How To Make A Burlap Wreath
It’s a new season, and that calls for a new wreath! Our front porch is a mess, half winter decor, half naked, I just can’t wait to get out there and freshen it up for spring! One of the easiest projects I do for each season, is to update my wreath. No matter whatever is happening on the porch, a good looking wreath helps make me feel better.
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I’ve been using wreaths inside the house in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, in the dining room, and one huge one on the back of our front door, and I typically go with the grapevine wreaths because I can easily swap flowers or greenery in no time at all. But… I’m kindof tired of those on my front door, y’know? I had been wanting to try my hand at a burlap wreath, but I had no idea how to make a burlap wreath. After looking around y’all, there are a thousand tutorials on how to make a burlap wreath, using burlap, ribbon, fabric, and beautiful additions. I’ve probably used a mishmash of all these, so let’s get started and I’ll tell you how I made ours!
How To Make A Burlap Wreath
Supplies
Burlap Ribbon (I used 2 of these 6″ x 10 yard spools)
Metal Wreath Form (I went with this FloraCraft one)
florist wire (I actually used pipe cleaners, because that’s what I had on hand)
scissors
clothes pin or a binder clip (to hold loops if you need an extra hand)
decorative ribbon (to hang the wreath, or add a bow if you like)
flowers & greenery (if you want to fancy it up a bit)
Let’s Get Started…
I’ve never used a metal wreath form before, but it’s become my new favorite in the one time I’ve used one! You can use burlap ribbon, lace, strips of fabric, whatever you like, to make these wreaths. Let’s take a tour of this thing – the metal form has 4 metal rings (inner, 2 in the middle,and an outer), the supports holding the rings together, and 3 ‘slots’ – these slots between the rings, are where you’re going to essentially shove your burlap through to make loops.
Attach your burlap ribbon to the outer ring. I folded my ribbon in half, then half again, poked the pipe cleaner through, and twist-tied it on there. Yes it’s purple, and yes it’s totally hidden. Don’t freak out because the fluffiness in the end will hide all the sins! If it makes you feel better, go with plain old florist wire. I told myself I used purple because y’all would be able to see it better than wire, but in reality, I used it because I couldn’t find wire, and the pipe cleaners were in Lilly’s craft crate right next to me.
Push the ribbon through the slots. Begin on the outer slot, making a 3″ loop with the ribbon. Then do another 3″ loop in the center slot, and a 3″ loop in the inside slot. Clip these loops with your binder clip or clothes pin. Once you get through the first few loops, they stay pretty snug, but the first few kept slipping until I got the hang of it. If you don’t want to do a 3″ loop, you can do whatever loop you want to. The larger the loop, the fluffier the wreath; the smaller the loop, the stiffer the wreath.
Secure the loops. I read about many different ways to do this part, but the easiest for me was to leave the loops clipped, squish the loops up (against the support wire), and to twist the ribbon on the underside a half twist. Here’s a good look at the very underneath of the squished loops with a twist.
Between the twist and squish, the loops swirl together and stay put really nicely! You could use a piece of wire twisted on the rings to hold the loops, but that’s just too much work. This is 2 sets of squished loops.
Continue your looping, squishing, twisting. I fit about 3-4 rows of loop/squish/twist between each support wire. If you have a wider ribbon, you’ll fit less, and if you use a thinner ribbon, you’ll be able to fit more in between.
If you have a longer spool that will do the entire wreath (20+ yards), skip to down to “end the wreath.”
End the spool. When you reach the end of the spool of ribbon, you have to secure the end somehow. I saw folks knot it, glue it, and wire it. I went with the wire (pipe cleaner) secure option. I folded it in half, and in half again, pushed the pipe cleaner through the end, and twisted it to the inner ring, or the support ring, whichever is easier. If possible, try and end the first spool at the support ring, so the loops won’t flop around.
Start the spool. You’ll most likely be halfway around the wreath form by this point, so you’ll be able to start the next spool in the exact was you started the first one – fold it in half, then half again, and push the wire/pipe cleaner through, secure it to the outer ring or the support ring.
If you’ve made the whole wreath with one spool, you’ll pick up here to end the wreath.
End the wreath. When you’ve come to the end, you should be right at the first support wire where you started, so you can go ahead and make your last set of loops, squish them (they’ll probably be squished already), and twist the end. Now, you can cut the ribbon and fold it in half on the end, then half one more time. Push the wire or pipe cleaner through, and twist-tie it to the support wire or the inner ring. I was able to hide the pipe cleaners with the fluff of the wreath, so don’t worry if you can see the ending… you’ll fluff and adjust it as needed.
