We’re in that mad space twixt winter and spring when the weather can change in a blink and I am forever going out in The Wrong Clothes. Sailing is currently a very blustery experience indeed and I am longing for long, lazy days in the sunshine just drifting along and recharging. The year seems to be galloping away, mainly because there are a lot of things afoot chez Thinly Spread just now, and I can’t believe that Easter is just around the corner already! I took some time out of the chaos to make this simple fabric wreath, it was a therapeutic way to pass a morning and I am absolutely delighted with the result!

Simple Spring Fabric Wreath in pastel colours.

 

I am a serial fabric purchaser and have boxes stuffed with all the offcuts and fat quarters which have caught my eye so I’m always looking for quick little projects to use them up. I found this idea in a book called “Half Yard Christmas” using festive fabric offcuts. The author, Debbie Shore, suggested gluing your fabric pieces and then pushing them into the polystyrene wreath base using a pencil which gave a much blousier effect than I have achieved here. I didn’t think glue would be needed and I decided to use a 3.75mm crochet hook to push my pieces in. This resulted in a smaller hole for the fabric to gather itself in and, therefore, tinier pieces left sticking out. It meant that I could cram my spring wreath with fabric pieces and that they looked very much like little spring flowers once they were in place!

Simple Fabric Wreath in spring colours.

I already had a polystyrene wreath in my craft stash and I chose three fabrics in lovely muted spring pastels from my collection and got to work

Polystyrene Wreath and Fabric scraps in pastel colours to make a simple spring wreath for Easter.

Fabric scraps in pastel colours pushed into a polystyrene wreath base.

It wasn’t long until I realised I wouldn’t have enough of one of my colours for my fabric wreath, calamity! I rushed down to our fabric shop (it’s a 2 minute walk from my house which is VERY dangerous when you are as addicted as I am) to try and get another piece the same colour but no joy. This of course meant that I had to buy three more fat quarters in the same colours as my originals but in slightly brighter shades – well you would, wouldn’t you?!

Fabric scraps in spring colours laid out on a table.

Luckily I had realised pretty quickly that my original yellow wouldn’t go far enough for this project. I had only done two rows of flowers and decided that I would continue in a striped pattern of three rows of the pastel shades followed by three of the more vibrant pieces. It soon became clear that the stripes didn’t really show and I was producing a random and very pretty pattern. I grinned an awful lot while I was making this!

Making a spring wreath using a polystyrene wreath base and fabric scraps.

You could trim the flowers a little if you liked but I love the jumble – I think it captures the essence of spring as everything bursts into life and jostles its way into the light.

 

A simple Easter wreath made with fat quarter scraps and a polystyrene wreath base.

Just as I was photographing my fabric wreath the sun broke through and bathed my studio in light – my heart lifted. Spring is definitely on its way! Look – even the chicks came out for a little dance among the flowers!

Simple spring fabric wreath on a grey wood background with decorative eggs and little yellow pom pom chicks.

 

How to Make a Simple Fabric Wreath for Spring

You Will Need:
  • Fabric scraps cut into 3cm x 3cm squares – don’t be too rigid about this, as long as they are roughly the same size it works! If you are more organised me, and haven’t already been chopping into one of your fat quarters willy nilly, three fat quarters should be enough and four definitely will; I had lots left over from my six – enough to make some flowery polystyrene eggs too!
  • A 3.75mm metal crochet hook – if you only have a 4mm hook or a 3.5mm hook that’s fine! If you don’t have one at all just use anything with a blunt end which will push the fabric into the polystyrene rather than piercing it.
  • A polystyrene wreath ring (easily purchased from craft shops or online), mine measures 25cm in diameter
  • A piece of coordinating ribbon
  • Stapler and sticky sticky tape (I used parcel tape)

 

To Make Your Fabric Wreath
  • Gently press your fabric pieces into place using your crochet hook. Place your fabric square where you want it to go, press in the middle of the square with your hook until it pierces the polystyrene underneath and push the fabric into place – it will fold in on itself in a very satisfying manner and leave you with a little flower sticking out.
  • Repeat in stripes or a random pattern with all your colours trying not to put the same colour in too close proximity with it fellows.
  • When you’ve finished fill in any gaps with any remaining fabric – I noticed I’d missed quite a few spots on the inside rim and it looked much better when I’d finished it off.
  • Turn your wreath over and staple a length of ribbon into a loop on the back. Place a piece of sticky tape over the staples and the ribbon just to make sure it stays in place. If you have glue suitable for use with polystyrene you could use that – I don’t and didn’t want to melt it and undo all my lovely work!

 

Simple Spring Wreath on a grey wooden board with a string of grey eggs.

If you’re really in the mood for a bit of Spring and Easter crafting why not have a go at some of these?
Paper Roses
Paper Roses in spring colours.

 

Fabric Maché Eggs

Fabric Maché Easter Eggs.

It’s been a while since I wrote up a craft project – I’ve had a lot on my plate this year and there’s more to come, I’ll write about some of it soon – once I can see the wood for the trees. It’s all exciting stuff, stuff which will bear fruit long term but is currently just causing chaos! In the meantime I shall stay sane by sharing stuff like this – the stuff which keeps me mellow in the madness!

What do you do to keep calm in the eye of the storm? I’d love your tips and tricks! 

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