2019 is the fourth year I’ve crafted a home made wreath for Christmas. This time I bought a small hoop from hobby craft (possibly my favourite shop) and prepared a few bits and pieces for decorating with the usual greenery.
The foliage I used was a mix of evergreen branches and holly and some different varieties of ivy too. I used some tiny pink flowers as well as a few little white buds that looked like mini marshmallows growing on a tree.
I didn’t take my big camera on the foliage gathering walk as I wanted to keep my hands free. Which was fortuitous as I climbed a mud bank to take a clipping of holly and came sliding down through the mud on my butt.
A couple of people in my village started a wreath making workshop in 2016. You bring any foliage you can collect, wreath hoops, decorations and tools are provided (along with mince pies and mulled wine). It was a lovely group of about 10 of us, mostly wreath making amateurs. Since then, the workshop has grown in popularity and relocated to the village hall.
This last December, Henry and I decided to have a go at making our wreaths ourselves. I bought a small metal hoop and Henry reused one from a previous year. We went into the woods by his house on a cold dry December weekend to collect our foliage. We came home with lots of different sprigs, berries and greenery and spread our bounty across the dining table. I bought brown twine and thin wire from home to attach all the bits onto my hoop. I also brought cut slices of orange which I’d dried on the Aga as well as pine cones from the garden I left for a few days on top of a radiator until they unfurled.
My recommendations for wreath making:
- A hoop – I’ve used twisted branches wound into a loop or a bought metal ring [https://bitly.li/OmjsND]
- Twine or string for tying on pieces of greenery
- Metal wire for poking through berries and orange or apple pieces and tying around your hoop
- Sharp secateurs
- Scissors/wire cutters
- Thick gardening gloves (especially if using holly)
- Coloured ribbon for decorating and tying a loop to hang your wreath from
There’s a lot of equipment in hobby craft for this kind of crafting but if you’re anything like me you easily get carried away in that shop. I recommend getting your hoop and collecting your greenery and not worrying too much about fancy decorations in the shops. For example, lengths of ribbon from wrapping presents and garden string is all you need for this project. Within a few minutes of starting my wreath, I was pleased with it and not feeling too judgemental of my creation. And for me, That’s an achievement.
Happy 2020 Everyone