In the fifth grade with the help of a wonderful nun named Sister Mary Charles (nee Catherine Lily) we created many really nice Christmas decorations; one of them was a tulle wreath. When I made the wreath, before writing this post, I thought WOW in the 5th grade we were quite skilled to be able to create somethings like this, that was very adult, for our young age.

Materials List to create a tulle wreath:
1 wire coat hanger (it can be vinyl coated wire)
2 yards of tulle, that each yard measures 36×108 inches wide (that is considered double wide), or 4 yards of tulle that each yard measures 36×58 inches wide.
Ribbon, I used 3/16 inch wide curling ribbon by Spritz bought at Target. I used 140 feet of ribbon for the wreath.
A pair of Scissors for cutting fabric, ribbon, paper and cardboard
A ruler
1 sheet of computer printer paper to measure and cut a 6×6 inch square from
1 piece of cardboard to measure and cut an 8×6 inch rectangle from
Wired ribbon (one & 1/2 inches by 3 yards) to make a No-Tie Bow
florist wire
Some small plastic Christmas bulbs and/or other things to decorate your tulle wreath Step 1 ..Take your wire hanger and bend it into a circle (see illustration 1). My hanger, when bent formed a 10 1/2 inch ring.

Step 2 ..If you are using double wide tulle that measures 36×108 inches per yard, fold it in half. Cut it into two pieces on the center fold. You should then have two 36×54 inch blocks of tulle. If you bought tulle measuring 36×58 inches wide per yard, you will be skipping this step.

Next take your 36×58 inch piece of tulle and fold it in half to make a 36×29 inch rectangle. The 36 inch wide measurement should be your loose ends. In illustration 2 notice how I have the loose ends closest to me, and the center fold is furthest away.

Lay your folded tulle on a work table, or as I did, on a short pile rug laying on they floor. (I’m right-handed, and when I cut out my tulle squares, I worked left to right). Take the 6×6 inch square of paper (pattern/template) and place it on the tulle as I did in illustration 2. Holding it down with one hand, take your scissors and cut around and through the two layers of tulle to make two 6×6 inch squares of fabric. After cutting out the first square continue cutting across that row. You should get six squares per row (6×6=36 (width of fabric). After cutting your first row, start the second row. Continue cutting rows of squares until you get close to the top (center fold), and can’t cut any more 6×6 inch squares. Unfold that last piece of fabric, and take your pattern/template, and cut out as many 6×6 inch squares as possible. Discard any left over fabric scraps.

Step 3 ..Take your 8×6 inch piece of cardboard and mark it as I did in illustration 3 to designate the 8 inch length. From your spool of 3/16 inch wide ribbon, wind the ribbon around the cardboard up to, BUT no more than 15 times. Holding the ribbon secure, cut through all the ribbon at one end, then cut the ribbon at the other end (see illustration 3). If you wound your ribbon 15 times around your cardboard, you will then have 30 (eight inch) strips of ribbon to work with. Step 4 ..Take your first 6×6 inch square of tulle and lay it down on your work surface; you can do it on a table, or as I did, on the sofa cushion next to me where I was sitting. Next, using both hands, gather the tulle square from point-to-point, following the red arrow in illustration 4. Your gathered square should then resemble a “bow tie”, as seen in illustration 5.

Step 5 ..Take your “bow tie”, and one of the 8 inch long pieces of ribbon you’ve cut, and wrap the ribbon around the center of the “bow tie”. Line up the two ribbon ends so they are the same length, and fold the “bow tie” in half like illustration 6. Adjust the tips of the “bow tie” (see arrows on illustration 6) so they are even and tie off the tulle with the ribbon making only one knot. (Not having 3 hands, I took the end of the ribbon to my lip or eye tooth to help pull the ribbon into a knot). Immediately after that, tie the tulle “bow tie” to your wire hanger ring with 2 knots to secure.

Now look at illustration 7. The first “bow tie” I attached to the hanger was positioned so its ends face north-to-south (#1 in pink). Then the second “bow tie”, when added is placed west-to-east (#2 in green). The third “bow tie, when added, should be again placed north-to-south like #1, and followed again with #2 placed west-to-east. This alternating pattern should continue around the whole wreath until finished. By placing them that way, your wreath will be even of shape and width.

After completing your tulle wreath, bend back the coat hanger hook toward the back of the wreath. Close its end, forming an oval hook.

Make a No-Tie Bow using wired ribbon (click here for my instructions). Leave extra florist wire on the bow so you can go around your wreath from front to back, and wire it to the bent coat hanger loop.

Finally ..Take your wreath decorations and with your 3/16 inch wide ribbon tie them to your wreath.

I made my wreath using white bridal tulle and white ribbon, I wanted a snow kind of look. I then accented it in red like the cover drawing for this post. There are soo many color combinations that could be used when making a wreath. I could have substituted the white ribbon for red, and had a peppermint effect. A tulle wreath does not have to be made just for Christmas. A wreath done in pink and rose-colored tulle with pink, rose and white flowers would look great in a girls room. Colors like black and orange say Halloween, A wreath done in yellow, orange, rusty tomato red and brown says Fall/Autumn. Orchid, pink and lime might say Easter or Spring to you. You can also pick colors that match the colors of the room you are going to hang it in.

A few wreath making statistics ..My wreath is made of 205 six-by-six inch squares of tulle. I used 4 yards of tulle, yours could use more or less depending on the thickness of the tulle. I used about 140 feet of ribbon (8 inches x 205, divided by 12(as in a foot) = 133 feet). My finished wreath measures 18 inches wide and 6 inches deep. While making my wreath, I held it with my knees as I tied the “bow ties” to the ring. It took between 7 and 8 hours to complete the project.

In conclusion, it was an interesting experience to go back in time, and make an art project that I did in the fifth grade. Maybe this time around, I even made it better, or maybe not ;-}

Companion posts…
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Tulle 10-20-2012 ,
How to make a Pine Cone Christmas Wreath 10-29-2015,
Make an Easy NO TIE BOW for your Christmas Wreath 10-8-2011,
Putting Lights on a Christmas Tree..The EASY WAY 11-3-2011,
Christmas Tree Decorating..Step by Step, Like a Pro 11-13-2011,
It’s Easy to FLUFF a Fake / Artificial Christmas Wreath 11-30-2011,
Cutting/Making Paper Snowflakes 10-27-2012,
Turn Your Paper Snowflake into a Snowflake Snowman 12-14-2011,
Make some Animals from Cut Paper Snowflakes 12-19-2011,
A paper Craft project for Kids, Make a Christmas Tree out of Your Name 11-18-2011,
Some Outdoor Christmas Decorations that you can Leave Up ALL Winter 11-16-2011.

(Unrelated, but Really Popular Interior Decorating Posts)
Arranging Living Room Furniture, so Sofas Talk to Chairs, Like the Pros do 9-7-2012,
Arranging Furniture TWELVE different ways in the Same Room 9-15-2012,
Arranging Furniture around a Fireplace in the Corner of a Room 9-29-2012,
The Right way to Hang Curtains and Drapes 5-3-2011,
The Right Height of Table Lamp for your End Table 5-19-2011