When choosing / making a Christmas wreath, think about how you will dispose of it after the festive season. Ideally it will be easy to dismantle (not smothered in wire) and moss-based rather than foam-based, so that the components can be composted / put in a council garden waste bin / reused for next year's wreath.
Last year I experimented with using natural jute garden string to bind my Christmas wreath (rather than floristry wire) and I found that jute string held the wreath greenery firmly for a full four weeks - at that point I had to use scissors to cut the wreath apart to put the leafy parts in the council green bin (as the string was still holding firm, but the festive season was over!)
So, here is my step-by-step string-bound wreath making guide, in case you'd like to make your own front door wreath....
*It will probably take you at least 90 minutes to make this wreath as a beginner (it took me under an hour) and that's if you have all of the equipment / foliage to hand*
Gather together...
* Green jute garden string (at least 10 meters), such as this Scottish-made jute from Nutscene, which is posted out with completely plastic-free packaging. In the photos below I use a mixture of natural brown jute and green jute, as these reel-ends were all I had to hand, but green jute string would blend in better with the foliage top-layer.
* Flat wire wreath ring / frame. I use a large 40cm (16 inch) wreath ring from Country Baskets (available in packs of 10, so you can share with others) or a 30cm diameter version is available singularly from Hobbycraft.
* Rubber gloves (the 'If You Care' brand of gloves can be cut up and home composted after use, but the sizing comes up small, so buy a size up is my advice).
* Washable picnic rug / old tablecloth / old sheet - this is a messy activity!
* 1 - 2 kg / 5 litres of good-quality, wet, sustainably harvested sphagnum moss. Mine comes from Sphagnum Moss Supplies in a 40 litre bag as they are a local-to-me, family-run company, with over 60 years experience. They ship to all parts of the UK, just email them. A big 40 litre bag of moss will make up to 8 large (40cm / 16 inch diameter) wreaths - and if kept outside, cool, damp and sealed the moss will last for at least 3 years. The company can be found on Facebook as 'Sphagnum Moss'. Pease don't buy moss from overseas. Use a local / UK company which adheres to strict harvesting regulations.
* A peg.
* Scissors.
* Gardening gloves (the greenery is painful to handle).
* Fir tree boughs (approximately 5 x 30cm lengths for a 40cm / 16 inch diameter wreath) - cut these sparingly from well established trees which you have permission to use. You could use Leylandii but I don't like how it looks / handles (too floppy) and it brings me out in a rash - even the scent of it puts me off. You can cut the fir tree greenery 3 or 4 days in advance, if you keep it stored in a cool place (such as a garage), until it is needed.
* Other evergreen stems to decorate with (approximately 3 x 20cm lengths of each e.g. ivy, holly, laurel - for a 40cm / 16 inch diameter wreath). AVOID poisonous berries if pets / small children have free access to the area the wreath will be displayed in (plus the local wildlife need the berries more than you do). Make sure you have permission before you start gathering foliage. If you are foraging in hedgerows, take just a small amount from each location, so you don't decimate entire wildlife habitats. You can pick the greenery 3 or 4 days in advance, if you keep it stored in a cool place (such as a garage), until it is needed. Aim for ivy without flowery 'fancy' bits on, as they will just wilt and fall off however cool / damp it is.
* Secateurs (to cut stems).
* Decorations (cinnamon sticks, pine cones, needle felted red 'holly' berries etc).
* Floristry wire in short lengths (available from Hobbycraft), to attach the decorations - these decorations are reusable, so can be removed and stored until the next year.
* Pliars (to cut wire).
* Fabric ribbon to hang wreath with.
* Hook / more ribbon to attach wreath to door somehow - this is the trickiest part I think!
Get making...
1. Firmly tie the jute string to the wire wreath ring. Be careful when handling the metal ring as it may be sharp / rough in places.
2. Put on your rubber gloves (preferably compostable ones), as the moss will stain your hands. Lay a generous handful of sphagnum moss on the wire ring, in a sausage shape and wrap the jute string around the moss, quite tightly, to secure it as a solid mass. I made my wreath on my grey machine-washable picnic rug ('Quechua' from Decathlon) as the moss is very messy! If you aren't sure how much moss to add, my 40cm / 16 inch diameter wreath ring takes between 1kg and 2kg of nicely-wet-but-not-dripping moss to cover it, so if you are a beginner you could weigh out this quantity of moss and aim to spread it around a large wreath ring evenly.
3. Add another handful of moss, overlap it slightly with the existing bit, then continue to bind the new moss into place.
