Nothing says summer like this easy watermelon wreath!
Watermelon always reminds me of summer. No matter where you go, you see a watermelon -- on sale at the grocery store, at the neighbor's bbq, or even in my own fridge as an amazing summertime snack! Watermelon screams summer. Inspired by Jill's Rainbow Rag Wreath, I knew I had to make a watermelon wreath!
This is one of the simplest wreaths you can make. Anyone who can tie a knot can make this wreath. I actually think if your older child had the patience, he or she could make one of these! Or you can work on it together! The only materials you need to purchase include fabric, black foam and a wire wreath form. I buy my wreath forms at the Dollar Tree for a buck! It's an amazing deal! The other items you probably have at home that you will need are a good pair of sharp scissors, a ruler or tape measure and hot glue or tacky glue.
How to Make a Watermelon Wreath
Head to your local fabric store and buy 1 yard each of kelly green, lime green and pink fabric. You'll want a basic cotton material. Nothing fancy. If it's stiff, that's great, it will work well for this project. A flimsy fabric won't have the same effect. Once you have your fabric, you need to cut it.
Since this is an easy wreath, there's no need to press any of the wrinkles or cut anything straight. In fact, the more random the better -- your wreath will have more character! I left my fabric folded in half and cut it 7" wide. I then placed my tape measure on top of my 7" x 22" piece of fabric and cut at 1" intervals. I removed my tape measure and cut the fabric into 1" x 7" strips. Once you've cut all colors like this, you can begin to tie them onto the frame.
My wire frame had four wires, The outer most wire had dark green, the one next to that had the lime green and the middle two wires had the pink. Just tie a tight knot, and push the pieces together so they fill the frame. At first it won't look that great, but as you get going and begin to fluff and pull the fabric, it will begin to take shape. There's no right or wrong way to tie them, just one knot. You can do each color at a time, or work in sections tying all three colors, it doesn't really matter!
When you're finished and in L-O-V-E, use your black felt sheet to cut out small seeds. I cut about 2, 8" x ½" strips and cut seed shapes. Affix the seeds to the wreath using hot or tacky glue. And you're done! Hang as you wish!
You'll also want to make this Outdoor Pallet Furniture and maybe this Marbled Pottery Pot or a DIY Yard Dice Game for summer!
Anne
Cute!! I've got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow morning that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=88982 --Anne
Denise/DIY Crush
Oh I love this wreath! You did a fantastic job with this! I'd love to invite you to submit your DIY to our site! We publish projects such as yours in a dedicated post and share/pin/tweet them many times! Find the submission link in the top menu!
Daina
So this is just cotton? I couldn't figure out I was looking at flannel and felt too... Can you be more doe icicles on the fabric used please!!!
Kari
Yes, it's just basic cotton fabric.
Judy
This is so cute! Approximately how many cut pieces of cloth did it take to make this wreath?
Kari
There are about 400-425 total pieces of cut fabric.
Freida
I couldn't fig out how many i needed because it was saying 1' of 22 pieces, i couldn't fig it out, im just starting to put it together so im figuring already its gonna take more, and it hurts my fingers of cutting these, any ideas to keep it from hurting my fingers,thanks for posting how many pieces it took
Kari
As for cutting I always use scissors just for fabric, and make sure they are big and fit my hand well. It will be harder to cut with dull scissors. My only suggestion, other than buying new sharp scissors, is to cut a few pieces at a time, tie them and then cut another set. Sorry the directions were confusing. I'll review them again and see if I need to revise them.
Denise Winchell
What is the best size frame for this project?
Kari
I grabbed my wreath frame at the dollar store and it was about 14" in diameter
Tissie Elliott
Such a cute wreath! I followed your directions exactly as written and it was very easy! I use one pair of my scissors only for fabric and I found the cutting easy to do. Found the fabric on sale - so it cost less than $10!
Kari
Yay! Thanks for the feedback!
Danielle
How did you keep your fabric from fraying? Thanks!
Kari
It frayed a little bit but nothing major. If you want something that will not fray at all you could try using fleece.
Danielle
Thank you! Lots of ideas for my trip to the fabric store. 🙂
Stacey
I would love to buy this...I don’t have the patience to do this.
JJ Hawkins
Love this! I need this for a Women's Retreat - about 60 women. What do you think about using craft felt instead of fabric? If I were to use fabric I would need a lot of fabric. Any idea how much? Help! Any information would be appreciated!
Megan
That retreat sounds like fun! While the firmness of felt would look good, I am worried that felt will not give you a tight and secure knot on the wreath form. You will have to experiment before you buy it for the whole group. Let me know how it goes!
JJ Hawkins
Thanks for your input. I think you’re right about the felt. I’m going to need to find a good deal on some fabric.
Sharon Barfield
Help please. If I am buying 36x22 fabric and I am cutting only 7x22, what am I doing with the remaining?
Thanks. My 71 year old brain can't figure it out.
Elizabeth
Hello! I found your adorable design and am in the process of making the wreath for my daughter’s birthday. I have one question - how do you keep the pieces on the top from flopping over? When I hold mine up the bottom looks super cute, but the top half just hangs down. Thank you!
Paula
I guess you could tear the strips too for more of a rag look?
Megan
Yes! You can be creative with the fabrics and styles used for sure!