I think we all enjoyed the recent WI meeting where we made festive wreaths: what’s not to like? A free wreath-making workshop with a qualified florist and all the materials provided.
There was quite a lot of preparation involved and the we were all prepared to muck in, where possible.The committee bought the rings, the moss and an assortment of ribbons and cinnamon sticks etc. The florist, Paul, is a friend of Carol from way back when. Carol was happy to provide room and board for a few days and the committee provided a bottle of Scotch, for medicinal purposes, you understand.
The committee were all due to rock up at Carol’s house to forage for evergreens and other foliage as a base for the wreaths, but the weather was so bad, it was deferred, only for the weather to turn out well enough for Carol and Paul to trim the local neighbours’ trees for them that afternoon. I’m sure permission was sought….
The next day, we were supposed to arrive in shifts to ‘moss the wreaths’. We got a text mid-morning to say four of them had finished all 60 rings and Carol was off out to take Paul to see The Repair Shop set at Weald and Downland. We popped round to Carol’s with a pair of loppers shortly after. Honestly, how Carol put up with the moss in her house is beyond me. Her beautiful bungalow smelled like a farmyard that was home to an incontinent cow. Horrific! She had loaded the completed rings into her car too - definitely smelled like Daisy had got loose in there too.
The next evening, we all turned up at the meeting venue (Seasons at Bognor Football Club) and there was evergreen foliage, bay twigs, orange and lime slices, cinnamon sticks, and mossed wreath rings everywhere. Still the overriding smell of farmyard, but what a wonderful sight!
Paul talked us through the basics:
Take the metal ring, with the moss that’s been wired onto it.
Choose your bay sprigs, eucalyptus, pine sprigs or whatever you want, and lay the first one onto the moss, wiring it onto the ring.
Lay the next piece, overlapping the first and wire it again.
Continue working around the ring, laying one piece over the previous, wiring it in and adjusting the angles to make it bigger and looser, or smaller and .
Decide which is the top of your ring and take a long piece of ribbon, halve it and push the middle of the ribbon through the ring at the back to form a loop at the back. Feed both ends of the ribbon through the loop and pull tight so the ribbon can be used to tie to a handle, hook or door knocker.
Now look for the gaps and natural places to put baubles, fir cones, fake berries and jingly bells. Wire stems of decorations and push them through the moss and twist the garden wire around the ring at the back.
Work around the circle, filling in where there are gaps.
Top tips: use groups of odd numbers, so if you use two fir cones, add a third. Odd numbers look better than even numbers of objects.
Know when to stop! Too much bling might not look as good as a slightly pared back look, but it doesn’t matter, it’s only for Christmas. You have the wreath ring so you can try again next year!
We all got stuck in as soon as Paul had finished instructing us. It shows how good Paul was because we all started very confidently, wiring away like pro florists (there were a few in the room, I’m sure). The results were amazing!
They all looked so good. I guess the test is whether they stay in tact during the horrific weather we’ve had right through Christmas. Mine is still ok - it’s hanging on a garden stake waiting for the second week in December when Ebeneezer, I mean my husband, gives in and allows the decorations to go up 😂
Thank you to the ARWI for my wreath-making Christmas present! This is the present that will keep on giving. You’ve set the bar high for next year though……
Sarah
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