Mandy Shaw - How to Make Christmas Wreaths and Garlands: 11 Christmas Wreath Ideas to Stitch and Sew

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Christmas is a perfect time of year to nurture the maker in us all, and as we decorate our homes with our handmade creations, it can trigger the excitement and memories of past festivities. Yet, with so much to do in the build up to Christmas, we often concentrate our efforts on just decorating the Christmas tree.

In my home, we always welcome our guests and family with a glorious front door wreath made from holly, ivy, evergreens, fir cones and clementines, tied off with large ribbon bows. But then I got to thinking: What about all those other doors in the house dont they deserve a little dash of colour and festive cheer? And surely we cant leave our windows and shelves bare?

So, I have the perfect solution for those of you with big Christmas decorating dreams but little time to fulfill them. I have developed some quick and easy techniques for making bespoke garlands and wreaths. There are six basic projects to make and more than a dozen Christmas characters and motifs to decorate them with. But heres the clever part: you can decorate the projects as you choose, in a colour scheme to coordinate each room or space in your home.

I have provided 11 recipes to get you started, but each wreath and garland is your own personal blank canvas to embellish as you wish. Youll find step-by-step instructions for making the decorations in the section called . Youll need very little in the way of specialized tools and equipment, although I am a great fan of freezer paper for transferring templates to fabric, so do invest in a roll. It is available from specialized craft shops and quilt stores. For speedy results, I used a sewing machine, and I found that a glue gun, available from craft and hardware stores, came in useful for assembly.

Best of all, each year you can ring the changes, creating new designs or adding to the garlands and wreaths you have already made, especially if they are getting a little scruffy. However you choose to mix and match my designs, you will be making your own Christmas memories.

Decorated with doves embroidered with festive wishes, this traditionally styled shaggy wreath hangs on my living room door. I used a lovely red linen/cotton mix fabric for the wreath and a white wool felt for the doves, but it would look equally lovely were you to make a flock of red felt cardinals on a white wreath. The birds make great Christmas tree decorations and also look sweet hanging along a ribbon garland.