A Pretty Christmas

I was given one rule when dubbed 'decorator' of an all boy household earlier this year...

"Nothing pretty."

Much to my horror, this rule seems to have also attached itself to Christmas. So, begrudgingly I have managed to honour my role as decorator and fulfil my (ungrateful) client's needs.

I did this using hessian. The fabric of a thousand uses. But more importantly, the fabric most commonly used by woman, to trick men into thinking their house hasn't been prettified.

Cue... The Hessian Wreath:

Notice it's unkempt look? The knotted ribbon? No girly bows here! The way it sort of looks home-made? OK I'll admit, that wasn't completely on purpose. But homemade-ness aside, the boys were thrilled with their rustic Christmas decoration and I am pretty chuffed that I've managed to get something pretty within 5 km's of this house.

So if you've got a similar issue, or perhaps just love the rustic look, this is what you'll need, which is all available at Spotlight.

• 10 cm wide strips of hessian. It doesn't particularly matter how long they are, but the longer they are the less cutting you'll have to do! Mine were about a metre in length.
• There is no limit to how many you will need, just keep going until you're happy with the look of the wreath.
• Floral wire (12 gauge or higher)
• A round - wooden embroidery hoop (same size as you'd like the wreath)
• Wire cutters
• Time and patience

How to:

1. Weave the wire in & out of the hessian (much like you would if you were hand stitching something) to create the layered look.

2. I like the really bunched look until I realised how long it would take (and how much hessian I would need) so just keep weaving until you're happy with the look of the wreath.

3. Once you're happy with it, place the embroidery hoop on the back of the wreath

4. Using the excess floral wire, join the hoop to the wreath by looping the excess wire onto the wire of the wreath. 

5. Keep gathering the hessian until the wire is fully covered and the hessian is relatively even.

6. Finish off with a beautiful big bow (or in my case a 'very manly' red knot)