Thursday, December 4, 2008

No Sew Wreath/Candle Ring

These instructions apply to either a wreath or a candle ring. For my wreath I used a wire coat hanger, bent into a circular shape and pre-wrapped it with a base fabric, in a quite haphazard fashion, to get some extra bulk. You could used this technique on almost any circular or oval type base and just adjust the length and/or width of your fabric strips. This technique is very open to interpretation and personal styles.

To make my candle rings, I chose black craft wire and cut it to about 12 inches. I closed up one end into a circle with my pliers, but this could also be done around a dowel, the end of a paint brush, or...your choice. I bent the other end into a hook that will be placed into the circular end.



I cut strips of green felt and a burgundy fabric into lengths of approximately 6 " by 1". For me, anything shorter than six inches is difficult to tie. You can also cut random length strips and trim them after you make the ring. For a larger base, your strips must be longer. Do a test before cutting your strips.

As a quick guide for the number of strips, I took the length of my wire (12") and cut 12 of each color, into 1" widths. The bows "fold" to about half their width when tied, thus making room for 12 of each.

I tied with only one overhand tie, (not a knot), all the green strips to the wire. You will note from this picture that I cut the ends on an angle to give them more of a leaf appearance, your preference here.




Next I tied the burgundy strips in between each green strip, moving each green piece up a bit to accommodate the next strip. The bent ends of the wire keep the strips from popping off.


After tying all the strips on, I hooked the ends together and wrapped a broken necklace around the ring for some added bling. This step is completely optional, and depending on your choice of trims, you could repeat a theme that you are using with other decorations.


Then I placed the faux candles in the faux candle rings and there you go. "No sew" candle rings. Really easy and you have so much flexibility with this. Just remember to cut extra strips, just in case. You're good to go. You can make these as neat or as "homespun" looking as you choose.

That's it for today. Talk soon.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The gems in the watch case were there. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Again, love the candles and rings. Great job!