Scrappy Shabby Chic Valentine Heart Wreath Tutorial

Happy Monday!  

Today, I'm posting some "how-to's"  for the  Valentine wreath I mentioned on Saturday.

Want to know the story behind that bunny there on the shelf?  Click here.  Neatest natural find!  My brother finished it for us.

As mentioned, the wreath takes no sewing or even glue.  But, it will take a bit of strength and futzing, but I'm sure it cannot be done incorrectly, so here we go....

First, the wreath base is made from an old wire hanger.

I made another one on Saturday, but with red and a greater variety of fibers.

The basic premise is to gather a large bundle of fibers that are long enough to go all around the wire wreath, then you wrap the bundle around the wire with a really long scrap.  Starting at the top center: wrap one side, then start at the stop center again to wrap the other side. 

**I did NOT wrap the fiber bundle around the wire.  I used another longer scrap to wrap around and hold my fiber bundle to the wire. The fiber bundle is more or less laid on the wire.

I did use a clamp to hold the one side while I wrapped the other side, but I don't think it's necessary.

*In the wrapping, is where there is some futzing...just keep putting the fibers how you want them and wrap as tightly as you like.  I folded my 1" wrapping scrap in half while I wrapped, so it didn't cover my bundle of fibers too much.

*Each scrap in the fiber bundle is about 34" or so (NOT exact science here...)

*No picture: I used two long scraps (step #5) to wrap each wreath. I just tied two shorter scraps together to make one scrap long enough.  It doesn't matter if/where the tie shows...it's scrappy! I tied each long scrap at the top to the back of the wreath (to the scrap that ties the bundle to the wire wreath) and then began wrapping.

*The long scrap that you use to tie the bundle to the wire wreath will become the hanger for the wreath.

*Trim the tail to even it out and to make it the length you want.

Your fiber bundle can be made up of torn pieces of fabric, yarn, ribbon, etc.

I used pieces cut from a vintage rag ball, sequin ribbon, a vintage feed sack torn into 1" pieces, various yarns, and even a couple pieces of rick rack.

This wire wreath was a little smaller than the denim one (I cut more off of the hanger before I formed it), so I was able to get a longer tail with about the same length of fiber strips.

**For the denim wreath, I only used strips of denim and strips torn from an old stained feed sack.  About 13, 1" strips of each were used in the wreath I made.  I wrapped it with long feed sack scraps.

That wreath was much easier to wrap since there were only two fibers types.

This wreath can take on all kinds of looks depending on what you put in your fiber bundle and what you wrap it with!!

This is definitely a "use what you have" type of project.  It could be done with cut up tshirts, flannel shirts, remnants of ribbon, etc. If your strips aren't long enough...just tie them together. I think twine would be a good thing to tie it up with too. And for sure, for you white lovers, an all white one would be really neat!

I'd love to know if you make one! Or two!