Wreaths can be made of just about any kind of material however the savvy crafter knows themed fabric for the holiday occasion or precious scrap fabric can easily be fashioned into a charming fabric wreath.
No-sew fabric wreath:
Purchased 12" straw ring (leave plastic wrapper on or wrap in plastic wrap)
Christmas print and coordinating solid fabric (about 1 yard of each, 45” wide), cut into 3" or 4" squares with pinking shears
Diluted white glue
Optional small ornaments and ribbon
Piece of florist wire to form a loop for hanging
Screwdriver, wooden skewer, or pointed end of most anything to push fabric into straw wreath
Create a loop for hanging the wreath by winding a piece of florist wire around what will be the top of the wreath. Start filling in your wreath with the fabric squares by placing the pointed end of your push stick in the middle of one fabric square; while holding the fabric loosely bunched or twisted around the pointed end, dip about 1 inch of the fabric lightly in the glue and then immediately push into the straw wreath (best to place the straw wreath over newspapers or waxed paper to catch any drippings). Continue dipping each fabric square (alternate print with solid fabric) into the glue and pushing them into the straw, somewhat close together, working from the outer-side toward the inner-side, completely covering the visible parts of the straw. The more fabric squares that are pushed into the straw, the fuller the wreath will be. Glue on small ornaments; add a festive ribbon if you’d like and hang your wreath inside or outdoors.
To see charming pictures of others’ no sew fabric wreaths visit:
Vicki’s No Sew Fabric Christmas Wreath
San Diego Zoo Kid Territory: Crafts: Fabric Wreath
To make an easy-to-sew hand-stitched felt ornament wreath (or garland):
Make some gingerbread men, snowmen, Santa, doves, angels, stars, bells, or pine tree shapes out of two pieces of your choice of colored felt using large cookie cutters as templates, blanket stitch (Annie’s Attic blanket stitch instructions and illustration) around the edges with contrasting color embroidery floss, lightly stuff with fiberfill and glue to a straw or grapevine wreath. Take the same ornaments and string together with ribbon or cording to make a coordinating festive garland.
Butterick has a free project titled, Winter Wreath with easy directions to make using a purchased vine wreath decorated by sewing bits of fleece, felt, gingham and calico fabric into snowmen and Christmas trees. Enter your email for access to download any of their free projects.
Decorating your home with a wreath has its roots in history. Called diadems by the Persians, the word was derived from the Greek word diadein, meaning - to bind around. Those of imperial stature began wearing diadems made of bands of fabric and later from laurel leaves. The most famous of diadem wearers was Julius Caesar. The diadems worn as symbols of authority or presented as accolade were much later replaced by elaborate headdresses or crowns. Around the fifteenth century the display of wreaths to honor religious holidays and give tribute to special occasions began to appear and continue today as a western cultural holiday tradition.
Sew happy, sew well.
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