Fluff it up, and adjust your loops to perfection, and you can also begin to decide where you want to add the flowers, greenery, bows, and/or ribbon accents.
HOW TO MAKE A BURLAP WREATH: Adding Flowers
I went with some peonies, hydrangeas, and some leafy wispy green things, and the decorative ribbon to hang the wreath on our screen door. Since we have a screen door, I always use ribbon to hang it over the door, and secure it down with 2 screws on the inside of the door. It’s not necessary if you’ve got a screw, nail, hook, or wreath hanger though.
The same flowers can get boring after a while, so I didn’t want to use hot glue to attach these to the wreath because I like to switch, without having to make a whole new wreath (and store them all – not happening here). I cut the stems and left them longer than I would if I were sticking them on a grapevine wreath.
I started with the hydrangeas, by just cutting them, and wiggling an opening in the burlap twists on the underside. Shove the stem through, and bend the stem to hold it down until you’re ready to actually secure it. Do this for the rest of your flowers or greens.
The best part, is you can adjust the loops of burlap, the leaves and the greens to mix together and play with it until it’s just right.
Once you’ve got your spray to it’s current state of perfect, flip the wreath over, and weave the flower/greens stems around the rings of the wreath. Tuck them under, wrap them around each other, and if you need to, use some wire to hold it down. No glue necessary, so when you’re feeling the itch to swap, you can just undo and redo the arrangement whenever you want.
Now go hang that gorgeous wreath, and give yourself a high-five for learning how to make a burlap wreath!
Beautiful! I have read many burlap wreath tutorials and I wish I had a picture of some of my “fails.” They are hilarious.
After reading this you give me hope that I might one day achieve burlap wreath greatness.
Hahahah! Lisa <3 I was really surprised I had no fail at this! I'm sure there will be some to come!
Such a beautiful wreath and lovely tutorial! I am looking forward to giving this a go! Hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Thanks so much Sam!
It’s so beautiful!! 🙂 LOVE it. x
😀 Thanks Maria!
Looks gorgeous! I really want to give this a go!
Do it Medina! I am hoarding burlap now 😉
I’m curious as to what size metal wreath form I should use if I’m going to be using five inch Burlap & i’m also not quite sure what yardage I should get in the burlap? I was thinking about doing an 18 inch or 24 inch wreath form but wanted to make sure that would be something large enough to put on the front door that would not look odd or to small. With that being said between the 18 or 24 inch wreath form what inch and yardage burlap do you suggest
Hi Kristen! I used the 18″ wreath form, along with (2) 10yd spools of 6″ burlap and a had a bit left over. If you wanted to use 5″ burlap, I would still get the 20yds. If you do a 24″ form, I’d get 30yds. My front door is 36″ wide, and the finished wreath is just shy of 24″ wide b/c of the burlap loops on the outer edges. I almost got the 24″ form, but I thought it’d be too large/out of proportion for my door once it was done (it’d be nearly 30″ wide).
when you are looping, twisting and squishing are you going up and down or side to side?
Hi Lisa! The loops are made going from the inner ring of the wreath to the outer ring (essentially pulling the burlap through each gap). On the back side of the wreath is where you twist (it acts like a knot to hold it all in place) and you go back to the center of the rings to start the process again. When you squish the loops, smooth them up against each other as you work your way around the wreath form so they look poofy. The larger the loop of burlap in each gap, the fluffier the wreath will be. If you do smaller loops, it will be skinnier and tighter looking. 🙂
Your wreath looks awesome!! I wish I had seen THESE instructions before I saw a tutorial. I mean it came out alright.. but I like this way much better (having one already another way) So, kudos to you and I have you in my favorites now, so I won’t miss anything else. 🙂
Awwww, you are so kind! I’m so glad to hear it, thank you so much Patti!
I tried and I need more burlap. Headed to the store. So pretty.
Be sure to post a photo on my facebook page when you’re done!!
This was the best instructions to make a burlap wreath. Thank you!! I made one today and it came out AWESOME!!!
AHHH!!! That makes me so happy!!! I am so glad you rocked a wreath!
Hello,
I just bought a home with a screen door in the front and was wondering how you hung this on yours? It looks pretty sturdy.
Hi Jennifer!! I looped the ribbon through the wreath to make a U, then put both tails over the door. We eyeballed it to the length we wanted, then my husband put a screw through the ribbon while I held it in place. The hardware at the top of our door is just a giant spring, so the screw is hidden behind that. When I want to swap it, I just unscrew the ribbon, switch, and then put the screw back in through whatever ribbon I have. Sometimes I’ll use jute twine or lace, and just loop it around the screw head. I would love to see your wreath and door when you hang it!! Pop over to my FB page and share it!