How to make a wreath

Equipment

• Freshly cut willow in lengths of 5-6ft long
• Biodegradable
  

  Anything that can be decomposed by fungi, bacteria and micro-organisms, so it doesn’t persist indefinitely in the environment. Biodegradable plastics are usually made from plants, such as bamboo, rather than fossil fuels. Ideally, products that claim to be biodegradable should break down quickly and leave nothing harmful behind. However, they may need specific conditions in order to biodegrade successfully or may produce greenhouse gases such as methane in the process.

  string or raffia
• Green material – holly, ivy or any pliable evergreen material
• Brown material – seed heads, pine cones, dried chillies, cinnamon sticks and dried orange
• Scissors/secateurs
• Gardening gloves if handling holly

1. Start by encouraging your willow to bend, you can do this by holding one length of willow with two hands and use your knee to encourage it to gently bend. Do this with each length

2. Make a loop with your first piece of willow, weaving the ends together so it is secure

3. Start to weave in another length of willow. To ensure an even spread of thickness, make sure you start weaving in each piece of willow at a new point

4. Keep adding lengths of willow until you are happy with your frame, this usually takes around 5 to 6 lengths of willow

5. Trim the ends of the willow that are sticking out of the frame, the willow can be quite tough so take care when cutting. You should end up with a frame like this

6. Find a spot on your frame to tie a loop of string so that you can hang the wreath up. Start filling in the wreath with all your green material

7. You can start by filling out the base using evergreen material or you could decide to leave some of the frame exposed, it’s up to you! You can use string to hold some pieces in place, try to hide the string or raffia where possible

8. Tie string or raffia around your seed heads, pine cones, cinnamon sticks or dried oranges slices. Make sure these are tightly tied and then add them on to your wreath by tying the opposite ends of the string or raffia to the willow

9. Keep building up the wreath using evergreen material, seed heads, pine cones and anything else you choose

10. Hang up your wreath. It will last longer outside so why not hang it on your front door for everyone to enjoy. When you are finished with your wreath it can be composted