Continuing in my hygge theme for the festive season, I thought I’d try my hand at making a Christmas wreath for our front door. When I heard that the fantastic independent magazine Hole & Corner were running a series of events in Habitat’s Platform space including a wreath making class, I jumped at the chance to get involved. Florist turned gardener William Vincent (aka @GardenerWilly) told us that wreaths were originally made from ancient laurel, similar to today’s bay leaves, and worn on the head to ward off evil spirits. The Victorians took to hanging them on doors at Christmas for the same reason.
They are super simple to make and can even be made from more foraged ingredients! Start by tying one end of some florists wire to a copper ring. Cover the ring in moss, wrapping the wire around it to hold it in place. Then you start to add your base layer again securing things in place by wrapping the wire tightly around them – this layer can be completely pine, or pine interspersed with other things – I used bay leaves, sorrel, rosemary and whatever else took my fancy! The idea is to cover all the moss. Once you’ve done that you can use ‘stub wire’ to secure things like pine cones (best collected in the summer), crab apples, slices of dried orange, dried berries, and little bunches of herbs to your wreath. Simply wind it around the base of whatever you want to add, or stab it through and twist it around itself – that gives you a pin to stick into the wreath. And then you’re done – the hardest part is knowing when to stop! The finished wreath can be hung on your front door, used as a table decoration, given as a gift, or even worn on your head!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: happy hygge
- out and about :: design exquis
- out and about :: cornwall
- out and about :: rechargeables
With thanks to Hole & Corner, Habitat and William Vincent.
