So I know last night I said I was going to make a particular ribbon wreath that used loops of ribbon, but I made a mistake. That’s actually the kind of wreath I’m hoping to make for Mom over the weekend (I expect it to be very time consuming). In all actuality I made a wreath looking similar to this only better (in my opinion). I’m even going to tell you how you can do it, too. The best part about making this wreath is that it’s cheap (in total I paid $8.50 at Michael’s Craft Store) and it’s so difficult to screw up because I personally think it looks better a little messy.It’s also a semi-quick craft, took me a little over an hour and a half.
I started with those old clothes I mentioned in some classic fall colours. Side note, while at the craft store, I was instantly mad at myself for not choosing a more Halloween theme because the colours are brighter and funky. If you’ve got the time, make one for every holiday! Back on track to those clothes. I chose an avocado green from some thermal shorts, a whispy patterned tan/cream/brown fabric from an old blouse (it was so pretty back in the day I really hated to cut it up), chocolate brown from another thin fabric shirt, and a red/cream patterned fabric from an old heavy curtain. If you’re going the old clothes route, think about the fabric you’re choosing. Heavy fabric will hold its “bow” shape, thin fabric will dangle like spanish moss. I also bought additional ribbon – a silver/copper fall pattern wide ribbon (wired), 2 medium width yellow/orange/brown ribbons in different patterns (wired), 2 spools of extra thin (non-wired) in bright yellow and holly red, and 1 yard (non-wired, off the spool) twilight blue for a pop of colour to break up the scheme.
(Notice Merlot…“helping”…)
To start I hunted down a wire clothes hanger. This was difficult because wire hangers are ancient, and 98% of mine are plastic. You could buy a wire circle from the craft store, but I couldn’t find one (not that I actually asked someone, of course). I found a wire hanger with the cardboard at the bottom, and since I have zero experience in wire hangers, I didn’t realize the wire doesn’t go through the cardboard…there’s nothing there. Many minutes and sore fingers later I had some semblance of a circle going, but lesson learned, don’t go for the ones with cardboard. It doesn’t matter that the circle isn’t perfect or it has some bumps, bulky ribbon and trimming at the end will hide that. Next cut your ribbon into strips. The length should depend on the diameter of your ring. I did about 4” strips, but you could easily get away with 3”. I trimmed mine down quite a bit at the end. Snip, snip, snip into piles of colour until you have literally mounds of ribbon. Then start tying.
I tied my ribbon in order of width, largest to smallest, and set aside the blue ribbon and the super skinny yellow and red. These are my accent ribbons and I want them to be strategic so I’ll do them last. There’s really no right or wrong here - you can do a pattern, or do sporadic like I did. If you’re choosing to do a pattern, you’d want to start at the top, tie your knots and continuously scrunch them towards the top until you’ve worked your way around. If you’re doing a random “pattern”, it should look a little more like mine. You’ll see I just randomly tied on bits of ribbon. Notice I’m NOT trimming or caring how disastrous and un-wreath-like it looks at this point.
When I’ve made it through my piles, I do a little scrunching and make sure there’s no holes I should fill. Then I take my accent colours and tie them wherever I think they should belong. For those of us who like a little more instruction, a good idea is to cut them into 4 even pieces. Tie the blue first (remember largest to smallest), one at each “point”, as if the wreath were a compass. Turn slightly and repeat with the yellow, then turn and repeat with the red. (If you’re working a smaller wreath, you might want to do three pieces instead). Now we’re finally done tying. Phew.
Time to make your wreath “bootiful” (as Max would say). I dovetailed my edges because I like the way it looks, but you can do angled edges or flat or whatever. This is also where I trim the length, which I did all in one step, but if you’re unsure you might want to do length first, then edging (if any). ALWAYS CUT LESS! It’s so much better to cut less, step back and realize you want it a little shorter, than to cut more and look back and have it be crooked or lopsided. Messy is good! Messy is your friend in this project! When you’re done trimming, hold it out and contemplate, then arrange your ribbons so some stick out in front, others at odd angles, etc. Once you’re pleased, tie a loop of ribbon at the top to hang with. I used some lace trim from that chocolate shirt, but in retrospect I wish I’d saved some of that blue ribbon.
Ta-laaa! (another Max-ism)
This would also look very cute if you spice it up with some embellishments. I’m looking for a cute little “Welcome” tag for mine, but little pumpkins would also look very nice.
**I should mention these aren’t my bright ideas (though I wish they were), so if you like this, show some love over at TheLongThread.com where I got this idea from. They have a far more elegant version over there that looks very nice, you can see it here.
Shortly I’ll be making a froofier variation for Mom done a little differently. Expect a post on that, and many more holiday crafts coming in the near future. Speaking of, save your ribbon scraps and snips from your ends!! I’m going to be making ornaments with them a little closer to Christmas and you’ll be wishing you had yours, too. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
