Thursday, November 28, 2013

Girls Night In and Rag Wreaths

So I haven't written anything in FOREVER. But that's ok. I was busy. Busy making wreaths. Or something...

Two friends and I decided it would be fun to have a crafting night. Like many people, we have tons of craft ideas pinned to Pinterest, but haven't really gotten around to doing them. Well, last night was the night. We gathered our supplies, headed over to Nicole's house, ate pizza and crafted!

Our first project actually turned out really well. We made rag wreaths and I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how good they looked. You can find my pin to the original tutorial HERE, but I'm going to share our step by step as well.

You'll need:

A wreath form, any size
Several yards of fabric, depending on the size of your wreath form and the bulk of the fabric.
Ribbons, bows, flowers, etc, to embellish your wreath.


In preparation for the big night, I went to Joann's to pick out my fabric and wreath form. I knew I wanted my wreath to be Christmas-y, but I was a little daunted by all the different types and patterns of fabrics. I had picked out a nice green and a red/white polka dot fabric when I found the Christmas section. So I put those two back and picked an awesome Christmas plaid. However, when I got to the cutting station, the girl asked me what it was for. When I told her we were making rag wreaths, she said she'd made them before and I might have trouble with the knots holding because the fabric was so slippery. She suggested burlap, so off we went to look at the burlap. Ultimately, I decided on a pricey burlap with a silver sheen. I loved it but man, I definitely was not thrilled at the price ($12/yard). Luckily, I only needed 3/4 yard, but still...I was realllllly hoping this wreath turned out!

The first thing we did was cut our fabric into strips. With the burlap, the girl at Joann's suggested pulling out a string and then cutting along the empty space in order to prevent the burlap from fraying. After about 10 minutes and a few broken strings, I decided I really didn't care if it frayed and I was just going to cut it normally.


The tutorial suggested cutting it into 2 inch strips, but with how bulky the burlap was, there was just no way that was going to work, so I cut mine into 1 inch strips, and then I cut the strips into quarters. At this point, I began to realize the second downside of working with burlap, besides the price. It shed. A LOT. Not just frayed strings, but tiny particles that created a fine dust over the entire work surface. Burlap looks great and I'd use it again, but I would definitely be more prepared for the mess!

Nicole used a really nice off-white cotton fabric and Chrissy went with tulle and a green fabric.



Once all our strips were cut, it was time to start assembling the wreath. It's really easy, but time consuming. You basically tie all the strips onto the wreath form until the entire form is covered. Just fold the strip in half, loop it around one of the wires on the wreath form and pull the ends through the looped fabric. It's hard to explain, but easy to do.


If you're using one of those roller cutters, (which I highly recommend; they cut through even the burlap like butter!) be very careful. They're extremely sharp and I have the war wounds to prove it!


Part way done:


Nicole decided to add a pop of color to her wreath, but she didn't have the fabric on hand so she wasn't able to finish, but it's going to look amazing when she does! Chrissy isn't quite finished with hers either, but it's definitely coming together really nicely as well! I love the tulle!




Here is my finished product:


So after a great night of crafting, conversation and...consuming food...I got home. And then this happened...


I definitely recommend this project to anyone who wants something reasonably quick and easy. I think they look great and I'm definitely planning on making more. I really want to use the heart form like Chrissy did and maybe do some tulle with pink and red fabric for Valentine's Day. In the meantime, I'm already looking forward to our next crafting night. I'm probably going to be making a grapevine Christmas wreath and a calendar.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Edited: I've added the cost breakdown for the wreath for anyone interested.

Burlap: 1/2 yard @ 11.99/yrd @ Joann's
Cotton: 1/2 yard @ $2/yrd
Ribbon: 1/3 roll @ $1.49/roll @ Joann's
Pointsetta: $1.49 @ Joann's
Wreath Form: $1.49 @ Joann's

Total: $10.43

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