Burlap Wreath Tutorial

I am LOVIN' the look of burlap and I am seeing it literally everywhere these days!  I have been using burlap for years in my fall decorating, primarily on my Thanksgiving table, because it's a cheap alternative to a tablecloth and an easy way to cover multiple tables together without even having to hem anything!  Nowadays though, it's popping up in all kinds of new and fun ways.  Just type burlap in the search field on Pinterest and see for yourself!  And if you haven't been to Pinterest yet, all I can say, is "GIIIRL!!  What are you waiting for?!?!  It is AMAZING!"  Which reminds me, I made an amazing Halloween wreath last month, and was feeling inspired (even though I am dying to get going on Christmas decorations already), so I combined a few of my Pinterest ideas and voila!!  My very own burlap door wreath that's pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself.  So easy - it took less than an hour to put it together - and so beautiful!!  Now that's my kind of craft!

Supplies:

1.  2 wire pants hangers

2.  Approximately 1 and 1/2 yards of burlap

(depends on how full you like your wreaths)

3.  Cutting utensil (I used a rotary cutter)

4.  Ruler

Remove the cardboard from your hanger and unbend.  You will need two to make a large door wreath and you can simply hook them together using the bent ends that insert into the cardboard.  For a smaller wreath, you can simply unbend and hook ends together to form a small circle, as below.

Lay your burlap out on cutting surface.  Use ruler to determine the width of your strips for your wreath.  I used 6 inches (the width of my ruler) for simplicity and because I like big loops.  I'm a more is more kinda girl!

Cut strips of burlap, from side to side across the width of your fabric.  I probably used about 12 strips.  I can't remember if burlap is sold in 45" or 60" widths, but you get the idea.  You will use more or less depending on your fullness preferences, so you decide!

Starting at one end of the strip, pinch the burlap together like you are pleating it for a bow.  You DO NOT have to finish the ends or seams at all.  This is such an easy project!

Unbend one of the hooked ends of the hanger that was holding the cardboard (You may need pliers for this, or you can use scissors, or teeth - I'm not telling you OR my mother which I used) and 'sew' it through your pinched pleats.  You will be sewing perpendicular to the length of your strip.

Push it down onto your wire loop and repeat.  You can see from this picture that I pinched and 'sewed' about every 10 inches.  Don't worry, you don't have to be exact.  Once it's all scrunched on the loop, you won't be able to tell.

If you have hooked two wires together for a larger wreath, then you will probably need to do this from both ends, meeting in the middle, where they are hooked together.  Keep sewing and scrunching!

Remember that the more strips you use, the heavier it becomes, which may become an issue when you hang it.  Mine turned out pretty heavy, but again, I'm a more is more kinda girl!  Just something to keep in mind.  OK, carry on!

Here is one strip pleated and 'sewn' onto the wire.  I have gone back and forth, or side to side, as you can see in the picture, but you don't have to because you can twist your loops on the wire once they are on there.  Again, this is a very forgiving project.  We like that!

This is the same strip now scrunched.  From her on out, just keep adding strips until you get it to the desired fullness.  Once you have 'sewn' all the burlap onto your loop, rebend the wires at the ends and hook together to complete the circle for your wreath.  Adjust burlap loops to hide any wire.  Add decorations and your done!

I liked the look of my burlap wreath so much that I decided not to put any permanent decorations on it, and because it's fabric - it will be SO EASY to use over and over again!  Rather than hot gluing my flowers and feathers to the burlap, I simply hot glued pins to the flowers and pinned them to the fabric instead.  The leaves and feathers came on wire picks, so I jabbed them into burlap (it's such a loosely woven fabric) along with the twigs.  This wreath would look great dressed up for almost any holiday - cheers!