April 30, 2013

Making A Multi-Color Deco Mesh Wreath


roll of the stuff, but sometimes you might want to add more
than one color to jazz it up or to go with a party theme. 
The wreath pictured above looks like just a blue wreath
but actually it is three different shades/patterns of blue.

You could use this same technique to make a wreath with
two, three, or more very different colors of deco mesh. 

Here are the supplies that were used on the baby boy wreath:

1 solid color light blue deco mesh roll (21" x 30')
1 solid color medium blue deco mesh roll (21" x 30')
1 patterned deco mesh roll (10" x 30')
a 19" wire wreath form
a package of light blue chenille stems
light blue craft paint
various ribbons and embellishments

Paint the wreath form in a similar color to the deco mesh you
 are going to use for the first layer.  The mesh is see-through so if
 you don't paint the wreath form, dark green wires might show.

This paint job does not have to be perfect.  The paint dries quickly
so add a second coat if too much of the green is showing through.

There are official deco mesh "work wreaths" that you can buy
to skip this step and the next one but they can be hard to find.
You may have a source near you but if not you can order 
them online if you don't like this homemade wreath base. 

The wire wreath forms come in different sizes.  
The one this wreath is made on is 19".  It was $4 at Hobby 
Lobby. Jo Ann's prices are similar; Michaels' are a little more.

Next, add the chenille stems to the wreath form.
Put at least 7 stems around the outer ring.

At the points you have decided is about equally spaced
around the outer wire, fold the chenille stem in half, from the 
back of the wreath push the "V" shaped stem so that each side
is on on opposite side of the outer wire at that point. 
Then twist the "arms" together tightly twice on the top 
(the "good" side, the rounded up side) of the wreath form. 

Once it is twisted on, hot glue the twisted stem in place from
the back of the wreath making sure that the "arms" are  facing
 out to be able to "embrace" the deco mesh as you add it on top. 

This is a photo from the backside of the wreath:

Then decide where you want more chenille stems on the
inner ring of the wreath form.  They will be spaced in between
where you placed the outer ring of chenille stems.  

I put 7 chenille stems on the inside ring also.
Add the inner ring stems with the folding, twisting, gluing
just like you did the outer ring.

This is the largest circular deco mesh wreath I have made and
I ended up adding a few more chenille stems as I went along to
hold the deco mesh at the places I wanted it to bunch. 
Depending on the size of wreath you are working on, you may 
need to add more attachment places too but it is easy. 

The base color for this wreath is the lightest blue deco mesh. 

To start, unwrap the mesh and unroll several feet of it.


Be sure to leave a "tail" of about 12" before your first
gathering point that you will attach to the wire frame.

Gather the deco mesh (I think it is easiest to do it like an
accordian pleat) and keep it pinched tightly.

Pick a point on the outer wire of the frame and attach the 
gathered/pinched deco mesh to the frame by placing it into 
the "arms" of the chenille stem that you have glued down. 
Twist the arms around the gathered point a couple of times.

Then move up the deco mesh length about a foot or so and
do another gather. For a trial run, keep the mesh gathered and
pinched but place it at the next attachment point along the 
outer wire to see if you like the size of the "pouf" or "bunch"
that the mesh makes. If you want the pouf bigger,
 move your pleat further along the mesh; if you want
 it smaller, redo the pleat closer to the original one. 

Twist the arms around your second gather.

Continue around the outer wire gathering and attaching the mesh.
When you are coming back around to your starting point,
attach a pouf end on top of your beginning "arms",
 twist it on, and then move on to the inner ring of 
the wreath without cutting the deco mesh.

Attach mesh poufs around the inner ring of the wreath.

When you have added as much of the first color as you 
want on the wreath, you can cut it.  Leave about 12" of tail.

Long tails like these ensure that the mesh will not pull 
out of the chenille stems over time and they add to the 
fullness of the mesh look. To hide the tails, pull them to the
backside of the wreath and use about a half of a chenille
stem to secure the end of the tail onto the wreath form.