4. Continue adding handfuls of moss and binding it securely.
5. Until the whole ring is covered with moss.
6. Use a peg to mark the start/end point, and then go round the ring again binding the existing moss, to ensure it is really secure. The peg will make sure you know when to stop. The whole process of binding the moss to the wreath will take you about 15 - 20 minutes. Don't cut the string! As you'll use it to bind the greenery on next so it is useful to have the string remain firmly attached.
7. At this point I moved inside as it started to rain and I used my other (green) washable picnic rug to protect the kitchen floor. Swap the washing up gloves for thicker gardening gloves - the greenery is vicious! Lay the fir branches over the moss-wrapped wreath. Shorten any which are too long, with secateurs. Ensure any cut ends are covered over by the next branch, as cut ends on show spoil the look of a wreath. YOU MUST tuck the cut ends of the greenery into the wet moss, as this is what ensures wreath longevity. Also make sure the fir branches all point in the same direction, if you want a neat and flowing 'continuous circle' effect.
8. Bind the fir branches in place (a bit like you did with the moss) using the jute twine. Take your time and leave side branches free from the binding, so they give the wreath a nice bushy shape.
9. Then look at the shape you have created and add more fir branches to even out the circle, I added another branch to the top part of the wreath as it looked rather bare. I quite like to have the base of the wreath 'bushier' than the top, as when hung up it looks as if gravity naturally intended it to be so. Once you are happy with the fir tree layer, bind all the way round with the jute twine again - use the peg again if you think you won't remember where you started from.
10. Lay out the other evergreen greenery (holly, ivy and laurel are shown here). If pets / small children have free access to the area where the wreath is to be displayed, make sure you choose greenery without poisonous berries. You'll notice I have chose laurel without berries and holly without berries for this reason (I add my own needle felted version of holly berries).
11. Spend time arranging the extra greenery, making sure any cut ends are hidden from view by tucking them into the moss layer - this looks neater and ensures your wreath stays fresh for a whole month (as the moss is such a brilliant water-retainer). Once you are happy with the spread of greenery, carefully bind it in place with the green jute string. Again, take your time - ensure most leaves poke out above the string (to help hide it), it's just the stems which need binding down. Bind around the whole ring twice to ensure everything is held on securely. Then aim to finish binding at what will be the top of your wreath - wrap the jute string around in one place, at the very top at least 5 times before trimming , leaving 10cm of spare string to then tie in your best girl guide / cub scout series of knots (keep the knots on the back of the wreath). This area of multiple layers of string and knots will be covered by a ribbon so don't worry if it looks messy.
12. Now you can add the final bits of decoration. I choose decorations which will last for years - pinecones, cinnamon sticks and needle felted red berries. Mine have been used for the past three years, so they are already wired-up (wrapped in wire with free ends poking out, as shown in the image below) using short lengths of floristry wire - the wire needs to be quite firm / thick, so it can be poked into the wreath without bending too much. Other wreaths may contain dried apple / dried orange slices / dried chillies etc, but these decorations don't survive being outside and exposed to the elements. If you use these less robust decorations, make sure you remove the wire before composting them, and that you save the wire to reuse for future wreaths.
13. Keep adding decorative touches until you are happy with your wreath. Try and spread the additions out. Aim for odd numbers when items are clumped together. Always try to disguise the wire binding the cinnamon sticks with overhanging leaves (the ivy hides the wire well on the wreath pictured). You can add a bow if you like, but make sure it is large, beautifully tied (wire edged ribbon works best), trailing and that it is a dark colour / patterned e.g. tartan, so it can be reused each year. Bows look best placed on the lowest part of the wreath. I prefer a more 'natural' look so I don't include a bow usually.
14. Next wrap a fabric ribbon securely over the layers of jute string at the very top of your wreath, knotting it securely at the back. I used a white ribbon as it's what I had to hand three years ago when I first made a wreath at home, and I've reused it ever since. Finally it is time to figure out how to attach the wreath SECURELY to your door (it is a heavy item to hang!) - an over-door hook / a strong suction cup / a hook drilled into a wooden door / a complicated system of ribbon looped around the door lock and hinges? We use the latter method. Please be thoughtful and don't obstruct your letterbox when hanging the wreath and especially make sure any holly on your wreath isn't going to spike those trying to deliver your post!
I hope that you enjoy making a festive wreath as much as I do. I learnt the craft from a former florist, who trained up National Trust volunteers to make Christmas wreaths to sell to National Trust visitors. Back then we used wire to bind the wreaths and, thinking about it now, I bet most of them sadly ended up in landfill eventually, as the wire was so difficult to remove.
Making a beautiful wreath takes time and creativity, it absorbs you and it is the perfect mindful festive activity. I love it all the more now I know that the components of my wreath can be easily dismantled and composted / re-used. Please spread the word, a wire-wrapped wreath just isn't necessary.