8 Free Printable Paper Star Garlands to Cut and String Across Your Windows

A paper star garland is the fastest way to make a room feel dressed without touching a glue gun full of hot wax or a box of ornaments from the attic. Eight designs sit below, and every one comes as a printable sheet that fills the whole page, plus a photo of that exact garland hanging in a real room so you know what you are aiming for before you pick up the scissors.

All you need on the supply side is a printer, white or coloured cardstock, scissors (a small craft knife helps on the fiddlier shapes), a length of cotton string or thin ribbon, and a glue stick. A hole punch earns its keep on the shape garlands, since nothing on these sheets is pre-marked for hanging: you decide where the string goes once the star is in your hand. One garland, start to finish, runs about thirty to forty-five minutes once the sheet is printed, longer if you are making a long run for a window or a mantel.

Four designs here are paper chains built from printed strips, and four are individual stars threaded on a string, so there is a version for a reader who wants speed and one for a reader who wants something that photographs well up close. For more printable paper garlands in the same spirit, there is also 18 Printable Paper Christmas Garlands Starring Nutcrackers, Gingerbread Men and Vintage Santas.

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The Classics You Already Know

These two keep the shape simple, either a plain star or a folk-art pattern, so they slot into almost any room without arguing with the rest of the decor. Start here if this is your first printable garland.

Classic Gold Stars

A solid gold five-point star with a thin darker gold outline running just inside the edge for a little dimension, nothing more. It reads as festive without pointing at one specific holiday, so it works over a mantel, across a window, or strung along a dessert table at a birthday.

Print the sheet, cut around the solid outer line on each star, then punch a small hole wherever you like near one point. Thread string through, knot it, and space the stars about three to four inches apart as you go, closer together if you want a fuller look once they are hanging.

Gold ink can sit heavy on some home printers, so run a plain paper test page first before committing the good cardstock. A pack of fifty sheets makes roughly forty stars once you cut two per sheet, which is enough for a six foot run with stars close together.

Scandinavian Red and White Stars

A red star with a thin white folk-art line running through the center of each point, the kind of pared-back pattern you see on Scandinavian straw ornaments and knit mittens. It suits a kitchen window or a plain wood mantel better than anything glittery, and it reads adult rather than childlike.

Cutting is the same as the gold version: trim along the outer line, punch a hole near one point, string, knot, repeat. Because the pattern is just a line rather than a filled shape, the cutting is forgiving even if your hand wobbles slightly.

Solid red cardstock drinks more ink than white does if you are printing the pattern rather than buying pre-colored paper, so matte cardstock in a true red saves on printer cartridges. If you want a palette that matches the rest of a room before you commit to this one, 26 Christmas Tree Color Schemes That Look Expensive in Any Living Room is worth a look first.

Retro and Playful

A sputnik-shaped starburst and a candy-striped chain, both cheerful rather than formal, both forgiving of a slightly wobbly cutting hand once the first ring or star is done.

1950s Atomic Starbursts

Not a classic star at all, this one is a sputnik-style burst with thin spiked rays and a small circle at the tip of each spike, in turquoise and burnt orange. It belongs at a cocktail party or a mid-century themed dinner, strung low across a buffet rather than high on a wall.

The spikes are the only tricky part. Cut slowly from the tip inward rather than trying to slice the whole outline in one pass, and keep a craft knife on hand for the narrow notches between rays where scissors tend to tear the paper instead of cutting it.

Thin spikes are also the first thing to snap off if you rush the cut or use dull blades, so sharpen or swap your scissors before you start a long run. Plan on losing one or two stars to a broken ray and cutting a spare.

Candy-Striped Stars

A paper chain rather than a shape garland: each ring alternates a band of diagonal red and white candy stripe with a band of tiny gold stars, all at the same scale down the sheet. It suits a birthday table or a casual holiday gathering where you want something cheerful fast.

Cut along the strip lines, curl the first strip into a ring and glue the overlap, then thread the next strip through before you close its own ring, and keep going down the sheet. This is the quickest garland in the set since there is no individual shape to punch or hole to place.

A paper chain eats paper faster than a star garland of the same length, since every ring needs its own strip: figure on roughly ten strips per foot of finished chain, so a six foot garland wants about two full sheets.

Wintry and Patterned

Two paper chains built on deep, cold backgrounds, one icy and one midnight. Neither is tied to a single holiday, so they can stay up past the obvious weeks.

