Step by Step Winter Foliage Wreath

When the days start to get darker and the nights seem to last forever it’s the perfect recipe for some DIY festive projects. Lighting up the ‘cinnamon’ scented candle, grabbing a hot water bottle and filling my cup with tea (or wine depending on the hour)! I love to plan out how to decorate my house for Christmas. 

One of my all time favourite projects is the door wreath, I just think it really adds that classic element of Christmas to your home either inside or outside!

Materials

 Wreath ring (I’m using a 12inch ring)

Reel wire

Moss

Foliage 

Pine cones

Ribbon

Anything else you would like to add to your wreath

(Most of the above you can either purchase from a craft store, online web shops or direct from a florist)

Ingredients

In this wreath I have used a selection of different wintery foliage.

Here is an example of some of the materials you could use-

Conifer, pine, privet berry, yew tree, teasels, heather, holly, ivy berry, bilberry, juniper, poppy seeds, bay leaf.

Step 1

Firstly we need to attach the reel wire onto the wreath. To do this we wind it and twist it a few times around one of the copper wires so that it is super tight and will not come undone.

Step 2

Next grab a handful of moss and squeeze it into a firm sausage shape to place on top off the wire frame. Wrap the reel wire around both the moss and wreath ring pulling it tight and leaving about an inch between each wrap. You don’t want any of the moss to come loose and you also want to make sure it keeps a firm shape.

Continue along the ring in handfuls of moss until it is all covered. If any of the sections feel thinner then other parts you can always add more moss and go around with the reel wire one more time to make sure its all secure.

You should end up with a even coverage of moss creating a base no thicker then a firm handful.

DO NOT cut the reel wire off, keep it attached as you need it for the next part.

Step 3

The next step is adding the foliage. We want to grab a selection of our foliage and cut it down to create a bunch that is approximately the size of our hand (around 15cm).

Lay the bunch onto our moss base facing slightly outwards and wrap the wire around the stems of the bunch 3-4 times, tightly so the bunch is secure on the moss.

TIP- If using spruce or pine I would try and place them to the back of my bundle of foliage as they are quite dense and can detract from your more delicate materials like heather or berries.

Step 4

The next bunch of foliage we make wants to be half the size of the first one, then this smaller bunch sits over the stems of the last bunch but facing slightly inwards. Again make sure it is secured over the stems with wire.

Having alternating large then small bunch’s helps to keep a clear centre to our wreath.

Continue step 3 and step 4 all the way round the wreath covering the whole moss frame.

Step 5

The last bunch should sit neatly under the first one, covering all of the moss. To finish make sure the last bunch has been wrapped tightly enough with the wire a few times, then cut the wire leaving a few inches to spare. With the left over length you should be able to feel where the wire frame of the ring is, push the wire through the moss and twist it around the wire frame a couple of times securing it. Cut any spare wire off after this and push the end back into the moss.

Decorations

Once you have finished your wreath you can choose what decorations to add to it. Often it’s a good idea to place them on top of the wreath first to give you an idea of where you would like to place them before wiring them in. Think about wether you want a bow or a ribbon, if you want to spread all your decorations out evenly or place them in clusters which works really effectively.

Here I have added some pine cones using green wires (which are thicker then reel wire).

I have wrapped a wire around the base of the pine cone leaving a short and long side to the wire, these I twist together so the item is secure, then I can poke the cone into whatever position I want. Fine the wire when it come out of the other side of the moss and then poke it back into the moss so its hooked in place.

This is the same process to use for other decorations such as ribbon, cinnamon sticks, dried hydrangea heads, orange/lime/lemon slices or lotus heads.

Other great decorations that don’t need wiring are feathers, twigs and berries- these can easily be pushed into the design without wiring in.

You should end up with something like this wreath but feel free to go bigger, smaller or wilder. Each wreath is unique.