I’ve gone wreath mad this year, I’ve already got three up and I am planning a fourth if I have time!

I made my first proper foliage wreath this year thanks to Teacups and Tutus in Southampton who hosted a Christmas wreath workshop with cuttings supplied by Sweet Pea Florists.

Take a look at this festive class and the wreath I created that’s now hung on the door.

I’d been wanting to visit this new crafty hot spot for a while and I finally managed to visit with my family for this wreath making class.

The shop was laid out perfectly with tables set up with everything you needed, it was so organised!

I’m going to guide you through my wreath making process and you will probably be able to use it as a bit of a ‘how to’ guide.

Most proper wreaths, made out of freshly cut foliage, have a moss ring base. I’d read a lot about these previously but wasn’t that sure how to bind the moss to the metal rings.

First of all we sifted our moss to take out any large sticks and things that weren’t meant to be in there. Then we took large handfuls of the moss and rolled them into moss sausages.

Then we took the ring and bound the moss sausages to it with wire. The wire is attached first onto the ring and then you position the moss sausages one at a time and wind the wire round. This step is repeated until the whole ring is covered and it instantly makes it look more wreath like. I wish at this stage I had been told to not be so neat and considerate. I thought you would be able to see the moss but by the time it was covered with bits of fir and holly it can’t been seen at all!

During the evening we had a glass of prosecco, a mulled wine and a big wedge of cake with plenty of tea and coffee. Perfect for getting into the festive mood!

Once you’ve added all your moss it should look a little something like the wreath above. The next stage is to start adding the base layer to create the visible part of the wreath. This is best done with the bulkier foliage like a few different types of fir tree cuttings.

The fir layer is added in a similar was to the moss. It works best if you take three different sized bits of fir lay them on the moss and wind the wire around it until it’s secure. Then you take the next three overlap them on the last three and wind more wire around it to keep it in place. Again this is repeated until the whole wreath is covered. I found it useful to hold it up at intervals to make sure my foliage was fairly well spaced and there were no obvious gaps. Of course, by then I was a Prosecco down and happy to add more and more until my wreath was quite big!

It was then time to add holly and pine cones. The holly you added in the same way you did the fir but the cones had to be afterwards. It’s prickly so be careful!

Once you were happy with all the foliage you could tie the wire off and add cones. Adding cones took a little more skill and you needed to cut a fairly long piece of wire that could wrap around the base of the fir cone as well as attaching it to the wreath. It takes a little wiggling to get the wire into the base of the fir but once you do it’s very secure and you just poke the two bits of wire into the wreath and twist it around at the back.Then when you’re happy that you’ve added enough cones you can add things like bows, cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices to suit your own taste.

When you’ve added everything it’s ready to hang up on the front door!

I had a wonderful time making my wreath and as I did it at the start of December it helped to get me in the festive mood nice and early. I think I needed it this year to kick start my Christmas preparations and it brought me a lot of joy looking at it every day as I made my way to work!

Have you ever made a wreath before? Is it harder than you thought or do you love being a bit creative? I think now I’ve done it once it will be a lot easier to do it in the future as I know what to expect and how to bind the moss. I had a brilliant time at the class and it was so organised – I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience.

Here’s to more wreath making next year!

Merry Christmas ya filthy wreath lovin’ animals!