You have seen them posted all over, at least I have. This year I actually got around to putting one together. Easier said than done. Here is my list of do's and don'ts for making a stringed garland.
Don't- use cheap paper, unless you are willing to work with the deficiencies. I bought the pack of Valentine paper from Target in the $1 section. Didn't plan on using the same garland next year cuz I figured it would get too easily tangled in storage The down side of this was that the paper is one sided and very lite.
Do- use double sided paper, unless you like the white side in your arrangement.
Do- use a real sewing machine. I tried to cut a big corner and use my tiny craft sewing machine and it was more trouble that it was worth. The stitching is way obvious and easily comes unraveled.
Don't- sew through the middle. Unless you were smart and used two sided paper. Since the top of my hearts were heavier they tended to go to the bottom making it the upside down and back of each heart. I remedied this by applying a dab of glue to the back/bottom of the conflicted hearts to weigh the bottoms down. Being cheeper thin paper they then puckered from this but from a distance you can't tell.
So Do- sew across the top.
The one thing I do like about the lighter paper is that they flutter so much prettier when hung.
Storage- if you love it and want to keep it for years to come I am sure you could, with patience, fold them accordion style and paper clip them together to prevent tangling. )
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