Style & Life

How to Craft a Wild Christmas Wreath

Article By Sahara .

Dec 18, 2017

Use our simple guide to create a festive wreath from wild fronds to adorn your front door or make any space that little bit more festive with an injection of evergreen.
 
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You Will Need
A wire hoop or a length of wire with which to fashion a hoop – we used a traditional lampshade hoop, linked at the bottom of this post.
Green florist’s wire or similarly slim, flexible wire lengths
 
Wire cutters
A large pair of scissors or secateurs
Bunches of evergreen, eucalyptus, berries, fern, twigs or similar foliage
Gardening gloves to protect your hands, if preferred
A length of ribbon or twine
 
Paint, spray paint or glitter, should you want to lend your wreath a touch of sparkle

 

Representing eternal life and prosperity with its circle shape and proliferant green leaves, a Christmas wreath is a wonderful way to decorate your home and ring in the festive season. A cheering sight for visitors and a nod to the age old tradition of preserving the last of the year’s fresh greenery from the cold climes of winter, a homemade wreath is easier to make than you might think.

Begin by simply gathering your favourite greenery, either from your local florist, your garden or whilst on a bracing winter walk. We’ve opted for sprays of evergreen pine and conifer, pale-green eucalyptus, asparagus fern and birch twigs. Some of these we’ve sprayed with a metallic sheen and dipped others in bright pink paint. Depending on your preference, you can experiment and have a bit of fun with bright colours and metallics, or opt for a more traditional palette of red berries and deep-green leaves.

 

 
Once you’ve chosen your preferred foliage, start by bunching a few pieces of greenery together, keeping things varied so as to look natural, and securing them at the stems with a length of wire. Do this a few times over so that you have a few small bunches to work with. You may want to wear gloves for this part if working with prickly foliage, such as holly.
Start securing your small bunches to the wire hoop at the stems using the florist’s wire, moving clockwise around the circle by laying each bunch on top of the hoop and securing by wrapping the wire around a few times. Your bunches should be at least a few centimetres apart.
Use the wire cutters to snip off any wire that protrudes or looks messy but make sure everything is tightly secured. You can check the attachment of each bunch to the hoop by gently lifting the it up now and again. Don’t worry if at this point the bunches don’t resemble a wreath, everything will be looking wild and pointing in different directions.
 

 

Work your way round the hoop until you have secured every bunch. Then, depending on how wild and organic you’d like your wreath to look, gently coax the bunches around the hoop so they begin to flow in the same direction. Fasten each piece to the bunch beneath it, or the wire beneath that to create a more cohesive wreath shape. Using green wire helps to camouflage your fastenings.

Tuck and snip any long pieces of wire using the wire cutters as you go, and use the scissors to trim any stems or rogue pieces of greenery. Finally, use the remaining lengths of wire to add your final touches, tying loose stems together or ensuring the wreath flows in a perfect circle.

To finish, tie a length of ribbon or twine to any point on your wreath in order to hang it on your door, wall or in a window. If you like, you can add hanging ribbons, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, glitter or anything that takes your fancy to make this festive creation your own.

Lampshade hoop from Dannels / Florist’s Wire from Hobby Craft

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