That's A Wrap! (and wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap....)

A few months ago I was browsing around online and saw a “must-have” list for fall that included this gorgeous yarn wreath with felt flowers. The article linked back to a store on Etsy that was selling said wreath for..wait for it… $50. I knew in that instant that 1) I had to have one and 2) I had to figure out how to make it myself.

I studied the picture and figured out the basic idea and supplies, but I knew that the look I was going for was a little fuller than what I could achieve by just wrapping yarn around a Styrofoam wreath form. So I called upon my Internet Guru google and found a tutorial that seemed simple enough to follow and that included batting and a straw wreath form—which would get me the full look I was going for.

One trip to Hobby Lobby later I was ready to get crackin’ on this puppy. I figured it would take me an hour or so to wrap the yarn and then I would just do another Google search and figure out how to make my flowers and that would be that. Right?

If you are a veteran crafter you are probably laughing right now and wanting to pat my head in sympathy of my crafty naivety.  While the execution of this wreath was fairly simple, I WAY underestimated how long it would take to wrap the yarn.

Four hours later, though, it was totally worth it:

Here’s the cast of characters for this project:

Straw wreath form, batting (if you want a fluffier wreath), felt, and, of course, YARN. Not pictured but totally necessary: a glue gun and glue sticks.  Pictured but totally unnecessary: wrinkly white towel which makes a VERY professional looking backdrop. Ahem.

I started by cutting my batting into strips and wrapping them around my wreath. The tutorial I followed said to secure the batting to the wreath with fabric pins. I did not have fabric pins, but I did have a glue gun. And I found that gluing the batting to the form worked just fine. (And it may not matter, but in the interest of full disclosure I feel like I should tell you that I did not remove the plastic wrapping from the wreath form. I have no real reason for doing this. I just…didn’t.)

Once the form was covered in batting I started to get my wrap on. Secure the yarn at your starting point by tying it in a knot, then start wrapping. And wrapping and wrapping and wrapping. Once I had covered the entire wreath, there were places where tufts of batting were sticking through so I went back over it a second time (but not as precisely). Just be prepared for this part to take awhile (and don’t worry about what the back of your wreath looks like. It won’t behoove you. Trust me.)

At this point, I was pretty tired and ready to call it a night and come back to this wreath another day. But I was also determined. So I trudged my way to the computer and was pleasantly surprised to find that felt flowers are simple and quick to make. HOORAY! 

I followed this tutorial for the felt flowers. 

Once I had made a good number of flowers in varying sizes and colors, I played around with the arrangement of them on my wreath until I got one I was happy with. Then I cut two tiny green leaves to finish it off and hot glued it all on.

And then…..then I fell in love. I seriously want to pet this thing and call it my precious. Would it be weird if I took it with me everywhere and buckled it in the car and sat it beside me at Starbucks? It would? Well then it’s a good thing it looks utterly fabulous hanging in the windows of my den.

Hello, gorgeous.

I do not care that it took a million hours to make and that it may or may not have given me carpal tunnel. I love it and I want to make hundreds more. I’m already scheming one in my head that will match with my Christmas décor.  

So here’s the Copy Cat Rundown for My Precious:

Total Cost:  Yarn: $2.99; Felt: $1 for 4 sheets; Batting: $3.99; Wreath Form: $2.00 (50% at Hobby Lobby) So around $10 for the whole thing (and I have a little bit of batting left over and some felt I can re-use as well)

Total Time: A millennia? Just kidding. I’d say start to finish it probably took about 5 hours total. And that’s no joke.

Would we do this again? Yes. Even if it meant pulling all- nighters and ending up with claws for hands, we cannot resist the soft yarn-y goodness of this wreath. The felt flowers are so adorable and simple and easy to make that we’ll be declaring our love for the wreath till our dying day. Who knew crafting was such a serious business?

Credit: If time is not on your side then there are TONS of gorgeous options available for purchase on Etsy. You can find them by searching “yarn wreath” from the homepage. Otherwise, we’ll dish out the kudos to The Constant Gatherer for providing the handy dandy tutorial and Mrs Priss for showing us how easy it can be to make flowers out of felt.