Burlap wreaths have been all the rage for a while now, and they probably will continue to be because: 1) they’re cute; 2) they’re versatile and can easily be decorated and adapted for different holidays/seasons; and 3) they’re super simple to make….Scout’s honor!
Here I’ll show you how to make a burlap wreath….and you’ll have a custom, inexpensive, and cute project in under 30 minutes! (Ok, I feel like I just did a little Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals intro there…)
How to Make a Burlap Wreath: The Supplies
Supplies
- Floral wire wreath form
- Burlap ribbon
- Floral wire
- Scissors
For this wreath, I bought all supplies at Michaels when they were on sale, so my total was around only $10 (score!). I used a 12-inch floral wire wreath form and just under two rolls of cream-colored burlap ribbon that were each 4″ x 21′. This burlap ribbon was also wired, but I’ve made wreaths before with non-wired burlap, so having the wired kind isn’t necessary (although I think I do prefer it). I also used a pair of scissors to cut the second roll of burlap once my wreath was complete.
My Terminology
I have no idea what the official terms are for a floral wire wreath form (or even if there are any official terms), but here is what I am going to refer to in this tutorial. They’re pretty self-explanatory, but visuals never hurt:
How to Make a Burlap Wreath: The Tutorial
Step #1: Attach Burlap to Wreath Form
After taking the packaging off my burlap ribbon, I grabbed the end and folded it in on itself until I had a little bit bunched up.
[Please, try not to be too jealous of my *impeccable* manicure….]
Next, I grabbed my wreath form so the side I wanted to be the front was facing me. My form wasn’t totally flat (I guess that’s called a BOXED wreath form)….it had a little curve to it, so I made it so the curved, raised portion was the front. You can sort of see the curve in the terminology photo above.
I then cut off a small piece of floral wire (about 1.5-2″), bent it in half, and slid it around a divider bar on the outer loop of the wreath form. I grabbed the end of the burlap ribbon that I had just bunched up and placed it on the BACK side of the wreath form behind the top divider bar and poked the two ends of my wire through. To secure it in place, I just gave the wire ends a nice twist so they were snuggly wrapped around each other.
[You don’t *have* to attach the burlap this way. I made another wreath by just tying the end of the burlap ribbon to the wreath form and it worked just as well, but I do have to say I prefer using the floral wire….it’s much easier on the fingers! You can also probably use pipe cleaners, Christmas ornament hooks, or even paper clips.]
Step #2: Start Making Poofs
Now comes the magic part: making the poofs! The beautiful thing about this method that I’m about to describe is that there is zero cutting of the burlap. That’s right….no cutting dozens of strips or squares, no needing a thousand little straight pins and hundreds of ensuing pricks and bleeding fingers. Zero prep necessary and just pulling and poofing to complete…you’ll see!
To make the first poof, I just stuck my index finger and thumb through the outer loop of the wreath form, grabbed the burlap, and pulled it through to the front until I had it the size I wanted.
As I was pulling it through, I made sure the edges on both sides of the burlap were tucked inside (you can see in the pics below how the white stitching is folded and pulled in). This helps to give the poofs their shape and the whole wreath a consistent look….we just want to see BURLAP, after all, and not anything else.
I repeated this process to make the next poof in the middle loop: reached through, grabbed the burlap, tucked the edges in, then pulled it through until it was the same size as the first poof.
To make the third poof, I did the same steps, this time in the inner loop of the wreath form. Below you can see both front and side views after this step was completed.
This is basically the whole process that I used to complete the wreath….so easy, right?! You just pull the burlap through the loops of the wreath form from back to front, going Outer –> Middle –> Inner –> TWIST/WRAP –> Inner –> Middle –> Outer and so on with the loops.
Step #3: Continue Making Poofs
My first set of poofs was complete….wahoo! Now I needed to start a second set. To do this, I worked towards the left and wrapped the burlap around the divider bar and then through the inner loop.
