Cherry blossom wreath how-to.

I am totally addicted to making wrapped yarn wreaths! They are simple to make (depending on the level of detail) and can be customized for any season or holiday. The supplies are also inexpensive and easy to keep on hand. I started this one when I was in the middle of packing up my apartment for a move and was desperate to do something creative to maintain a little bit of my sanity. The first day of Spring was just last week, so I wanted to do something to mark the season: cherry blossoms!

Here's what you will need:
Wreath form, 12" diameter  - I used a foam one
Skein of yarn - I used light gray
Felt - Cream, pink, and brown
Embroidery floss - any light color
Wire (optional)
Tacky glue
Hot glue
Ribbon for hanging

Wrap the wreath with the yarn, covering the entire form. I like to do this while I watch tv or a movie. Tie off the ends.

Cut flowers out of felt. I like to cut the felt into squares of varying sizes (about 1.5" to .5") before I cut the actual flowers. This helps to keep them somewhat uniform in size, even though they all come out a little different. Cut little v-shaped notches into the ends of the petals of some of the flowers. Cut little strips out of the center of the larger flower petals.

To make the ruffled centers of the blossoms, gather the petals of a single flower in your fingers and fold it, making the center of the flower a point. Using a needle and your embroidery floss, stitch through the center point a couple of times. Tie the floss in knot and trim.

I made about 36 flowers total. Once all of your flowers are cut and some are stitched, layer a few of the ruffled centers and the flat flowers, gluing them in the center with hot glue.

To make the branches, lay out your brown felt and cut two different branch shapes. You will be covering the branches with flowers, so keep the branch forms simple. Instead of regular felt, I used this felted, pinstripe wool that I had on hand from another project.

To add dimension to the branches, glue wire to the back of the main center branch and a few off-shoots. I couldn't find any regular wire in my craft supplies, so I used picture-hanging wire and it worked just fine! Tacky glue worked really well for attaching it to the felt. Once the glue is dry, bend your wire to give your branches shape.

Now all the components are ready to start laying everything out! Experiment with a few different layouts to find what you like the best. I used larger blossoms at the top of the wreath and at the bottom where the branches come together, to ground the design. I also added tiny felt "petals" and attached them in a random pattern to give the design movement. Wrap the top of the wreath with ribbon for hanging.

Here it is all finished! It was a fun little project and a nice distraction from all of the packing I've been doing lately. I can't wait to hang it on my new front door! Do you love felt and yarn wreaths as much as I do?

(Those Easter eggs in the picture were a project from last year. If you'd like to see how I made them, check out this post.)