How to Make a Brigid's Cross, Step by Step (With or Without Rushes)
How to make a St Brigid's cross step by step for February 1: the folding method, how many rushes you need, paper and pipe cleaner versions, the three-armed and diamond types, where to hang it and what to do with last year's cross.
A Brigid's cross is woven, not tied: each rush folds around the one before it, and after sixteen of them you have the square centre and four offset arms that have hung over Irish doors on February 1 for centuries. Here is how to make one step by step, with rushes or with what you can actually find in an American January: paper, pipe cleaners, straw or raffia.
Contents
Fold a rush in half around the middle of a second, upright rush. Turn the pair a quarter turn, then fold the next rush over everything pointing up. Repeat, turning the same way each time, until you have 12 to 16 rushes. Tie each arm near the end and trim them even.
The custom of making Brigid's crosses on St Brigid's Eve, January 31, is first attested in the seventeenth century.
The National Museum of Ireland holds several hundred crosses collected after the Irish Folklore Commission's 1942 questionnaire and classifies them into types.
St Brigid's Day, February 1, has been a public holiday in Ireland since 2023.
Old crosses were traditionally burned or buried when the new one was hung, with burial often preferred.
Paper strips and pipe cleaners are widely used today to make Brigid's crosses with children and where rushes are not available.
A Brigid's cross hung over the door protects the house from fire, lightning and illness.
VERIFIED = verifiable in scientific or official sources · TRADITIONAL = historically or culturally recorded · LIVED PRACTICE = widely practiced, experiential knowledge · NOT PROVEN = spiritual interpretation, not scientifically established.
Quick answer: Fold a rush in half around the middle of a second, upright rush. Turn the pair a quarter turn, then fold the next rush over everything pointing up. Repeat, turning the same way each time, until you have 12 to 16 rushes. Tie each arm near the end and trim them even.
What is a St Brigid's cross?
A St Brigid's cross is a small four-armed cross woven from rushes or straw, made on the eve of St Brigid's Day, January 31, and hung over a door, a window or in the rafters to protect the house through the year. The best-known form has a square woven centre with four arms set slightly off center, so the whole thing looks like it is turning.
It belongs to Brigid of Kildare, Ireland's only female patron saint, and to her feast on February 1, which coincides with the old Gaelic festival of Imbolc. The custom is first written down in the seventeenth century and was kept across Ireland well into the twentieth; in 1962 the cross became the first on-screen logo of Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ.
What you need
For a standard four-armed cross about 7 to 9 inches across you need 12 to 16 rushes or strips, each 12 to 18 inches long, plus four short pieces of thread, thin string or small rubber bands, and scissors. Fresh rushes work best. Everything else on the list below works too.
| Material | Where to get it in the US | Preparation | How it holds up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh soft rush (Juncus effusus) | Wet ditches, pond edges, marshy fields; common across most of the US | None. Use the same day | The traditional choice. Dries pale green to straw color and keeps for a year |
| Wheat or rye straw | Craft stores (sold for wheat weaving), farm stands | Soak 20–30 minutes in warm water, keep damp under a towel | Very durable, golden, slightly stiff to fold |
| Paper strips | Any printer or kraft paper | Cut 1-inch strips from the long side of a letter sheet, fold in thirds lengthwise | Easy and crisp; ideal for children and first tries |
| Pipe cleaners | Any craft aisle; standard ones are 12 inches | None | Hold their shape without ties; the easiest version |
| Raffia or paper drinking straws | Craft stores, party aisle | Raffia: twist each strand loosely. Straws: flatten | Raffia looks closest to straw; straws are bulky |
If you gather rushes, take them from land where you have permission, cut rather than uproot so the plant regrows, and stay out of protected wetlands. Pick stems of similar thickness: uneven rushes are the most common reason a cross comes out lopsided.
How to make a St Brigid's cross step by step
Hold the first rush upright. Fold the second in half around its middle so the ends point right. Turn the pair a quarter turn counterclockwise, then fold each new rush in half over all the strands now pointing up, ends to the right, and turn again. After 12 to 16 rushes, tie each arm and trim.
Making a four-armed Brigid's cross
- Start with one rush held upright between the thumb and forefinger of your weaker hand. Grip it at its middle.
- Fold the second rush in half around the middle of the first, so it wraps it like a hairpin, with its two ends pointing to the right. Pinch the crossing point.
- Turn the whole piece a quarter turn counterclockwise, keeping your grip on the center. The rush you just folded now points up.
- Fold the third rush in half over the strands pointing up, close to the center, ends pointing right. Pull it snug, not tight.
- Turn a quarter turn counterclockwise again and fold the fourth rush over everything pointing up. You now have four arms and the start of a square in the middle.