Snowflake-Patterned Stars

A paper chain on an icy pale blue ground, each strip alternating a band of delicate white snowflakes with a band of small white stars, same scale all the way down so the rings match once they are glued. It suits any window that gets winter light, and it reads cold and clean rather than cute.

Build it the same way as any paper chain: cut the strips, loop the first into a ring and glue the overlap, thread the second strip through before closing it, and keep adding rings until the chain reaches the length you want.

White ink on pale blue cardstock can look washed out if the paper stock is too thin or too matte, so glossy photo paper gives the snowflakes and stars enough contrast to actually read once the garland is hanging a few feet away.

Navy Constellation Stars

A paper chain on deep navy cardstock, each strip printed with tiny gold stars joined by thin constellation lines, the same density and scale repeated down the whole sheet. It suits an evening dinner party or a window that looks out on an actual night sky, and it is the one design in this set that does not read as a specific holiday at all.

Assembly follows the standard paper chain steps: cut the strips along the lines, curl and glue the first into a ring, thread the next strip through before closing it, and repeat down the sheet until the chain is as long as you need.

Dark cardstock shows fingerprints and smudged glue far more than white or pale paper does, so use a glue stick rather than liquid glue and keep a clean cloth nearby to wipe fingers between rings.

Soft and Rich

A pastel version for a spring or birthday table, and a jewel-toned one for an evening gathering with candles and wine glasses. Same construction, opposite moods.

Pastel Stars

A soft blush, mint and lavender star, drawn as a solid color with a slightly darker outline, gentle enough for a spring gathering or an adult birthday that wants color without leaning holiday. It reads lighter and younger than the gold or burgundy versions in this set.

Cutting and stringing work exactly like the Classic Gold Stars: trim the outline, punch a hole near one point, thread, knot, and space the stars down the string however full you want the finished garland to look.

Pastel ink tends to print paler than it looks on screen, especially on cheap matte stock, so glossy photo paper keeps the color honest once the stars are cut and hanging. If a star theme fits the whole event rather than just the garland, 23 Twinkle Little Star Baby Shower Ideas That Shine So Bright has more of the same mood.

Burgundy and Gold Stars

A deep burgundy star edged in a thin gold line, closer to jewelry than to craft paper, suited to an evening holiday party with candlelight, wine and dark wood furniture rather than a daytime room. It is the most formal design in the set.

Cut, punch, thread and knot exactly as with the other star garlands, spacing the stars closer together than you think you need, since the dark color reads smaller from across a room than a pale one does.

Deep burgundy on thin paper can look patchy when light passes through it from behind, so choose a slightly heavier cardstock if the garland is going across a window rather than a solid wall; it blocks enough light to keep the color even.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make a paper star garland?

Most versions follow the same basic path regardless of style. You cut stars from printed or plain cardstock, then join them: for a shape garland you punch a small hole and thread string through each star, and for a paper chain you cut strips and glue each one into a ring, threading the next strip through before closing it. One tutorial describes it simply as beginning by using punches to cut stars, then laying out a length of twine before gluing the shapes to it.

How long does a paper star garland take to make?

It depends on the length you want, but a reasonable home estimate puts it at under two hours for a full window or mantel run. One maker figured roughly six feet of garland in about an hour to an hour and a half once the cutting rhythm got going, which lines up with what most of the designs here take.

How far apart should the stars be spaced on the string?

Closer than you think. One crafter who left three to four inches between each star said she wished she had scooted them a little closer together once it was hanging, since gaps read larger from across a room than they do on the table while you work.

Do you need a sewing machine to make a paper star garland?

No. A sewing machine speeds up the stitching for some versions, but plenty of people just punch the stars and glue them onto twine by hand instead, which is exactly how every design in this set is built, no machine required.

What paper should I use for a star garland?

Matte or glossy cardstock in the 65 to 80 pound range prints cleanly and holds its shape once cut. Glossy photo paper gives pastel and white ink more punch if the design relies on contrast, while plain matte cardstock is fine for solid colors like the gold or burgundy stars.

Can a paper star garland work for something other than Christmas?

Yes, and the color does the heavy lifting. Swapping the usual gold or red for pastels or jewel tones turns the same basic star shape into decor for a birthday, a spring gathering or an evening dinner rather than one specific holiday.