. Uff da!

How-to: Scandinavian Flag Wrapping Paper | HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: Christmas, How-to Tagged With: christmas, flag, gifts, holiday, norwegian, scandinavia, wrapping paper

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « Delicious Sandbakkel Filling Ideas
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Comments

  1. Michael Walsh

    April 5, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    Exactly what I was thinking of doing for my wife’s birthday gift this year. Very excited to have this be the first site Google presented when I typed in “wrapping paper flag”!

    We’re taking a family heritage tour of Norway this summer and I wanted to appropriately gift wrap the guide/itinerary book I’m creating for the trip – 130 (and growing every day) sites of historical family significance (mostly farms and churches) in 9 days, covering about 1200 miles.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      April 7, 2019 at 8:43 pm

      Amazing! Have fun!

      Reply
  2. Hillbilck

    December 8, 2023 at 11:28 am

    I am doing this. I live in Norway.

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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