In above picture
pink x is beginning attachment point of mesh
dark blue x is beginning tail being secured to the frame
green x is ending attachment point of mesh
orange x is ending tail being secured to the frame
Here is how wreath looks from the front after two
 rounds (outer ring & inner ring) of the first color:

To add the second color of deco mesh, use the same technique
of leaving a tail, gathering, poufing, attaching.  Use the same
chenille stem open "arms" to attach the poufs. You can zig-zag
the second color between the inner and outer rings. You also
can add more chenille stems to the other two rings if you 
want to have more points of attachment for the mesh. 

The light blue deco mesh is from a local source that is about
a 30-minute drive from my house.  They have a better color 
selection than the only other local place I have found deco
mesh which is Hobby Lobby.  The local source (Southern Homes
and Gardens in Wetumpka, Alabama) usually sells the solid color
rolls of deco mesh for about $8; patterns are about $12.
Hobby Lobby rolls are $10 normally but you can catch them 
at 50% off regularly or use a 40% coupon.  A good online
source for those who do not have local access to deco mesh
seems to be Mardi Gras Outlet. I have not ordered from them
yet but they have a good selection and reasonable prices. 

The light blue deco mesh is a tighter weave than the medium
blue deco mesh.  Different manufacturers have varying
degrees of quality...just FYI...they are not all the same. 

Below is the back of the wreath after the second color
of mesh has been added.  Hide and attach the tails the same.
The pink x shows the end of the tail being secured to the
frame. Any cut ends will be raggy...just tuck them in. 

Another thing to keep in mind when buying deco mesh is the
width.  You get more bang for your buck with the 21" width.
There are 10" wide rolls out there that cost almost the same. 

The next layer on this wreath is a 10" wide mesh.  It adds
some pattern and variety to the mix of meshes.  The chenille
stem arms still have plenty of room to add more layers of poufs.
Attach, gather and pouf the 10" mesh the same as the wider mesh. 

Here is  the wreath after the third layer of mesh:

Initially your expenses for multi-color deco mesh wreaths
will be more because you are buying more than one color
of the mesh.  However, you will have a lot of left over mesh
 from a multi-color wreath that you can use on future 
deco mesh wreaths...or make doubles while you are at it.

The baby boy that I made this wreath for has a light blue,
dark blue and tan nursery so I tried to go with those colors.
One roll of ribbon that got added on top of the meshes was
the nursery colors with baby boy sayings.  It got attached
with the chenille stem open arms also.  

This cute teddy bear came from Hobby Lobby. He was
only $3.50.  The red ribbon around his neck got swapped 
out for a blue ribbon with little footprints on it. 

When you are attaching other items to the deco mesh wreaths,
they need to be very light weight to be added directly to the 
mesh.  Otherwise, you need to wire them and attach them 
directly to the wire wreath form.  Teddy got a chenille stem
(sorry, Teddy!) wrapped around his neck,twisted in back 
and then attached directly to a ring on the wreath form. 

Another way to add more color and interest to the deco mesh
wreaths is to add lengths of ribbon to the wire frame.

At the spot you want to add the ribbon (wired ribbon is best),
separate the mesh poufs and find a wire ring on the form.

Then make a simple knot to attach the ribbon, fluff the mesh 
back in place and there you have another pop of color. 


When you are through adding mesh and ribbon to the chenille
stems, twist them and bring each end to the back of the wreath. 

A regular wreath hanger or even a suction cup with a
 hook can loop onto the outermost wire ring on the back 
of the wreath form.  Deco mesh wreaths are very
light weight and do not require much support. 





I have a habit of, when in doubt, under-embellishing something.
In the end, the mom and I decided to add the baby's name
to the wreath so I was glad I had not added the other items
I had purchased to put on the wreath. So the wreath went to
the baby shower as you see it above but here's how the 
 wreath will look in the baby's nursery:

You could cut letters out of craft foam to get the same effect.
I did find these little wooden letters at Michael's so I just 
painted them a tan color with acrylic craft paint.

When spacing the letters out, most of them conveniently
ended up on top of a deco mesh pouf so I could just
add a little hot glue and attach them directly on the mesh.

  The "A" however fell into a "ditch" in the mesh.
To remedy that, the end of a whole chenille stem was hot
glued on to  the back of the "A" at the top and another
 one on the middle bar of the letter the same way.