I’m right-handed, so looking back, it would have felt more natural for me to work towards the right. Next time I’ll start my poofs to the LEFT of the divider bar instead so I can work towards the right. No big deal, though….it was still super easy to work with.
I then made more poofs in the middle and then outer loops.
Here’s what the backside looked like at this point. Not the prettiest of sights, but hey, that’s why it’s the BACK side. :)
Also, when there wasn’t a divider bar to wrap around, I would instead TWIST the burlap and then feed it through the loop to make my next poof. For example, the next step in the pic above doesn’t have a divider bar to wrap around (I was working to the right in that pic), so I just twisted the burlap before feeding it through the outer loop again. That created a sort of anchor and prevented the poofs from easily pulling through the backside and unraveling.
I just continued this process until all of my first roll of burlap was used, which ended up covering about 2/3 of my wreath form. As I worked, I pushed the already-made poofs close together to keep them bunched up so my final wreath would be nice and full.
Step #4: Attaching the Second Roll of Burlap
Depending on the sizes of your wreath form, burlap ribbon, and poofs, you may or may not need to use more than one roll of ribbon. I did, so I attached it basically the same way I attached my first roll.
Instead of wrapping the floral wire around a divider bar (my transition point wasn’t near one), I had to wrap it around one of the loops of the wreath form. Then I started making poofs until the rest of my wreath was covered.
Once all my poofs were made, I grabbed my scissors and cut the ribbon from the spool, then tucked the end around the back of the wreath form to keep it in place.
Here’s a view of the completed back:
Step #5: Decorate & Hang
You can then get your creativity on and decorate your burlap wreath any way you want! That’s one of the reasons why I love burlap wreaths so much (and why they’re so trendy!): they are a great neutral base that can be jazzed up in countless ways.
Here’s my burlap wreath once it was complete but before I added any additional decorations to it:
I’m turning this burlap wreath into a fall wreath (for the moment at least), so I added some glittery gold floral leaves around the back edge (I just cut them off the bunch then wedged their stems between the burlap poofs and outer loop of the wreath form). I also made a simple loop out of some floral wire for hanging.
To the front, I hung a custom monogram state sign that I made. You can check out how I designed the monogram state sign and also how I cut the sign out of a cereal box and decorated it for all the juicy details.
The burlap poofs are very forgiving too so you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to make one of these (trust me, I’m sure as heck not!). You can easily move them around, tuck one in or pull another out, and adjust them as needed…..there is no need to be intimidated!
If You Enjoyed This….
Check out my Project Gallery to see more crafty creations I’ve shared, including more wreaths and door hangers like these!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
[Source of floral wire wreath form stock photo that has added terminology.]
Hope says
I am a first time wreath maker and I am having trouble in the Technic of twisting and wrapping to make the next puff. Can you better explain that or post a more self explanatory picture/video?
Lori says
I’ve watched many different tutorials on burlap wreaths and I must say that I love yours the best. It’s plenty simple and the poufs (bubbles) come out so much nicer looking.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Lori
Marie says
Should I always use the green gage wreath forms or are the black strong enough for burlap wreaths? I love your site! It is a huge help having links to supplies because there is only one craft store where I live and they don’t have much to offer. Thank you for all the info!
Dororthy says
Your instructions were by far the easiest for me to use and figure this stuff out. I’m working on a Mickey Mouse burlap wreath now for a friend. Thanks so much for being so detailed and helpful!
Lisa Chaplin says
Nice work!
Cimarron says
Your wreath looks great! I just made one for Easter this morning using a robin’s egg blue through the middle loop and plain burlap on the outside/inside edges. So fun!
Just wanted to say, I’m terrible at keeping up with floral wire but I always have a plethora of twist ties on hand….they work beautifully to secure the burlap and attach and beginnings and endings. :)
Happy crafting!
Robbie says
Thank you!!!! This was so easy for me to follow…
Christine says
You’re so welcome, Robbie! I’m glad you found this helpful! I tried to write it the way I like to read and learn from tutorials online, so I’m glad this was easy to follow for others! :)
Kristin says
Thank you for your tutorial. After searching pinterest, your pictures and instructions were the easiest to follow.
