We’ve all got clothes with ‘what-was-I-thinking?’ prints on them, right? No? Just me then. Well, whether you have a garish shirt or a few scraps of material kicking about you can breathe new life into them at this time of year.

Wreaths make an appearance every year but they can be a bit expensive, especially if you opt for one with plenty of foliage year on year. Last year I made a couple of fabric wreaths using offcuts of material and they turned out pretty well.

All you need is a willow / wicker wreath ring from your local garden centre. I picked one that was quite loosely woven to allow me to get my sausage fingers in all the holes to tie on the fabric. The tightly woven ones will be nigh on impossible to do this with so if you can’t find a wicker ring see if you can find a metal one. You’ll need a little more fabric but it’ll definitely be kinder on your fingers!

All you need to do is roughly cut your fabric into strips, the length is up to you. Just thread each one through and tie in a knot. (Think way, way back to a time when women used to tie rags in their hair to get curls. It’s pretty much the same technique!)

If you leave your fabric hanging quite long you’ll probably need rather a lot of it to make the wreath look full enough to carry off the look but there is no harm in starting with longer pieces of material. You can always trim them with scissors at a later stage.

Don’t worry about being too uniform. Create as the mood takes you! I like the shabby chic look of the frayed edges but if this is a little too bohemian for you trim your fabric with pinking shears and it won’t fray. When you’re happy with your wreath just thread a ribbon that can bear the wreath’s weight through the top and hang wherever you like.

Here’s a look at the one I made last year and it’s still going strong:

Please feel free to share any of your festive creations here. I’m always up for learning new things!

Have fun!xx