- Keep going: turn, fold over the top arm, turn, fold. Always turn the same way and always fold over the arm that is pointing up. Each arm grows by one rush every four turns.
- Stop at 12 to 16 rushes, when the woven square in the center is the size you want. Hold the center firmly; this is where it wants to slip.
- Tie off each arm about an inch from the end with thread or a small rubber band, starting with the last arm you folded, which locks the rest.
- Trim the four arms to the same length, leaving a little beyond the ties. Gently straighten each strand so the square shows clearly.
Temple Tip
Work with damp material and a firm, steady grip on the center, not a tight one. Squeezing makes rushes split and paper crease in the wrong place. If the center starts to twist, stop, square it up with your thumb, and only then fold the next piece.
How many rushes do you need for a Brigid's cross?
Twelve rushes make a small, open cross; sixteen is the usual number in modern instructions and gives a solid square center; twenty or more makes a chunky cross with a large center. Always add rushes in multiples of four so every arm ends up with the same number of strands.
If you want to work with this yourself, this is what we use
Home Blessing Ritual Candle — 8 oz Harmony & Protection Candle
The cross goes over the door; on Brigid's Eve the house traditionally had a fire or a candle going while it was made. This sandalwood amber candle with rosemary and thyme is what we light for a home blessing, and it fits the evening. $17.99.
Can you make a Brigid's cross without rushes?
Yes. People have always used whatever grew nearby, straw most of all, and Irish records also mention reeds, grass, hay, wood and even fabric. Paper strips and pipe cleaners work with exactly the same folding method. The shape, the date and the intention are what make it a Brigid's cross, not the plant.
Paper version (good with children)
- Cut 16 strips 1 inch wide from the long side of a sheet of letter paper or kraft paper.
- Fold each strip in thirds lengthwise and crease it, so you have sturdy 1/3-inch ribbons.
- Follow the same steps as for rushes, folding each strip in half over the arm pointing up.
- Secure the arms with a dab of glue or tape on the back instead of thread, and trim.
Pipe cleaner version
- Use 8 to 12 standard 12-inch pipe cleaners. Green or natural colors look closest to rushes.
- Fold them exactly as you would rushes. They hold their shape, so you can let go of the center between folds.
- Twist the ends of each arm together instead of tying them, and snip them even.
Other kinds of Brigid's cross
The four-armed woven cross is the one most people mean, but the National Museum of Ireland, which holds hundreds of crosses collected by the Irish Folklore Commission in 1942, sorts them into several types. Three are worth knowing if you want to make something closer to a particular region's tradition.
| Type | What it looks like | Where it was made | How it is built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-armed woven | Square center, four offset arms | All over Ireland | The method above |
| Three-armed | Triangle center, three arms | Parts of Ulster | Same folding, but the fourth fold joins the two free arms, closing a triangle |
| Diamond or lozenge | A woven diamond on two crossed sticks, sometimes extra diamonds on the arms | The most common type in Munster and Connacht | Straw wound around crossed sticks, the same technique as the yarn “God's eye” |
| Bare cross | Two straw plaits or two pieces of wood bound together | West coast | Simple lashing, no weaving |
For the three-armed cross, the museum's own instructions are to build the first three folds as normal and then, instead of a fourth arm, fold the next rush around the two arms that have had nothing added, which closes the shape into a triangle. Left-handed makers can turn the work clockwise instead; the cross simply comes out as a mirror image.
When do you make a St Brigid's cross?
Traditionally on the evening of January 31, St Brigid's Eve: the rushes were gathered before dark, the cross made after supper and left out overnight, and hung on the morning of February 1. In 2027, Brigid's Eve is Sunday, January 31 and St Brigid's Day is Monday, February 1, which is also a public holiday in Ireland.
If you follow the astronomical midpoint of winter rather than the calendar date, Imbolc falls on February 3, 2027 at 8:46 PM Eastern, as worked out in our guide on how to celebrate Imbolc. Either date works for a cross. The rest of the year's festivals are in the Wheel of the Year 2027.
Where do you hang a Brigid's cross?
Over the main door or a window of the house, or in the kitchen, traditionally the room with the hearth. Crosses were also put up in barns and stables to protect the animals. Hang it inside, above the door frame, with a small nail or a loop of thread through the woven center.
The door is the point: the cross belongs to the same family of threshold customs as bells, salt and doorstep charms, which we cover in how to ward your home and witch bells for the door. If you are making one for a new home, our house blessing ritual and the altar and home pieces we carry fit around it.
What do you do with an old Brigid's cross?
