Fabric Wreath

The first stash busting project I decided to work on was a fabric wreath.  I had seen several variations of them, but couldn't find a really great tutorial.  I decided I was smart enough to figure it out, so I did.  I even kept track of what I was doing (amazing) so that I could teach someone else to do it.  So, in honor of completing my first project, I'm even publishing my directions here.







Supplies:
16" wire wreath
1 Moda Jelly Roll (if you are stash busting, you'll need 1.5 yards of 2 fabrics or 1 1/3 yards of 3 fabrics)
Pinking blade for rotary cutter
Cutting mat
Acrylic ruler

Time committment:
Prep: an hour or so to cut the fabric
Tying:  4 hours +/-

I used 38 different fabrics from the Jelly Roll.  Be sure to check to see how many fabrics you have.  You'll need a grand total of 560 5"x1.25" strips of fabric.  If you buy a larger wreath, you'll need more fabric.

Step 1:
Lay out the strips and cut them into 5" sections.  You may want to do a practice strip so that you can see if you can tie the 5" pieces or if you need another half inch or so of fabric.

Step 2:
Cut Jelly Roll strips in half so they are 1.25" wide.  I used the pinking blade for my rotary cutter.  If you are doing the same, make sure you check to see how wide your blade is.  To accommodate mine I had to place my ruler at the 1 3/8" mark.

Step 3:

If you have small people in your house, have them sort the strips by color for you.  Here's where the planning comes in.  Do you want blocks of color or random groupings?  I went for the random, scrappy look, but if you are doing your favorite sport's teams colors, you may want blocks of color.  The wreath I used had 4 rows of wires, so you could easily stripe one.

Step 4:

Fold the strips in half lengthwise, right side out for maximum visibility.

Start tying with a double knot to reduce the chance of them coming undone!  My 8 year old, Taryn, is pictured below tying strips on.  The girls had far more fun sorting the fabrics than tying them on!

I found that it was easiest to tie a strip on each wire and work in sections vs. working on one wire all the way around.  With the 16" wreath I used 16 strips on inner 2 wires, 18 strips on 3rd wire, and 20 strips on outer wire PER SECTION.

And the finished product!