Christine says
Oh Kristin, thanks so much for the sweet note!! I’m happy to hear you found this helpful! :)
Brandi says
Love your ideas & tutorials!!
Christine says
Thank you so much, Brandi! Your comment made my night! :)
Trish says
Love your step by step instructions for those that are rookies. The best and easiest yet. Thanks
Darcy says
Hi Christine, Thanks for sharing this tutorial! Burlap wreaths are definitely very “in” and I’m trying to join the party. One piece that I’m confused with in your tutorial — what do you mean twist/wrap on the inside loop? I can’t figure out how to make that part work out so I can keep making poofs back to the outside loop.
Christine says
Hey there, Darcy! Whenever I started a new column/set of poofs and I didn’t have a divider bar to wrap the burlap around, I would just twist the strand of burlap on the back a little (just flip it around/over once), then go on with the poof making. This just helps “thicken” the burlap or make it a little chunkier and anchor it, which prevents it from just pulling back on through and losing the poof(s). I know it’s kinda hard to visualize, but I hope this helps a bit! Let me know if you have any further questions, and good luck! :)
Meghan | PlaygroundParkbench says
This is gorgeous! And it seems simple enough even I might be able to pull it off… thank you for sharing at It’s Friday, We’re in Love!
Christine says
Thanks so much, Meghan! It really is a super easy DIY project that anyone can do! Promise! ;)
Ashleigh says
Hi Christine,
I love this wreath!!!! How could I go about adding accent ribbon or printed burlap in the wreath to make a two toned wreath? Hope you can help!
Ashleigh
Christine says
Yay, Ashleigh! I’m so glad to hear you like this wreath and tutorial! I haven’t yet made a two-toned wreath with ribbon, but it’s on my project list (that just keeps on growing). I *think* you make it pretty much the same way as I described in this tutorial. It will of course depend on the size ribbon/burlap you’re using and how much of each, but you just attach the burlap AND ribbon to the wreath form, then alternate between the two (or more strands, whatever you have) to make the poofs. You can either do one ribbon then one burlap and so on then poofing them to your desired level of fullness, or layer the ribbon on top of the burlap so it’s a layered poof. I hope all that makes sense! :)
Rachel says
I love the burlap wreath…I can’t wait to try it out. One question, where or how did you make the IL emblem with the letter initial in the middle ?
Christine says
Hey Rachel! I’m glad you enjoyed this tutorial! I have a couple other tutorials showing how I made the AL sign: one shows how to add the monogram in Silhouette Studio and another shows how to cut it out of a cereal box and paint it. You can find links to both in my Project Gallery. Thanks for stopping by!
Peggy Gooch says
You have done a fabulous job with tutorial. It is one of the easiest to follow that I have seen, for myself anyway. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day.
Christine says
Peggy, you are so very welcome! Thank you very much also for leaving the sweet feedback….it makes my day to hear that I’ve been able to help someone. :) Have a great day, yourself!!
Deborah says
Hands down the BEST burlap wreath tutorial out here. Thanks for such a nice job!!
Christine says
Oh Deborah, thank you so very much for your sweet comment!! It’s so nice to hear that you found this tutorial helpful (and that you claim it’s the BEST!). I love sharing what I’ve learned with others and helping them on their creative journeys too. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment! ♥
Shellie Edwards says
Hi Christine,
How did you attach the custom monogram state sign to your burlap wreath?
Christine says
Hey Shellie! To attach the monogram state sign to the burlap, I just made a couple small hooks from floral wire (but you could also use paper clips or even ornament hooks) and hot glued them to the back of the sign. The hooks can then be slid into the holes in the burlap and easily adjusted or removed. You can check out this tutorial for how I made the sign and hung it, complete with pictures: How to Cut a Cereal Box with a Silhouette: A Tutorial, Tips, & Ideas.
Thanks so much for stopping by!!