4TH OF JULY WREATH TUTORIAL

26 de febrero de 2023

4TH OF JULY WREATH: SINGLE LAYER CRUFFLE METHOD

MATERIALS:

1 Metal Wire Work Wreath Form with 24 ties
3-10” Deco Mesh Rolls
12-14″ of 1.5” Ribbon and 2.5″ Ribbon (6 Each)
1 Pkg Deco Mesh Tubing
28 Chenille Stems/Pipe Cleaners
Accent Sign with Zip Tie Adhesive Mounts
Decorative Star Accents
Rotary Cutter (Optional)
Scissors
Self-Healing Mat (Optional)
Bowdabra or any other Bow Maker
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Cutters
Mini Bent Nose Pliers
Chip Clip or Clothes Pin

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STEP 1: CUT YOUR DECO MESH

I will be using 10″ poly deco mesh 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.

We are attaching our deco mesh to a 14″ wreath form with 24 chenille stems, here on in referred to as ties. 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. I use ties that are the same color of the deco mesh that I am using. You will have 4 ties in each section and you can alternate colors to correspond with the colors of deco mesh.

STEP 2: MAKE YOUR WREATH FORM

You will be placing 4 in each section, wrapped around the middle two wires, for a total of 24 around the whole wreath form. For detailed instructions on how to do this checkout our tutorial DIY Work Wreath Form: Single Layer Cruffle Method

STEP 3: MAKE YOUR WREATH BASE

This wreath base is made using the cruffle method. For detailed instructions on how to make this wreath base follow our tutorial Single Layer Cruffle Style Wreath Base

STEP 4: ADD THE RIBBON AND TUBING

First, take all your ribbon and cut it into 13″ pieces. You will need 6 of each style of ribbon. 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.

Place the ribbon on every other tie. For this wreath, I am placing the ribbon on the white deco mesh ruffles. Alternate between the two ribbons, placing them on top of each white ruffle. Pinch the ribbon or ribbons in the middle and attach to the twist tie on top of the deco mesh.

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.

Cut a dovetail on both ends of your ribbon.

Alternate placing the two different styles of ribbon on each white ruffle.

Go all the way around your wreath until you have placed down all 12 ribbons.

I like to add deco mesh tubing to my wreath to give it a real festive look. I will get 1-3 different colors and create loops. For this wreath I will be using only one color. Leave about a 4-inch tail, then make your loops into a figure 8 form making each loop about 3-4 inches depending on how much you want it to stick out from each ruffle section. Then, leave another tail on the other side before cutting. Some people prefer not to leave a tail, but I like the way the tail looks.

For this wreath I am adding the deco mesh tubing onto each red ruffle of the wreath. This will allow you to have either ribbon or tubing on each ruffle creating a fuller look.

Make a loop with your tubing.

Make the other loop with your tubing creating a figure 8.

Hold up to your wreath before cutting to make sure you are happy with the length of the loops and tails.

Cut the end of your tubing and attach to the tie on every red ruffle of your wreath.

Once you have added all the ribbon and tubing, twist the tie about 5 or 6 times and then cut with the wire cutters. Be sure to tuck down the tie.

Twist the tie about 5-6 times.

Cut ties with wire cutters.

Tuck your stem down.

STEP 5: 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 now hang it up, which makes it easier to work on for these last steps. If you don't have craft wire you can use a zip tie. Just loop it around the crosswire at the top of your wreath and leave about a 2-3 inch loop to hang it.

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

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 or plastic sign use e6000 instead of hot glue and let cure for 24 hours before attaching to your wreath.

Add the hot glue to the corners of your accent sign.

Peel the backing off of the tab before pressing down. 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. I love to place signs diagonally across the wreath as opposed to horizontally, but again that’s just a matter of preference. For this wreath I chose diagonally.

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 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.

Attach the tie directly to the wreath form.

Adjust and readjust until you are content with the placement.

STEP 5: ATTACH YOUR BOWS

For this wreath we are adding a bow made with the Bowdabra Bow Maker. Check out our tutorial on Making a Single Ribbon Bow Using the Bowdabra to learn how to make this bow. There are many different styles of bows you can create with the Bowdabra.

Attach the bows directly above and below the accent sign by attaching the tie from the ribbon directly to the wreath form. You will again need to adjust your deco mesh and ribbons after attaching the bows.

You may need to adjust the length of the bow tails by cutting the dovetail higher up. This is the case if the tails are covering your accent sign. Start with smaller cuts then adjust as necessary. You don’t want to end up messing up your bow because you went to high.

Place your bows attaching them directly to the wreath form.

Adjust your deco mesh and ribbon.

STEP 6: ATTACH YOUR ACCENTS

We are using star accents for this wreath. You will need to trim the stem with wire cutters before you add them to your wreath. Place all of them on your wreath to determine where you want them to go before you hot glue them down. Once you hot glue them down, you can’t change the placement without ruining your deco mesh.