Traditionally the old cross is replaced each year on St Brigid's Day, and the old one is burned in the hearth or buried in the ground. Burial was often preferred, because Brigid was linked with farming and the land. Some households simply kept adding crosses, so the rafters held years of them.
Today, the practical options are the same: compost or bury a rush or straw cross in the garden, burn it safely outdoors, or keep it. Paper and pipe-cleaner crosses can go in the recycling or be kept. Our note on how to dispose of ritual offerings covers the general etiquette.
What does the Brigid's cross symbolize?
In the Christian legend, Brigid wove a cross from rushes on the floor while explaining the Crucifixion to a dying pagan chieftain, sometimes said to be her own father, who asked to be baptized. In folk practice it was a protective object for house and livestock against fire, lightning, storms and illness, and a sign of the coming spring.
Because the feast lies on the old festival of Imbolc and the offset arms suggest a turning wheel, many modern pagans read it as a sun or fire symbol of Brigid as a goddess. That reading is common today; the historical record documents the cross as a Christian household custom. Both traditions make it on the same night, which seems right for a saint who shares her name with a goddess.
Which Brigid's cross should you make?
Pick the line closest to your evening.
Voices from practice: what people report
We do not publish invented testimonials. These are patterns that recur in public accounts from Irish schools, community centres and makers' blogs, given without names.
The most common report from first-timers is that the center slips: almost everyone's first cross twists until they learn to hold it firmly at the middle and turn the whole piece rather than moving the rushes around it. People who make them every year describe the custom as a family evening as much as a craft. And diaspora families in the US and UK often mention making them with paper or pipe cleaners because rushes are hard to find in a city in January.
What we don't promise
A Brigid's cross does not prevent fire, lightning, illness or burglary. Those were the purposes the custom gave it, and they are recorded here as tradition, not as effects. Keep your smoke alarm working regardless. What a cross does do is mark the start of February and the turn toward spring in a way you can see every time you walk through the door.
Practically: how to work with this
- Plan for January 31, 2027. Gather or buy material the same day or the day before; soak straw that afternoon.
- Make one practice cross first from paper so the folding is in your hands before you use rushes.
- Light a candle while you work, if you like the old sense of the evening; the Irish candle in the window belongs to the same household tradition.
- Hang it on February 1 above the inside of the front door, and take down last year's.
- If protection is your focus, our protection collection has what we use alongside it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a St Brigid's cross step by step?
Hold one rush upright, fold a second in half around its middle with the ends pointing right, turn the pair a quarter turn counterclockwise, and fold each new rush over the strands pointing up. Repeat until you have 12 to 16 rushes, then tie each arm and trim them even.
How many rushes do you need for a Brigid's cross?
Sixteen is the usual number and gives a solid square center. Twelve makes a smaller, more open cross. Add rushes in multiples of four so each arm gets the same number of strands.
Can you make a Brigid's cross without rushes?
Yes. Straw, paper strips folded lengthwise, pipe cleaners and raffia all work with the same folding method. Straw has been used as often as rushes historically.
When should you make a Brigid's cross?
Traditionally on the evening of January 31, St Brigid's Eve, to hang on February 1. In 2027 that is Sunday evening, January 31, and Monday, February 1.
Where do you hang a Brigid's cross?
Above the inside of the front door, over a window, or in the kitchen. Traditionally crosses were also hung in barns and stables to protect the animals.
What do you do with last year's Brigid's cross?
Traditionally it is burned or buried when the new one goes up on February 1, with burial often preferred. You can also compost it, burn it safely outdoors, or keep it.
Is the Brigid's cross pagan or Christian?
The documented custom is Christian, tied to St Brigid of Kildare and her feast on February 1. Because the feast coincides with Imbolc and Brigid shares her name with a Celtic goddess, many modern pagans also make it as a sun or fire symbol.
Why does a Brigid's cross have a square in the middle?
Because it is woven: each rush is folded around the one before, and turning the cross the same way each time builds a woven square and pushes each arm slightly off center.
Sources & further reading
- National Museum of Ireland: How to make a 3-legged St Brigid’s Cross and How to make a plaited St Brigid’s Cross (instruction sheets, accessed 2026).
- O'Shea, K.: How to make a St. Brigid’s Cross. IrishCentral (2026).
- Wikipedia, “Brigid’s cross” (accessed 2026), summarizing the Irish Folklore Commission's 1942 survey, the National Museum's classification and the RTÉ logo history.
- Government of Ireland: announcement of the St Brigid's Day public holiday, first observed February 2023 (2022).
- Ó Duinn, S.: The Rites of Brigid, Goddess and Saint. Columba Press (2005).
- Imbolc cross-quarter time: our own calculation with Skyfield and the NASA JPL DE421 ephemeris (2026).
