One of my best friends is a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan, so when I ran across this fabric in Ben Franklin’s earlier this summer I knew I wanted to make something for her with it. I fiddled around a bit and came up with a quick and easy ruffled fabric wreath, with a felt logo accent.
The materials for this are really basic. You just need 3/4 yard of quilting cotton, a 12″ styrofoam wreath, and whatever you want to use to decorate the completed wreath. I replicated the Ohio State “O” in felt, but you could add a big fluffy bow, artificial flowers or whatever you like.
To begin, measure the circumference of the wreath form, then add 7″ to this number. This measurement gives you the width of the fabric strips you need for your ruffle. My wreath measured 5-3/4″, which meant my strips needed to be 12-3/4″ wide. Use your measurement to cut two strips the width of your fabric x the measurement you just determined.
Sew the strips together across one short end to create one long strip, then fold the strip together, right sides facing, matching the long edges. Sew 1/2″ from the edge to create a long, skinny tube. Turn the tube right side out and press.
Divide the circumference of your wreath form in half and add 1/8″. My original measurement was 5-3/4″, so my calculation came out to 3″. Measure over this distance from one long side of your tube and sew a straight line all the way down the tube.
Use a serrated knife to cut through one side of the wreath form.
Slide the fabric tube onto the wreath form and work all the fabric onto the form, distributing the ruffle evenly all the way around.
When all the fabric is on the form, join the cut edges of the form together. I applied hot glue to the cut ends and pushed them back together, then wrapped some packing tape around it to hold everything in place.
Arrange the fabric to cover the joint in the wreath form.
Decorate the wreath however you want. I found an Ohio State logo online (here), blew it up to the right size, and used it as a pattern to cut pieces out of adhesive-backed felt. To make the logo stiff enough, I added a lightweight layer of cardboard to the back, then attached the whole thing to the side of the wreath with hot glue.
To hang the wreath, I used a simple loop of narrow ribbon and held it in place on the back of the wreath with a couple straight pins.
Done! Even with making the logo, this only took about two hours to create and I love how it turned out.
Want to make your own? Here are some sources for team fabric:
Happy crafting, and go Buckeyes!
