(Left, a Brighid's Cross. Graphic © 1999 Lisa Paitz Spindler)

Making a Brighid's Cross

By Shae Clancy

The following are step-by-step instructions for how to make a Brighid's Cross (see left).

1. Get a bundle of rushes or straw about 15 inches long.
2. Take two and cross them at the centre.
3. Fold one back on itself around the other one.
4. Take a third one and fold it around the second one, parallel to the first. You should now have a T-shaped piece, with one arm having one strand, another having two and the third having three.
5. Fold a fourth rush around the third one to form a cross again.
6. Fold a fifth one around the fourth, parallel to the single strand.
7. Continue folding rushes around the previous one until the central square is about one and a half to two inches wide (this is optional, but the cross gets a bit unwieldy if it's much bigger).
8. Finally, tie the ends of each arm tightly with wool or other natural fibre. Tidy up the ends with a scissors.

Straw can be used instead of rushes, but sometimes it is brittle and breaks easily when being folded. Remember too that freshly cut rushes will dry and the cross will become loose. Just untie the ends and pull them all tightly together again.

For another example of making a Brighid's Cross, see: http://www.toad.net/~sticker/crafts.html

This article in the Celtic Well E-Journal is © Copyright 1999 by Shae Clancy. Sections may be freely quoted, provided the author is properly cited with the URL and the words"electronic version." You may link to this site, but please do not copy this web page and its dependent web pages without contacting one of the Celtic Well List moderators.