DIY Burlap Rag Christmas Wreath

I love pretty wreaths, but I don't love that the cool handmade ones cost upwards of $40. I mean, I think it's totally fair for people to charge that much, but I just don't have that extra cash lying around.

I've been coveting this wreath on Pinterest for awhile now, and I finally crossed "make Christmas wreath" off my to do list this week.

The tutorial I used was super helpful, but I wanted to document my own specifics and helpful hints in case I want to make another in the future or any of you lovely readers want to save your cash and try your hand at wreath making!

What you'll need:

• 2 yds burlap (I scored a rare 60% off coupon at Joann, making the $4/yd fabric only $3.20 total)
• 20" Wire wreath ($4 at Hobby Lobby, which means it's $2.40 with their regular 40% off coupon)
• Bow, ornaments, or whatever you want to use as an accent (with strict directions, Matt found this glitter bow for me at Big Lots for only $2)

What you'll do:

Grab your rotary cutter and mat (and if you don't have one, you need to find someone who does, because trust me when I tell you that you do NOT want to do this just with scissors) and cut 300 12"x1" strips of burlap. Yeah, you'll want to start a marathon of your favorite TV show or movies for this one. And honestly, 12" was probably too long, even for the bigger wreath. I'd do just 10" in the future.

Now start tying! Start on the inside ring and, using a simple knot, tie as many strips of burlap that will fit in each section. Don't try to cram them in, because once the whole thing is done, the burlap will have spread out enough to cover any exposed wire.

There are four layers of wire on the wreath, so I tied the burlap over the middle two layers at once (making it to where I was basically just tying three layers total, the innermost, the middle two, and the outermost).

Place your accent wherever you think it looks best. My bow had a twisty tie thing on the back, so it was easy to attach and will be easy to change out for the different seasons.

Start to finish, this took 2.5 hours and all my sanity. Seriously, burlap is messy. Just make sure your vacuum is in working order when you're finished.

But hey, I have a pretty wreath that cost less than $8. I call that success.