New Wreath and Tutorial

Here is my first attempt at a Tutorial... eekkkk! I see so many on the blogs I stalk, I figured I'd give it a go! I made a wreath over the past couple of weeks (don't worry it won't take you that long). It came out of inspiration from 2 people... My neighbor Kelly Deary, she made a similar wreath from burlap and also my sister-n-law Kim Catalano because she gave me some really cute outdoor pillows that are sort of tropical and make me think of a vaca that I desperately need!!! Here is the finished product and a pillow shot:

Pretty cute, Huh?? Totally makes me think of Jamaica or Mexico with the colors!

Here is what you need to start:
1-2 yards of fabric, preferably sturdy or thicker fabric, burlap even... Or if you are like me and want to do it the challenging - not hard - but challenging ;) way, use any fabric you want and get a product called Stiffy (ha, I know totally funny and inappropriate name!!! thanks for the helpful tip Jules)
1 wire hanger
hot glue

First start by cutting or ripping (my fav) the fabric into 3-4 inch strips, long ways on the fabric...

After you have about 7-15 of those strips, depending on stiffness of your fabric and how full you want your wreath, start folding the strips into an accordion pile...

Here is where you decide if you want or need the Stiffy product... The name still makes me giggle!

If you are like me and do everything with out planning or thinking ahead you can put the Stiffy stuff on after the wreath is made or if you are more together than me, you can add it to the fabric strips before putting it on the wire hanger! Me, I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl and didn't realize I even needed it until the whole wreath was already almost done, thus the 2 week process for me ;) Not Recommended!!! LOL.

Next bend your wire hanger into a circle, or any shape really if you want! I have seen squares, letter shapes, oval... sky's the limit!

Then begin to add your accordion pile of fabric onto the wire base by poking one end of the wire thru the center of the fabric pile...

It will look like this once you get some of the fabric piles on fully...

Once all of your fabric piles are added on your wreath should look like this...

I wanted mine to look a bit loose and not as full... but depending on how much fabric you add and how Stiff or rigid it is that will change the look of the wreath up a bit! Have fun with it... Try a lot of fabric, or alternating patterns, anything goes!!! I also added some hot glue to the insides of the fabric after the Stiffy stuff dried to make sure that it all looked like one piece on the wire, no gaps I mean, and to keep it solid in case of wind...

I added 3 Fabric Roses to my wreath to match my porch swing pillows... but you could add a welcome sign,  a big letter for your family name, a bird... really anything!!!!
Here is my finished product again...

Let me know if you have any questions... I am sure that I left stuff out or something being that I am a newbie to tutorials!!! If you do try it out... share pictures with me, I sooo want to see your creations!!!!!! Or if you are just a wishful crafty person, like I once was, and want to order one from me for yourself and claim you made it... let me know that too!!!!!!
Happy Crafting...
Always - Abbey