How To… Make a Christmas Wreath

We’ve teamed up with Wild At Heart to create a step-by-step guide to making your own Liberty Christmas Wreath this festive season

Craft Club World of Wonder

How To… Make a Christmas Wreath

We’ve teamed up with Wild At Heart to create a step-by-step guide to making your own Liberty Christmas Wreath this festive season

By: Charlotte Olby

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a wreath to hang on your door/mantel/above your bed. They welcome guests to your home, envelope your space in festive scents (think dried oranges and cinnamon sticks) and of course, spread Christmas cheer. And it really doesn’t get any better than creating your own. If you’re wondering how exactly do I make a Christmas wreath, you’re not alone. We recruited Liberty’s Visual Concept Manager Lisa Clemenger to talk us through the process and Wild at Heart’s Lauren Eastwood to create a signature Liberty Christmas Wreath in this step-by-step tutorial. Happy making!

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You Will Need

Wire wreath frame

Clippers

Sharp scissors

Reel wire

Stud wire

Spagnam moss

Fabric for your bow

Foliage

Decorations of your choice

1. A Moss Base

First take your wire wreath frame. Attach and tie one end of the reel wire to the frame to secure the wire. Keeping your hands close to the frame, take a big handful of moss in one hand and squeeze it tight to compact it into a small sausage shape in the palm of your hand. Gripping the frame, place your moss against one side of the frame and wrap the wire tightly around the wreath and moss. NOTE: it needs to be very compact and firm to use as a base.

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2. Tie It Off

Keep adding more and more moss to your frame, wrapping with the wire tightly, until the whole wreath is covered. To finish it off, loop the wire and thread the reel through the middle of the frame, pull tight and repeat twice to tie off but do not cut - you will continue to use it on the next steps.

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3. Plan Your Look

Once you have created your base it's time to think about the design of the wreath. Choose either a traditional style of evergreen, add in dried or preserved foliage or go wild with crazy pops of dyed foliage. Think of the colours you love to decorate your Christmas with. For this design, we took inspiration from the Liberty Tudor Belle Tana Lawn™ Cotton, £29.95 and worked with hues of deep purples with dried bunches of foliage and flowers. Gather up your chosen foliage and organise into small bunches - this makes it easier to work with rather than lots of individual sprigs.

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4. Add Foliage

Ensure each stem is cut to around 15-20cm, and take your first bunch. Holding it at a 20 degree angle against the wreath base, take the reel wire spool (the one still attached to your frame) in one hand, and tie the wire around the stems of your bunches. Pull it tight to the frame.

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5. Weave In & Out

Keep repeating this process at alternating angles, pointing both inward and outward to the centre of the wreath. Ensure that you vary your bunches of foliage evenly so that the foliage covers the entire surface of the frame, without any gaps.

TIP: the key is to ensure a hands width between each bunch to create a layered fullness.

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6. Edit Your Design

Once your entire moss frame is covered with bunches of foliage, you can identify any gaps or heavy clusters that need a little editing. Now is the time to go back in and add a few extra sprigs where you may see gaps in your colour scheme. Remember to not overfill as you need space to add your final decor elements.

7. Time to Decorate

It’s time to add a final flair with your decorations. This could be flowers, feathers, baubles or even tinsel - anything goes. Lay them out and start to arrange to the style you like.

The Christmas Shop

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8. Wiring the Stems

Prewire each decoration with a length of stud wire. This allows you to poke into the wreath base, on top of your foliage bunches. Taking your floristry wire, wrap it around the base of your flower and twist to secure it in place.

9. Attach to the Wreath

Take your pre-wired decorations and nestle them into your foliage bunches, securing with the wire at the back of the frame. Make sure they hang snug to the wreath so they don’t roll around on the surface, and play around with the positioning until you’re happy.

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10. A Liberty Bow

Select a Liberty fabric to create a centrepiece to your wreath. This can either be in the form of a decorative bow, like we have done, or used as a loop in which to hang your wreath.

Shop Liberty Fabric

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11. Final Touch

Wire your bow using the reel wire by poking it through the back of the bow. Find a good position for the bow, tie the wire around the width of the wreath and secure by twisting the wire back on itself into the wreath. Finish the ends of your bow by cutting into diagonals.

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