Project Makeover: Yarn Mum Wreath

Our first Project Makeover comes from frustrated (and newly broke) DIYer Mindy. Due to downsizing at both her and her fiance’s companies this summer Mindy is in a bit of a budget bind when it comes to her decor. Mindy adores bright green kermit mums and had hoped to make her own wreaths for pew and reception hall decoration. Her initial budget had been $30 per wreath. It is now $9.00 to 10.00 per wreath.

I wanted to give Mindy a kermit mum feel while using materials she could pick up at her local big box craft store. My solution? Kermit mums made out of yarn! Using modified yarn pom poms, pearl-headed pins, and a styrofoam wreath blank, I whipped up a super duper easy wreath that’s easy on the budget. Mindy happens to be an avid knitter so this was a fun surprise for her.

Supplies:

• Blank foam wreath, about 12″ in diameter
• 1 skein of green yarn, about 256 yards
• 1 package of pearl-headed pins
• Scissors – make sure they’re sharp!

Instructions:

1. On the middle three fingers of your non-dominant hand (if you’re right-handed, use your left), hold the end of your yarn down with your thumb and begin wrapping the yarn around and around your fingers,  about 32 – 35 times.

2. Cut the yarn when you’ve finished wrapping.

3. Cut a length of yarn about 3″ and tie it tightly around the middle of the yarn wrap you’ve created on your other hand. It sounds trickier than it is. I’m confident you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. You’re smart cookies.

4. Hold the pom-pom yarn bundle and use your scissors to cut through all of the loops on the pom pom – be careful not to cut through the piece of yard that’s holding all of the pieces together.

5. Fluff up your pom pom with your fingers.

6. Now, trim it up with your scissors, making it even and pretty.

7. The last step is to attach the “mums” to the foam wreath with the pins.x

Cost Breakdown: $10.00 (note you’ll have leftover supplies to get started on more wreaths)

• Wreath: $5.00
• Yarn: $3.50
• Pins: $1.50

Notes:

• For a 12″ wreath, I used about 60 pom/mums of varying sizes. I did 2-finger and 3-finger mums to keep it interesting.
• The lighter the weight of the yarn, the more wraps you’ll need.
• The size of the mums will vary from person-to-person as our fingers are different sizes. I have chubby little fingers. Your digits may vary.
• Mum-making took about 1.5 hours for this project.
• I used about 3/4 of the skein of yarn.
• If you’d like to make yarn pom poms, increase the number of wraps from 30-ish to 70-ish.