Contents
Guide
How to make
CHRISTMAS
wreaths & garlands
Mandy Shaw
www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk
CONTENTS
Introduction
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.
Recipe 1
CHRISTMAS WISHES ON THE WING
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.
You will need
- One shaggy wreath
- Five doves
- Five holly sprigs
ASSEMBLY
You can either glue or sew the decorations onto the shaggy wreath. Whichever you choose, be sure to part the rags to glue or sew directly onto the rag knots for a secure attachment.
Recipe 2
GNOME FOR CHRISTMAS
This version of my shaggy wreath is fun and whimsical, made with children in mind. For the wreath, I used a crisp white linen that had a lot of dressing in it to ensure the rags were not too floppy, and this created the perfect snowy backdrop for my little Christmas characters a pair of moose and their gnome keeper. A star shines bright above them and there is a lone tree, embroidered with feather stitch to represent the snow-laden branches. This wreath hangs on my bathroom door and the little bell hooves of the moose jingle each time the door is opened or closed, which my grandchildren love.
You will need
- One shaggy wreath
- One gnome
- One tree
- Two moose
- One large star
ASSEMBLY
These characters are best glued in position. However, if you do feel a shuffle of characters coming on, you can pin them in place to avoid any glue damage to the wreath.
Recipe 3
FAMILY GINGERBREAD
No Christmas is complete without gingerbread men. These iconic characters are just as much a part of the holidays for me as mistletoe and mulled wine, so I have chosen to decorate this ribbon garland with a whole family of them. I hang this garland on the top shelf of my Welsh dresser, as their smiley-faces spur me on through those mammoth Christmas baking sessions. While Id hate to break up the family, the gingerbread men make great tree decorations.
You will need
- Ribbon garland
- Two gingerbread men
- Two gingerbread babies
- Two candy canes
- Three hearts
ASSEMBLY
When trying to fix the decorations to the ribbon garland, it can be quite tricky to get the balance right, so pin them in place first, and be sure to pin nearer the top of the decoration rather than in the middle. Once all the characters and motifs are pinned in place, hang the garland up to check that none of the decorations falls forward, and make any adjustments. Once you are completely happy with how your garland hangs, use a long needle to stitch the characters and motifs on, stitching through from the back of the ribbon into each decoration.
Recipe 4
NORTH POLE NIGHT
I doodled the shape of my polar bears and immediately fell in love with them, and now I want to use them on everything. Here I have a polar bear family wandering off into a snowy night. A fabric wreath made from a blue cotton fabric printed with small uneven dots is just perfect to suggest snow falling in a night sky, and the scene is lit up by a large snowflake star made from white wool felt. A lone Christmas tree provides a dash of colour and the uneven curvy edge of the wreath suggests snowdrifts. Simple and evocative.
You will need
- One fabric wreath
- Three polar bears
- One snowflake
- One tree
ASSEMBLY
The embellishments can be either glued or pinned on. I placed my tree and snowflake star off centre but do feel free to play around with the arrangement. You may want to add more bears or to border the wreath with a forest of trees.
Recipe 5
RING A RING OF SNOWMEN
A shaggy wreath made from a woven red tartan fabric makes a great backdrop to a crowd of snowmen for a cheery Christmas welcome. Its easy to make the snowmen in quantity using my stitch and cut technique, and soon you will be ready to display them on your prepared wreath. Old tartan shirts make great shaggy wreaths: give the shirt a wash; cut off all the hems, buttons, collars, sleeves and seams; and then start tearing the fabric up into strips. If the shirt does not yield quite enough fabric, mix it up with a plain cotton fabric that complements the colour of the tartan.