Fabric Wreath Tutorial

Baby Bash Giraffe Wreath 

My dear friend, Erin is expecting her first baby bundle in November and a few girlfriends and I have been planning a baby shower in her honor.  Erin loves giraffes and has chosen an adorable neutral giraffe theme for her baby's nursery Snickerdoodle Bedding.

While planning for Erin's baby bash, we decided to incorporate her giraffe nursery theme into the party decor, games and favors.  Since one of my favorite craft projects are wreaths, my fellow party planner presented me with the challenge of making a wreath that will not only greet guests as they arrive for the shower but can also be enjoyed in the baby's nursery. This cute idea was right up my alley!  

Eager to get started, I ventured out to several fabric stores on search for the perfect neutral fabrics that would coordinate with the colors of Erin's nursery (tan,cocoa, yellow and pale orange).  There were so many  fabrics to choose from that I was sure I would find what I was looking for...how hard could it be?!  Sadly mistaken, I was in over my head! Although I found many baby friendly giraffe theme fabrics, I couldn't find any in neutral colors.  Frustrated, I surrendered my search and was even considering buying an extra crib sheet from the bedding collection and cutting it up into strips so the wreath would coordinate perfectly...great idea but kinda costly.  I decided to make do with the fabrics I could find and I did eventually find a neutral fabric with baby carriages and blocks to substitute and wooden giraffes that I could paint to coordinate as a bonus:) I was back on track! 

Supplies: 

• 14 inch wreath (I used a straw wreath with the plastic left on to minimize the mess) 
• 4 to 5 different fabrics (1/2 yard of each) 
• Pinking Shears or craft scissors (pinking shears are scissors with blades that are saw-toothed instead of straight and cut a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge) 
• Ruler or measuring tape 
• Accents (I used wooden giraffes and painted them to match using acrylic paint and Mod Podge and attached them using a glue gun but fabric glue would probably work too) 
• Bonus: I recently purchased a  Fiskars Rotary Cutting Set  which made measuring and cutting the fabric strips a lot easier! It's well-worth the investment. 

Supplies: rotary cutter, board, ruler, pinking shears, and fabrics

Step One: Cut the fabric pieces into 2" wide by 18" inch long strips by placing the fabric flat along the mat, then placing the ruler on top to measure the width and guiding the rotary cutter along the edge of the ruler from one end of the ruler to the other.   

Step One: cut fabric into 2" by 18" strips

Step Two: Once all of the fabric is cut into strips, use the pinking shears (optional) to cut a zigzag pattern along the edges of each of the strips of fabric.

Step Two: cut zigzag pattern along edges of fabric strips

Step Three: Tie the fabric strips onto the wreath clockwise alternating colors (I used a 1-2-3-4-5 pattern for variety). Make sure to tie a double knot to keep the fabric pieces in place.

Step Three: tie fabric strips onto wreath clockwise

A"giraffe" touch...

The wooden giraffes I found at the craft store were originally painted orange and yellow so I decided to repaint them to match using acrylic paint and a thin paint brush.  I had to apply three layers of paint, allowing time to fully dry between layers.  Once painted to my liking, I painted a thin layer of Mod Podge to each of the giraffes to add a shiny glow.  I laid them on wax paper to protect the table top and to prevent the giraffes from sticking.  Once dry, I used a hot glue gun to attach each of the giraffes onto the wreath.  

Giraffes (Before)

Giraffes (After)

I had a lot of fun with this project and I am excited with how cute the wreath turned out!  I hope it will be a special surprise for Erin and I am sure it will be the perfect addition to her little giraffe's already adorable nursery!

Lauren