DIY Patriotic Ribbon Wreath

At ConsumerCrafts, we recently started carrying the most affordable, nice quality grosgrain ribbon in an assortment of colors.  I have been contemplating the perfect project to use the ribbon in, and when I decided I needed a new seasonal wreath for the upcoming 4^th of July, the idea came to me.

I have seen patriotic themed wreaths out there that are darling, but a little too ‘country’ for my tastes.  I wanted to do something with a preppy, nautical, summer feel to it and came up with this ribbon wrapped wreath.  The best part of the project is that it was simple and fairly quick to complete.

Supplies:

• 12 x 2 inch Styrofoam Wreath Form
• 5/8 inch Grosgrain Ribbon in Red, White and Blue
• Straight Pins
• Glue Gun & Glue
• Felt
• Scissors
• Krylon Adhesive Spray
• Cardboard

Directions:

I began with a 12 inch Styrofoam wreath base.  If you are looking for a cheap alternative to or a way to repurpose, try it with a pool noodle and duct tape.  Simply wrap the noodle into a circle and secure the ends with duct tape – instant wreath form!

I began by using straight pins to pin the ribbon into the back of the wreath (if you are using a pool noodle, a glue gun might work better).

Then wrapped the red and white ribbon, alternating each color until it was wrapped about 2/3 of the way around. I wrapped approximately 6 times per color, pinning each section in the back as I went.  I used 5/8 inch ribbon for the entire wreath, but the width is not imperative.  I found this size easy to work with and it wrapped nicely without buckling.

I then finished the remaining third in the navy blue ribbon.

For the stars, I cut freehand starts out of stiff felt.  For a more uniform look, you could use a large star scrapbooking punch.  I preferred the quirky quality that the freehand cutting gave these starts.  Once the felt was cut, I laid out a strip of 1 ½ inch wide white grosgrain ribbon on cardboard.  I then gave it a good coating with spray mount and laid the stars on the ribbon to let the adhere and dry.

Once the stars dried and adhered to the ribbon, I used sharp fabric scissors to cut them out.  The nice thing about using spray mount is that it makes the ribbon easy to cut and prevents fraying of the edges, so you end up with nice grosgrain ribbon stars.

Finally, I adhered the stars to the navy ribbon section wreath using a hot glue gun.

Total craft time = less than an hour.

Here are a few other patriotic wreath ideas:

Patriotic Thread Spool Wreath from Niki Meiners of Crafts Unleashed

Patriotic Pool Noodle Wreath from Fox Hollow Cottage

Mini Flag Toothpick Wreath from Oodlekadoodle Primitives