Making Mobiles: Create beautiful Polish pajaki from natural materials

By Karolina Merska

In this practical book, learn how to make beautiful, folk mobiles – also known as ‘pajaki’ – to decorate your home or event space in show-stopping style.

Suspended from the ceiling comes a colourful cascade of cut-outs, pompoms and paper flowers. These richly ornamented chandeliers have caught the attention of interior and design shows across the world and, in her first book, Polish artist Karolina Merska demonstrates everything you need to know to master making these beautiful mobiles. From the traditional to the contemporary, there are 15 projects for every interior and skill level with step-by-step instructions throughout.

Let your imagination run wild, as Karolina shows you how you can make striking pajaki with simple materials including rye or paper straws, yarn and even fresh flowers. The practical section of the book helps you to master the building blocks of pajaki – from intricate paper flowers and geometric decorations to delicate ‘kalinka’, ‘hedgehog’ and ‘tube’ pompoms – before showing you how to recreate Karolina’s beautiful designs. You’ll be guided throughout by straightforward instructions and the projects intensify in skill level and complexity as your confidence grows. Start by constructing a small beginner’s mobile or mini Christmas decorations, then try your hand at more detailed projects including a fresh flower mobile that’s perfect for weddings, a geometric pajak that any interior designer would covet, and a giant pajak with serious wow-factor.

So hang your mobiles high and proud; combining history, heritage, time-honoured techniques and bright modern designs, you’ll fall in love with making mobiles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: May 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781911682295

Karolina Merska

Originally from Poland, Karolina Merska moved to the UK in 2007 shortly after obtaining an MA in History of Art at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Inspired by Polish folk art, she started making Pajaki chandeliers in 2015. Her work has been celebrated internationally and publicised by Channel 4, The World of Interiors, House and Garden, Elle Decoration, Elle Deco Italia, The Telegraph, Time Out, Harper’s Bazaar and many more. Exhibitions featuring Karolina’s work include the London Design Festival 2016, 2017, Ace Hotel London 2016, Brussels Design September 2017 and Copenhagen 2017. Karolina loves sharing her knowledge and teaches pajaki workshops in her studio in East London and around the world. A short film about her work can be found here: https://vimeo.com/180807251

Book preview

MAKING A PAJĄK

The most traditional pająki were made from rye straw and paper. In this book I will show you different varieties of shapes and ways to decorate your pająk. Once you know how to create the structure you can start experimenting with other materials to design your own unique pająk. I should to mention that you should take your time making a pająki. A simple design like the Kalinka Pająk (here) takes me about half a day to finish, while a larger-scale project like the Master Pająk (here), may take over a week to finish. Wishing you good luck and lots of patience in your pająkimaking adventure!

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MATERIALS & TOOLS

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These are the materials and tools that I have used to make my pająki. Some things are essential (here), but please feel free to experiment with other trimmings.

1 Tissue paper (here)

2 Card (here)

3 Crepe paper (here)

4 Glue

5 Metal hoops (here)

6 Compass

7 Pencil

8 White dried peas (here)

9 Foil

10 Cotton crochet thread (here)

11 Ruler

12 Scissors

13 Sharpener

14 6cm (2½ in.) sewing needles

15 Pins

16 Rye straw (here)

17 Thread snips

18 Spoon

19 Paper punch

Also useful for some projects: tube cutter, ribbon, ric rac trim, wool yarn, wooden dowel rods, florist wire, jute macramé twine, drinking straws, pasta, fabric glue, 5mm (¼ in.) brass tubes, felt beads, glass beads, metal wire, cutting pliers.

Rye straw

This is the most important material in your pająk. I use rye straw as it’s the strongest and the longest type. It should ideally be cut during harvest season using a scythe. But naturally not everyone has access to a wheat field and a scythe, so you can use paper drinking straws instead, as I have done on here.

Before using straw for a pająk you need to prepare it: cut off the rye ears and clean each piece by removing the thin outer layers. Then, cut each long piece into shorter ones, as it’s easier to store. Later on, you can cut them to the length you need.

Use only strong pieces of straw; do not use pieces that are too soft, as they will break easily.

Tip If ever a piece of straw breaks in your pająk, don’t worry. You can cut a tiny piece of clear tape and wrap it around the broken piece so it holds it together.

Dried peas

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I've used these for Zofia's Kierec on here. It is important is to buy dried white peas with the skin on. You can find these in larger supermarkets, health stores or