Got Crafty At A Festive Wreath Making Workshop
30th November 2022- New Experience Number 28.
People were attending the festive wreath making workshop through choice, although you’d be forgiven for thinking it was punishment if you overheard the room.
‘Ow’, ‘argh’, ‘ah, you little….’
Although deep in concentration, the room was punctuated with little outbursts as fingers were pricked by thorns, holly leaves and rogue ends of wire.
History Of Wreath Making
People have been making wreaths for years, in fact the advent wreath is thought to date back to the 16th century. Every December there seem to be plenty of crafty events popping up for wreath making, and this year I finally got around to having a go.
Festive Wreath Making Workshop - All The Decorative Trimmings
Everything was provided for the session and the table at the front of the hall was laden with bags brimming over with cuts of differing green foliage. An enticing array of boxes shimmered with embelishments such as feathers; pine cones; glitter covered leaves, frosted baubles in shades of red and gold, and pretty patterned ribbons.
Watch And Learn
Our tutor made it look so easy as she deftly tucked the greenery into the frame whilst telling us how she had got into crafting. Gathering several decorative pieces together she showed us how to add the embellishments, giving us some hints and tips for when it came to making our own.
She demonstrated how to make a real wreath with fresh cuttings that she had collected earlier in the day – so fresh that a spider crawled across the table as she laid out her materials. In addition she showed us how to make an artificial wreath with fake flowers, materials, and a plethora of decorative items. We could decided which sort of wreath we wanted to work on for the evening.
Where To Start?
Wrapping the wire around the circular frame was the easy bit. Knowing where to start was more of a brain tease.
Beginning with larger pieces of pine and spruce for my real wreath, I tucked them into the wire trying to overlap the pieces to make a good solid foundation to decorate. It seemed to take ages. It was the most frustrating part as I couldn’t see it looking like a wreath at all. Strands of green stuck out erratically and bare patches of wire were clearly visible through the fronds. It wasn’t exactly taking shape quickly.
Festive Wreath Making Workshop - Taking shape
I got to a point where I had poked and pushed and prodded what I hoped was ample greenery into the wire. It looked like a haphazard wheel of foliage. Personally, I prefer wheels of cheese at Christmas!
Now at the stage to add some trimmings, maybe that would help it to look more acceptable on the front door.
Decoration Coordination For The Festive Wreath
Some people have lovely colour schemes at Christmas. Ours is more of a vibrant mis-match with fading decorations from my childhood, and festive ornaments collected from our travels. Whilst my wreath didn’t need to have any particular colours, I hoped it might have a slightly nostalgic look.
There was an abundance of choice of things to add so I think I went for a little bit of everything.
The holly leaves were especially prickly. A pretty, rusty-coloured leafy twig had some evil thorns, and the wire we were using to attach everything was very easy to catch fingers on when trying to wrap it securely. No wonder garden gloves had been on the kit list!
Festive Foliage
The session was three hours, which I had initially thought was surely going to be too long, but it went by in a festive flash. It was a lovely atmosphere as our table of five got into the flow of making, chatting, and encouraging each other along the way, enjoying a glass or two of fizz and some nibbles.
By the end of the night, everyone had made something beautiful. Each wreath was unique, and it was really nice to gather inspiration from them for potential future years of wreath making. I put some of my new found wreath making skills into practice again when I later made a dried flower wreath, which was a bit less prickly to work on.
Want To Try It Yourself?
I found the wreath making evening on eventbrite.
I also saw several advertised on local notice boards, in the local paper, and on local Facebook groups, so keep your eyes peeled during the festive season to find an event near you.
Cost Of Experience
£35, this included all of the materials to make the wreath, and the refreshments.
Prices vary depending where you have a go at making a wreath. When I was looking into wreath making events in 2022 the prices varied from £30 to £60.
Recommendations
- It can be prickly, fiddly and sticky so if you’ve got some gardening gloves it might be worth taking those along too.
- Keep going, it can feel like a while before it takes some sort of shape.
- Don’t forget your camera!