Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: kristen’s ruffly felt wreath

continuing with the fluffy holiday craft theme is this beautiful wreath project from the talented blogger behind domestifluff (i love that name), kristen. inspired by a rosette pillow tutorial on etsy, kristen decided to create her own version for a wreath. though there was “much felt circle cutting involved” kristen loved the outcome, and the fact that it can be used year round. of course, if you want to make it more holiday specific you can choose alternate colors to use- but i love kristen’s snowy white version. if you’ve got a cold “stuck inside” day on your hands, this will be a great one to with friends or family. thanks so much to kristen for sharing!

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

Ruffly felt wreath from Kristen at Domestifluff

What you’ll need for the wreath:

- a 12 inch styrofoam wreath form
- approximately 2 1/2 yards of felt
- straight pins (enough to match the number of felt circles needed, plus two for attaching the hanger)
- scissors
- a 3 inch circle template
- a pencil
- ribbon for hanging

Making the Felt Rosettes

Using a pencil and your circle template (or that great tutorial from maya*made), trace circles onto the felt. Cut the felt circles, and fold them in half twice to form rosettes. Insert a pin near the bottom corner of the rosette, about 1/8 inch from the corner.

Attaching the Felt Rosettes

Attach the felt rosettes to the wreath form, making sure to group the rosettes tightly enough that no styrofoam is showing through the rosettes. After you’ve added a few, fluff and adjust the rosettes to your liking. Continue making, pinning, and attaching the rosettes until you’ve worked your way around the wreath form. If you have circles that are slightly misshapen or that have a little pencil or ink on them, place them toward the outside or inside edges, where they can’t be seen when the wreath is hanging.

Wreath Back

This is what my wreath looked like on the back when I was finished. As you can see, I started off with ball point straight pins, but I switched to flat head pins when the rosette count started to get up there and I had to run out and buy more pins. If you use flat head pins, then I suggest using a thimble to push them into the wreath form, or your thumb will take a beating. Ask me how I know.

Wreath Hanger

After you’ve finished adding the felt rosettes, cut a 5 inch length of ribbon, fold it in half, and attach it to the wreath form with two pins to form a hanger.

Wreath Finished

I love how organic the wreath looks when it’s finished. The ruffly felt rosettes, when grouped together like this, remind me a bit of a coral reef. While this is a rather ambitious project, I think it was completely worth the time spent. I’ll be using my wreath year ’round as part of my home décor!

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I actually made this wreath last weekend and I LOVE it…lots of hard work (I used a bigger piece of styrofoam) but it was worth it! My friend even wants to incorporate the idea into wedding decorations. Great job Kristen!

I am so jealous– I wish I’d thought of that! This looks like the beautiful trendy decor pillows I’ve been seeing with lots of felt ruffles and “petals” all over– LOVE IT! Thanks for posting– I’m making one as a gift as soon as I get a chance!

What a great diy project – and you can customise the colour to match your home – I wonder what it would look like using a mix of colours, maybe a range of lovely mossy greens.
I would love to know how many little circles you used – it looks like hundreds!

@Elizabeth(s) – There were exactly 286 circles on the wreath in the tutorial. But like CLK said, much of the work can be done while watching TV, so it goes pretty quickly.

Also, I found a tutorial (after the fact) that should greatly speed up the circle making process. It’s linked under the “Making the Felt Rosettes” subheader in the tutorial.

Thanks so much, everyone, for your kind words! It’s such an honor to be featured.

So beautiful! Though I can’t image cutting those by hand. I have the Big Shot die cutting machine and a Stampin’ Up! circle die that will do just the trick. Easy peasy. What a great craft idea. So pretty, thanks for a great tutorial!

I love this wreath. It is so modern and charming and I’ll definitely enjoy plopping in front of the tv with a fire roaring to cut circles for hours.
I think this will be a nice gift for a newly married couple without many decorations.

OK guys, I’m gonna make your life a whole lot easier. Invest ($10-$15) in an OLFA Rotary Circle Cutter…found out fabric stores like JoAnns. It will cut perfect fabric circles from 1 7/8 to 8 1/2″ in diameter..without marking! It’s a compass with a razor sharp rotary cutter.

I made one of these tonight… and it was really easy once you get going. It took me about 3 hours. I wrapped the foam wreath in fabric first, which helps with hiding the back of the wreath. Still need to pick out my ribbon!! Thanks for the post!

This is so beautiful, and I really want to make it. But are you all planning on hanging these on your front doors? It seems like it would get REALLY dirty. Is there a trick I don’t know about? Or just doing it in a color besides white?

Yeah, I agree that it might get dusty/dirty. But I bet if it were in a different color it wouldn’t be so obvious- like a woodsy brown or green. And then for each holiday you can re-decorate it. Add a red bow this time of year. Little red felt hearts for Valentine’s. Acorns during Thanksgiving.

I REALLY like this wreath. Some of those nice glitters would give a frosty look (if one likes glitter). To dust it one could use the vacuum hose covered w/ a piece of hose or if the vacuum has a way to dust drapes that might work.

I did mine, using cosmetic round cotton (I believe it’s named that way). They were super cheap, each bag has 100 and I splited them, so it became 200, and I’ve used them all. They’re already round so it was very easy ;) Plus, I’ve used some small red buttons I had, and glued them to the cotton. Just a few, to bring out the “Christmas red” :)

TIME SAVER TIP: i used an xacto knife around a glass that is about 3″ wide to cut out the circles. it saves time from tracing and then cutting.. it’s one step! just don’t forget the cutting mat :)

I made two of these, and they turned out perfectly! A couple of tips (benefit from my learning curve!): The circles don’t really have to be all totally perfect for this to look great – I cut several layers at once and saved a BUNCH of time (but ended up with some rather ovoid ‘circles’; I couldn’t find any nice felt, so I used some double-faced polar fleece in lime and forest (the two-tone effect made it really interesting – and surprisingly natural!) and some thick jogging fleece (again, the contrast between the fuzzy and the smooth sides adds interest). I added ‘berries’ (large beads on wires) and bows for a more traditional look, but they still look clean and fab! Thanks for the instructions (a merry happy holidays!).

Absolutely GORGEOUS! I love it! I definitely have to make this, the white will look beautiful against my milk chocolate painted walls!

Thanks for sharing!!!
Hugs, Health & Happiness,
Anita, a Knitting Junkie!

This is absolutely gorgeous! I did one with a heart wreath in red. A lady from another site (http://theidearoom.blogspot.com)switched up your great idea to do a Valentine’s wreath. I’m going to do a white or cream one like yours for a gift! Thanks for your inspiration!

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