It's been a year since I made my first ever Christmas wreaths- some simple
DIY felt and pom pom wreaths- and now I know how fun and easy they are to make, I've been looking forward to making some new festive designs ever since.
As you'll know, Christmas wreaths are traditionally made from foliage- most commonly boughs of evergreen or holly decorated with natural decorations like dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks, pinecones, berries, and seed pods, and finished with festive ribbon. The wreath I made a few weeks ago? It's about as far from traditional as you can get!
I decided to do something a little different this year and made a Christmas pudding pom pom wreath! A wreath in the shape and colours of a Christmas pudding made almost entirely out of pom poms!
I was inspired to create this wreath after stumbling up on a Christmas pudding pom pom wreath craft kit in John Lewis this Autumn. I'll admit I was tempted to buy it but it was expensive and over-priced, and I knew I could make my own for a fraction of the price, so that's what I decided to do. If I can make something myself, I will usually give it a go. I got myself down to Hobbycraft, bought the supplies, and saved myself about £15 in the process! The materials for the wreath came to just £7- although, I already had my own glue gun, glue, and pom pom makers, which will set you back around a further £10. £17 is still extremely reasonable for a wreath- especially a handmade one- and much cheaper than many mass-produced wreaths you will find in store. I personally think it was worth every penny!
Back in November, I set to work, and spent a few evenings making close to fifty brown and white pom poms while relaxing in front of the TV. Once I had enough, I was able to start building my wreath. This part was so easy and therapeutic, and while I spent two evenings putting it together, it only took me two or three hours in total to complete the construction process. You could easily make the entire wreath in an afternoon if you'd prefer to make it all in one go, so it's the perfect rainy day craft. (And let's face it; we've been having a lot of those kinda days this December!)
I'm really pleased with how well my wreath turned out for a first attempt. I don't know why I'm so surprised it worked out, because it was one of the easiest and simplest crafts I've ever made, but I didn't expect it to take shape so well.
If I'm honest, I would have liked to have added an extra circle of pom poms to the centre, and a another layer of pom poms along the middle of the two rows I've created, but I ran out of wool, and decided to keep it simple to keep the cost down. If my wreath is a little flat and uniform for you, though, you could add more pom poms to make it fluffier. You'll just need to buy two balls of each shade of wool instead of one, and attach the extra pom poms to the others with hot glue.
Don't worry if you're new to crafting or not particularly crafty at all, this Christmas pudding pom pom wreath is so easy to make. Anybody could make it- even older children. You don't need to have craft skills or experience to be able to make one, just the ability to use your hands, and a little patience (because making forty-two pom poms soon loses its appeal). Trust me, if I can make this without following a tutorial, you sure can! I'm not a skilled crafter. If you'd like a little guidance, however, I'm here with a tutorial for you to follow.
Unfortunately, I don't have step-by-step photos to guide you today, as the ones I took turned out so badly I couldn't salvage them or share them with the world. I've had to make do with these photos as I've not been able to reshoot them, but I will try to add tutorial photos at a later date if you want to bookmark this post and return to it later. In all honesty, this wreath is so easy to make, I think you'll know how to make it just by looking at my finished wreath.
How To Make A Christmas Pudding Pom Pom Wreath
You Will Need
♥ Flat wreath frame. (I used a metal 10 inch frame. You can go bigger or smaller if you'd prefer; you'll just need more wool for the pom poms if you go with a larger size).
♥ 100g ball of brown wool.
♥ 100g ball of white wool.
♥ 45mm pom pom maker.
♥ 4 small red pom poms.
♥ Dark green felt.
♥ Scissors.
♥ Hot glue gun and glue stick.
♥ Fabric pen / pencil. (If you don't have one, a Biro will do).
♥ Green embroidery thread.
♥ Sewing needle.
How To Make The Pom Poms
1. Gather your brown and white wool, pom pom maker, and scissors.
2. Take your pom pom maker, and wrap wool tightly around one side until the arch closes in (about five layers), then close it shut.
3. Repeat step 2 on the other side of the pom pom maker.
4. Using your scissors, cut through the centre of the wool on both sides, being careful to hold the pom pom maker tightly closed as you work.
5. Thread a length of wool through the centre of the pom pom maker, tie it tightly in place, and double knot.
6. Carefully open your pom pom maker, and remove the pom pom.
7. Roll the pom pom between your hands, and use your scissors to neaten it by trimming off any uneven strands of wool.
8. Repeat until you have approx. 22 brown pom poms, and 20 white. (You'll obviously need more if your wreath frame is larger than mine).
How To Make The Holly Leaves
1. Draw two holly leaves on to the green felt, and cut out with sharp scissors. (If you're not good at drawing free-hand, just Google for a holly leaf template, print or trace it, and draw around it).
2. Thread a needle with two strands of green embroidery thread.
3. Backstitch a line of thread down the centre of the leaf, and add four or five pairs of diagonal stitches either side of the line so that they each form a v-shape. This will create the 'veins' of the leaf.
If you're not handy with a needle, you don't have to embroider the leaves; they'll look just as great without it, too. I am a stitcher, so I decided to embroider mine at the last minute to give my wreath a little extra something, and to add some texture.
How To Assemble Your Wreath
1. Take your wreath frame, pom poms, scissors, glue gun, glue, and holly leaves.
2. Starting at the bottom centre of the wreath frame, take a brown pom pom, and tie it tightly to the outer ring of the frame. Double knot it in place, and trim off the excess wool.
3. Now tie a brown pom pom directly above it on to the inner ring. Tie, knot, and trim.
4. Continue tying brown pom poms to the frame besides the others until you've filled at least half of the wreath frame.
5. Now repeat the process with the white pom poms, until the rest of the frame has been filled, and the circle is complete.
6. Next, take your glue gun, and add a little glue between pom poms to stick any loose pom poms together. This will help to keep everything in place. You can do this as you go along, but I personally think it's best to wait until all the pom poms are in place, and you know you're happy with your layout before gluing anything together.
7. Add a little glue to the back of the holly leaves, and stick them at an angle just off centre at the top of the wreath.
8. Take your little red pom poms and glue them in a diamond shape between the two holly leaves at the top centre of your wreath.
9. (Optional). Tie a length of ribbon to the back of the wreath at the top centre to hang it from. I'd recommend using a wide ribbon and matching it to one of the four colours in the wreath. You could also hang the wreath using a wreath hanger, command strip, or a nail on the wall, so you don't have to add a ribbon if you don't want to.
10. Voila, your Christmas pudding pom pom wreath is complete! Well done!
And now all you have to do is hang it on your door or above the fire place, and admire your hard work! I'd recommend hanging it indoors, unless you have a sheltered porch, as it's not weather-proof, and will get ruined by the elements.
So, there you have it; that's how easy it is to make your own Christmas pudding pom pom wreath. There really is nothing to it, so what are you waiting for?
If you decide to make your own Christmas pudding wreath, be sure to leave me a link to your photos so I can check it out- I'd love to see them! If you haven't got time to make one this Christmas, why not bookmark this post to come back to next Christmas?
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