wreath
Crafty McCrafterson

Easy DIY Holiday Wreath

I’m bringing back an old post because, like me, you might need to update your Christmas or holiday wreath this year!

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Christmas is probably my favorite time of year, and I go a little overboard. Our Christmas lights are hung on the house already. We put up two trees, and I’m sure there would be a third upstairs if I had any help whatsoever taking it all down.  I won’t even tell you how many bins of Christmas decorations are cluttering up my garage, or that I will probably have to add another one this year. My mom even found a vintage sled and ice skates to decorate my front doorway (since they are much dearer to come by here in Texas. The lack of snow and such.)

The only thing missing is still is my wreath, which I probably should re-do this year.  There are a lot of different ways to make a holiday wreath, but I think this is the easiest way to do it and give your wreath a lot of color!

What you will need for your wreath:

  • a 14″ or 16″ wreath frame, with or without* ties attached.
  • Approximately 18 feet of deco mesh or burlap (for this wreath, I used 2 rolls of red mesh ribbon, 19″x4 yards)
  • 16 feet of 4″-wide burlap ribbon, cut into 12-inch long pieces.
  • 3 or 4 rolls of 2-1/2″ wide ribbon, your choice
  • floral picks or unbreakable holiday ornaments
  • stiff floral wire
  • large ornament/decoration for the center, if desired
  • fabric scissors
  • 12″ ruler
  • *16 pipe cleaners (if you are using a wire form without pre-attached ties)

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The How-To:

Clear off a large working space.

Prepping the Materials

Step 1: Prep the wreath frame by gently pulling the ties* to an upright position.

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*If you are using a plain wreath frame without ties, you will need to attach pipe cleaners. On the outer ring, twist 9 pipe cleaners at even intervals, then twist 7 into the inner ring. 

Step 2: Next, you will need to cut all your ribbon into 12″ lengths. You will need 16 pieces of burlap ribbon.

Cut a total of 32 pieces of your 2-1/2 ribbon cut into 12″ lengths. (I cut a few extras of each so I can mix and match). If you are using 4 different ribbon patterns, you will want to cut 8 pieces of each. For 3 different ribbon patterns, I would cut 11 or 12 of each, so you can have a variety of combinations.

Step 3: After you have cut the 2-1/2″ ribbon, fold them in half lengthwise, edges down, and cut in a diagonal away from the bottom edge to the middle fold, like so.

sb-ribboncutting

Do this to both ends. If your ribbon isn’t too thick, you can cut 2 or three ribbons at a time. They don’t need to be perfect!

Now we’re ready to start adding ribbon!

Step 4: We’ll start with the outside ring.
Hold the mesh ribbon in your hands and let the end of the roll drape to the floor.
Folding under the outside edges, gather (scrunching, if you will) the ribbon and place the bunched end into one of the twist ties.
Twist it twice – don’t over tighten, as you will be undoing the twist to add in more ribbon later.

sb-starting-wreath

Step 5: Now, eyeball a 12″ length of fabric, and from there, folding under the outside edges, gather the loose end of the fabric.
Measure and adjust to 12″, then place that gather in the next twist tie, twisting firmly twice to hold in place.

I find it is easiest to turn the wreath as you go so that as you gather, you are pulling the fabric to you. This will keep the outside edge from becoming longer than the inside edge.

sb-measure-mesh

Step 6: Continue around the wreath until you get to the tie you started. Untie it, place your last gather on top of the first. Now re-twist the tie around both pieces of mesh.
(This is why you don’t want to over-twist!)

Gather up the end of the fabric on the other side of the tie and cut it off. (The outer ring generally uses all but the last foot of the roll, so start the inside ring with the second roll if you bought it in 4-yard length.)

Step 7: Repeat the same process in the inner ring, beginning your first gather where you started the outer ring.
When you get to the last tie, attach your bunch of fabric, then trim off the excess on the other side of the twist.
Save the remnants for another crafting project.

Now, there are two ways you can approach the next step – you can add all three ribbons at the same time, or you can add them in steps. I like to add them in steps as I can control placement better.

Step 8: Holding a piece of burlap ribbon, pinch it in the middle with one hand.

Starting with the outer ring, carefully untwist a tie and quickly place the center of the burlap ribbon on top of your mesh ribbon, and re-tie.
Continue the process until you have placed a burlap ribbon in each of the ties.
Tuck the loose ends of your mesh under the wire frame and out of sight.
Gently spread and pouf the ribbon around the form.

Stop and admire your work!!

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Step 9: Next, choose two different ribbons, laying them on top of one another.
Pinch in the middle, and quickly but carefully untie a twist (again).
Place the ribbons on top of the burlap and re-tie, tightly this time, because you are done with that tie!
Spread out the ribbons, making an “X”.
Continue this process around the inner and outer edges of the wreath frame, alternating or switching up ribbon combinations.

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Finishing Touches

Step 10: Decide where the top of your wreath will be.
Cut a long length of floral wire and tie one end to the outer ring.
Loop the wire around three fingers and back under the ring, making three loops.
Finish off by wrapping the end of the wire several times around the bottom of the loop.
This will make your hanger and mark the top of your wreath (for centering decorations.)

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Step 11: Lay your floral picks and/or ornaments on your wreath to determine placement.
Take them off, noting the location.
If you are using an ornament, use a length of wire to attach it.
My picks had a wire base (not plastic), so I simply stuck them through the wreath and wrapped the wire tightly to the frame.
You can also use floral wire to attach them.

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For these soft burlap ornaments, I simply pierced the back with the wire and tied it to the wreath.

Step 12: Finally, I attached my larger decorative piece with wires to the top of the frame.

Note: I do not use a glue gun to attach decorations to the wreath because I live in Texas and have a west-facing door that gets a lot of hot afternoon sunlight that could melt the glue.  I prefer to attach everything with wire because it also allows me to switch out the decoration if it gets tired.

You, however, are more than welcome to go nuts with your glue gun!

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Look at that! Your gorgeous wreath is ready to hang!

TIP: I’m NOT a fan of the crafting mess – particularly when I’m working with burlap, mesh, or anything with glitter, as it tends to stick to my clothing and is a general pain to get out of soft surfaces (because glitter spreads like germs).  A lint roller makes for SUPER quick clean-up of the burlap bits that will shed all over your shirt while you make this.

Don’t say I never give you anything.

I had so much fun making this holiday wreath – the hardest part was choosing the design because I had SO many ideas for how to decorate it.

Tell me: what colors would YOU choose for your own holiday wreath?

Pinterest image for holiday wreath

Looking for more fun holiday crafts?
Check out my easy Christmas Countdown Chain here!

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5 Comments

    • Jenn

      You have two options – you can leave them sticking up, to add to the decorations, OR you can tuck them back into the wire form, so they are out of sight.

      Just make sure that once you add that LAST set of ribbons, you twist it tightly. (Only give it two twists until then because you have to untwist it to add more ribbon – you’ll drive yourself mad if you twist it up tightly and multiple times each time, otherwise!)

    • Jenn

      You need to make one! It was SO easy, and I love that it is so easy to customize! Instead of the burlap backing the ribbon bows, colored 4″ deco mesh looks fantastic, too.

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