Military Wreath Tutorial

14. Februar 2023

MILITARY WREATH TUTORIAL: SINGLE LAYER CRUFFLE METHOD

MATERIALS:

2 Rolls of 10″x10yds of Deco Mesh
Wire Wreath Form
2.5″ Ribbon
1.5″ Ribbon
28 Chenille Stems
Accent Sign with 4 Zip Tie Adhesive Mounts
Rotary Cutter (Optional)
Self-Healing Mat (Optional)
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
Mini Bent Nose Pliers
Chip Clip or Clothes Pin
Craft Wire or Zip Tie

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I may earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive through your purchases. They are meant only as suggestions and the decision to purchase is completely up to you.

Our Military Wreath Kits come with the first 6 items and are available for purchase through our store.

Marine Corp Wreath Kit

US Air Force Wreath KIt

US Navy Wreath Kit

US Coast Guard Wreath KIt

US Army Wreath Kit

These instructions have been written in depth to help people who are new to making wreaths. For the more seasoned wreath maker, you can follow along with the pictures and brief description written underneath.

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR WORK WREATH FORM

We are attaching our deco mesh to a 14″ wreath form with 24 chenille stems, here on in referred to as ties. (4 in each section). If you don’t have a wreath form that comes with ties, you can use a regular 12-14” wreath form and add chenille stems to make the twist ties.

Wrap your tie around the middle two wires.

Continue all the way around placing 4 in each section.

STEP 2: CUT YOUR DECO MESH

I will be using 10″ poly deco mesh in two colors for this wreath. You will begin by cutting your deco mesh with a rotary cutter on top of a self-healing mat. If you do not have a rotary cutter you may use scissors but it will be a little more difficult.

Cut your mesh into 28” pieces. I use this measurement because it guarantees you will get 12 pieces in one 10 yd roll of mesh. We are using 2 different colors of deco mesh for this wreath so cutting 12 pieces of each color will give you the 24 pieces you need to go all the way around.

You may need to use measuring tape to measure out your 28″ pieces. Placing a weight on the mesh makes it easier to cut.

Cut with a rotary cutter on top of a self healing mat for an easier and straighter cut.

STEP 3: MAKING THE RUFFLES

To begin your ruffle, lay the cut piece down on your table where it naturally wants to curl up on itself. Use something heavy to hold one end.

Start by making a small curl on one end. Roll the mesh about 2-3 times making sure that the cut end is completely hidden inside the curl. This helps with the fraying that naturally occurs when you run anything across the cut end. This is not necessarily standard on a Ruffle wreath but I believe it is very helpful in the overall quality of the wreath. You can attach a chip clip or clothespin to the middle of the curl to hold it in place.

Curl your end about 2-3 times. Make sure the cut end is completely hidden in the curl.

Use the chip clip or clothespin to hold one end while you curl the other end. Start pinching your mesh in the center from one end all the way to the other end.

Remove chip clip and finish your ruffle.

STEP 4: ATTACHING THE RUFFLES

Attach your ruffles vertically to your wreath form with the curl side up. Since we will be adding ribbon and tubing to the wreath, twist the tie only 1 or 2 turns after placing your ruffle down. You may need to adjust your deco mesh a little to make sure it is centered when you place it down so just give it a little tug on each side.

Repeat process for each cut piece of mesh and add to each tie on the wreath form. Since we are using two different colors for this wreath you will alternate their placement on the wreath.

Attach your ruffle to a tie on your wreath form.

Alternate between the two colors when you attach the ruffles to your wreath form.

You will have 4 ties in each section.

This is what your base should look like after you attach all the ruffles.

STEP 5: ADD THE RIBBON

In this tutorial I am adding one 2.5″ ribbon and one 1.5″ ribbon. I am choosing to overlap them because I like the way it looks when you have the two sizes. You can also choose to place one in each ruffle, alternating them. I choose to do that when I have two 2.5″ ribbons. What you choose to do is completely up to you and is just a matter of preference.

First, I take all my ribbon and cut it into 13″ pieces. Then cut the ends of the ribbon into a dovetail by folding the ends in half and cutting at a diagonal. I typically start cutting from about an inch from the end. Starting from the fold cut the diagonal down to the edges of the ribbon.

I am placing the ribbons together on every other tie. Which deco mesh color I choose to put the ribbon on top of depends upon the color of the ribbon and color of the deco mesh. I choose whichever colors will give me a greater contrast. In this example, the ribbon is green so I chose to put it on the brown deco mesh to get the greater contrast.

Don’t worry about spreading your ribbon out nicely until the end because as you work on your wreath the ribbon will get messed up.

Fold ribbon in half.

Cut diagonally from the center to create your dovetail.

Cut your ribbon on both ends.

Place your 1.5″ ribbon over your 2.5″ ribbon and pinch at the center.

Attach to your ruffle and twist the tie.

Continue your twist to about an inch up then cut your tie with a wire cutter and tuck stem down.

Continue placing your ribbon all around the wreath until you have placed all 12 sets down. Don’t worry about adjusting your ribbon until after you have added your accent sign. Twist all 24 ties and cut and tuck them down before adding your accent sign.

STEP 6: ATTACH YOUR ACCENT SIGN

Before I attach the accent sign, I determine where I want the top of the wreath to be. I attach a wire that you can find at any craft store to the top and twist it around the wreath form with mini bent nose pliers to secure it. You can also use a zip tie if you can’t find the wire. You can now hang it up, which makes it easier to work on these last steps.

Twist your wire around your wreath form.

Twist both ends securely around your wreath form. Your wreath is now ready to be hung.

If you can't find craft wire you can use a zip tie to hang it.

Next, I attach a 1”x 1” zip tie adhesive mount to each corner of the sign by peeling the plastic off the adhesive side and adding a little hot glue before putting them down for an extra secure hold. After a couple of minutes your glue will be dry, and your sign will be ready to be attached. When using a metal sign use e6000 instead of hot glue and let dry overnight before attaching to your wreath.

Adhesive mounts allow you to place your accent sign more securely to your wreath.

Peel the back before adding the hot glue.

Add the hot glue to the top, bottom and two sides of your accent sign.

Press the adhesive mount firmly on top of the hot glue and let dry for a minute or two before adding your ties.

Now you can pull a chenille stem through each tab to be ready to attach to your wreath. I typically hold the sign up to the wreath first to determine where I want to place it.

Once you have determined where you would like to place it, use your ties to go in between the mesh and attach directly to the wreath form. Attach all 4 corners or sides in this manner until it is secure. You may need to readjust so I suggest not twisting your ties too much until you are sure you are happy with the placement. You will also have to readjust your ribbon and mesh because it will probably all be tucked under the sign after placement.