Are you looking for a patriotic wreath idea to decorate your front door with for the 4th of July holiday celebrations? This welcoming wreath has it all – Red, White, and Blue, stars, stripes, and sparkle!
Our wreath got it’s’ Fireworks’ name after the sparkley star spray was made – it reminded us of fireworks shooting across the sky.
How to Make this Wreath
The wreath supplies were all purchased at Joann fabrics, but likely could be found at any craft store.
Supplies –
- 14 inch straw wreath – we left the plastic wrapper on the wreath which made it very easy to cover with the fabric
- fabric yardage – enough to create a 30” square piece of fabric, from which a 30” diameter circle will be created
- 1 yard of 1” grosgrain ribbon – we chose a medium dark blue to complement the fabric pattern/color
- greening pins and straight pins
- red, white/silver, and blue shiny star stems
1. Cut a 30” x 30” piece out of fabric. Place the wreath in the center of the fabric, on the wrong side of the fabric. Through this entire tutorial, the back of the wreath is the side that is facing the fabric.
Find the exact center of the fabric by marking an ‘X’ where the square’s diagonal lines cross in the center. Place a 4” circular object (such as a bowl or a cup) on the fabric in the center. Trace around the object with a fabric pencil to draw a circle. Cut out the circle, but do not make any cuts to the fabric outside of the circle.
Mark the 30” diameter circle by measuring 15” outward and radial from the center ‘X’, making tick marks with the fabric pencil for a visual guide when cutting the fabric. 15” is the radius of the 30” circle.
After the cuts to the fabric are completed, it will look like a donut (round with a hole in the middle).
2. With the wreath centered on the fabric, make 8 radial cuts to create tabs (tabs are visible in photo below), starting from the small circle, cutting toward the wreath. Do not over cut, only cut to the inside diameter of the wreath. Using the numbers on the face of a clock, the first 4 cuts should be at 12, 3, 6, and 9. The remaining 4 cuts will be in between the first 4 cuts.
With the wreath still centered on the fabric, lift each tab and secure to the wreath with a greening pin.
3. To start the pleats, secure an outer edge of the 30” fabric circle by folding the fabric over the front of the wreath and secure it on the back of the wreath with a greening pin or a straight pin. Fold the outer edge of the fabric under about ½” before pinning for a finished look.
Continue bringing the fabric up and over the face of the wreath, making a pleat by tucking the excess fabric under and pinning the pleat in the back. Continue this all the way around the wreath in the same direction.
Closer look at the pleating
Note: We cut the fabric to a 26 ” diameter circle for this wreath. But after we created the pleats, we felt we could have used a couple more inches of fabric for a bit more ‘breathing room’ to be able to pin the seam completely on the backside of the wreath instead of “almost on the backside of the wreath”. Using a 30″ diameter circle will give that extra needed fabric.
4. Use the wire star stems to create a colorful spray on the front of the wreath. Greening pins can be used to secure the stems, along with hot glue after the stem arrangement is finished.
For the spray, we found a ready-made arrangement of wired star stems and we took cuttings from it to make the ‘fireworks’ spray. We cut various lengths and curled them around pencils to create the spiral shapes. For these stems, we found that ‘less was more’ – the spray lost its effect when too many stems were used.
5. Cover the center of the spray with a piece of grosgrain ribbon to conceal the ends of the stems. Cut a piece long enough to go around the thickness of the wreath, and secure it in the back.
For the ribbon hanger, wrap the ribbon around the top of the wreath leaving a tail to hang the wreath. Secure the ribbon in the back by pinning and/or using hot glue.
6. Display the wreath on the door!
