... making a free Christmas wreath

I am in full swing with my Christmas preparations and today I had big plans for sewing some of the elements for my Advent calendar project, however, I was distracted with a different make.  I was able to get some dogwood from one of my neighbours, its flexibility and red colour make it ideal for making a wreath base.

Start by taking a long stem that has very few side shoots and is not too woody.  Make into a circle overlapping about 15 to 20 cms (6 to 8 inches) on each side. fasten the ends with a piece of plastic covered wired.

We could leave it at that but it might be a tad on the understated side, so take another piece and start wrapping it around/inter-twining. Fasten with more wire as needed, you are looking to build a base that you can continue to weave more stems into.  I have allowed some of the side shoots to roam from the basic shape as I don't want it to be too constricted and I want it to take some of the shape from the wood and the way it has grown.

All you do now is weave/wrap more stems in, you should be able to position them in the gaps between the stems that are already there so shouldn't need to wire them in, however, use more wire if you think you need it.  Trim any stems that are too thick and woody as they won't be as pliable.

I will decorate this with ivy and holly from the garden in a couple of weeks when I am ready to hang it, and maybe a bauble or two.

Not a bad afternoons work, creating something from nothing.


Don't forget to enter my Christmas give away details on this post