Then the free ends of the chenille stems were wrapped
 around the wire frame and the "A" was able to stand on its' own. 


Little Blake has not been born yet...maybe he will 
arrive on Mother's Day!  I will keep you posted. 
p.s. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends NOT putting birth announcement
type wreaths or dispays on the front of an actual home where a newborn lives.

I am sharing this wreath at
Anything Blue Party @ The Dedicated House blog

24 comments

  1. It's a cute idea, but unfortunately I am not at all creative and would make a mess of it. It WOULDN'T turn out like yours.. :) It really is an inspiring idea for creative bloggers..
    Mona

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  2. I am so far behind the times, I havn't tried working with the deco mesh yet, this is a fabulous tutorial and I think I could do this. Thanks tons for joining Inspire Me. This is stunning. Hugs, Marty

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  3. What an adorable wreath! And a FANTASTIC tutorial on how to make it. Love all the tips, like painting the wreath form and using the chenille stems. The addition of the name is the perfect finishing touch. I've been wanting to make a 4th of July wreath with the Deco Mesh and think I will use your idea and put USA on it! Going to pin it to refer back too. Thanks of sharing!

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  4. Hi Kitty, Great tutorial! They have the mesh ribbon at my craft store but I wasn’t sure I could work with it, so I ended up buying a wreath. With the help of your tutorial I would love to try it now. Your wreath is beautiful and what a great idea for a gift. Thanks for the tutorial.

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  5. This is such a cute wreath! Love it! You did a great job! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

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  6. Just too cute! How perfect for a baby boy! and a great tutorial! visiting from Ivy and elephants!
    Cheers!

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  7. A really fabulous wreath and wonderful details - thank you for the step by step directions so I can make one similar - just beautiful!
    {Creative Smiles}

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  8. Thank you for the tutorial on this lovely wreath, you are soo talented!! I hope I can give it a try one day. Big hugs,
    FABBY

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  9. I love all the creative wreaths that you are able to make, what a gift you have for pretty! It's adorable.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  10. This wreath is beautiful! Thanks for the great tutorial!

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  11. how sweet, and it would be a great baby shower decoration too.
    Janice

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  12. Thank you for the link to Mardi Gras Outlet. I love the wreath you created...especially the name. My first born is named Blake!

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  13. This is such an adorable wreath! You did such a great job with it. I love it! :)

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  15. Please help..when I tried to hot glue something to the mesh it melted. Am I doing something wrong?

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  16. I'm so excited to try this. My mom has wanted a deco mesh wreaths forever but did not want to pay $60+ for one. So hopefully with your tutorial, I will be able to make one for her. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

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  17. I want to copy everything you've made, they all look so beautiful. I've made burlap wreaths before but CANNOT wait to start making these deco mesh wreaths, I am so inspired by you. Great work, I can't wait to see what else you come up with or decide to copy ;)
    Chrissie

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  19. I am so excited to find someone else who just tries out something they see. I am one who would go to craft shows or stores and see projects, then look them over really well, or even try to snap a picture. Before it was inspecting it then stepping away with a notepad and writing down details before I forgot them. I just love the convenience of a cell phone now a days... I usually would say, I know I can make that and for less money. I have never tried to sell my items, even though I intended to. I just love to give them to others who appreciate them and are just as thrilled to receive it as I had in making it for them. I usually end up giving to so many that I forget to do for myself. But I am determined to do a wreath for a house divided with football teams. I got lucky and found someone destashing their deco mesh and supplies(she had a baby and no longer had time) that I was able to purchase lots of things at a cheap price. So now that I found these tutorials, I am going to go for it and see how they turn out. Thank you for sharing your copycat hints and suggestions to make such beautiful decorations. I definitely will be following your page for more ideas

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  20. Thank you so very much. I have never made one of these type wreaths, so this will be a first for me. I can usually look over something and just make it. However everyone I have seen has been boxed up so I couldn't get to it to look it over good. Again thank you and I will give it a try now. "Wish me luck", by the way I do the same thing msmarciesm!

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  21. This is a great idea. Thank you for sharing

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