Easy Ribbon Wreath for the Holidays

This is a favorite decorating project around here!  A ribbon wreath is an easy and inexpensive project for the holidays.  It is a great way to repurpose ribbons from past celebrations, making an elegant decoration for that special spot in your home.  Coordinate colors with your Christmas theme or with your home’s interior to create a festive and stylish seasonal design.  Have fun and be creative.  This is also a great project for kids.  They just need supervision with the push pins!

 You will need:

• A straw or Styrofoam wreath form found at floral and craft stores.  We used 14” for these instructions, but you can increase or decrease to your preference.
• Around 12 yards each of 4 different but coordinating ribbons of varying widths and textures.
• A chenille stem to make the hanger, found at craft stores, looks like a pipe cleaner.
• About 50 to 75 fern pins, found at floral and craft stores, looks like a long staple.

 Instructions:

• First wrap the entire wreath form with a wider and simpler length of ribbon.  Attach one end of the ribbon to the back of the form with two of the fern pins pushed at a slight angle through the ribbon and into the form to secure.  Then tightly spiral the ribbon, overlapping slightly, and continue to wrap the form to cover, attaching the end with two more of the fern pins, securing tightly.

•  Next, twist the chenille stem (or pipe cleaner) around the wreath to form a hanger.

• Now, create several bows of various ribbons, with the loops being about the same size.  Leave the tie ends as single “tails” and cut the loose ends at an angle or with a “v” notch.  You may also create single loops and tails to fill in between bows.

• Pin the bows and loops and tails onto the covered wreath form with the fern pins, pushing the pins through the center point of the bow. 

• Continue adding bows and loops and tails until all but the back surface of the wreath form is covered.  The closer the bows, the fuller and fluffier the wreath will appear, but don’t crowd them so much that the wreath looks stiff and tight. 

Helpful Tip: Be sure to hang your wreath indoors unless you have used weatherproof ribbons.