I love neutral wreaths with just a touch of holiday color. I adore that rich green against the cream, but the metallic taupe dupioni silk ribbon is so lovely, as well.
Those double doors you see are my new front doors–very dramatic and fantastic until you have to squeeze in and out that little half door with eight bags of groceries! But, I love them, regardless.
This wreath is a perfect way to wrap up my Five Fabulous Finger-Knitting Project Series! Don’t fret though, it’s not the last time you’ll see a finger-knitting project from me. To see all the projects, click on the button below.
I know it’s late in the season for wreaths, Christmas is in four days, but you really couldn’t think of a better way to keep your kiddos hands busy and happy during this long break than finger knitting.
Also, if you make the wreath neutral, you can change ribbons and embellishments with the seasons. This would look great with fall leaves, Easter pastels, spring flowers, etc. It’s as easy as weaving something new in to the yarn and styrofoam.
Here it is!
You need to begin by finger knitting your yarn. Here is a step-by-step finger-knitting how-to. Kids are great at it and it is a fun project for them to do while listening to a book read out loud. Read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens while you do it and your family will remember it for years to come. You will likely have to do more than one ball of yarn, but I show you how to join them below.
Next, you need to thread the floral wire through your strand of finger-knitting. This is much faster than it sounds so don’t let it stop you. Make a loop and twist in the wire so it is easier to thread without getting caught on the yarn.
Thread the floral wire through the strand by going underneath one strand per row. Don’t cut the wire yet.
Begin by wrapping a length of wire around the forms. wrapping in the strand from the end of your finger-knitting. The paddle with the wire should be at the other end.
Start wrapping the strands around the form, pulling the strand tautly, but not too tightly on the wire. In the beginning this is a little more challenging because you have to pull the entire mess through the middle. I tried making a ball of it and pulling it through, but it just ended up twisting the strand too much. It won’t take long before it’s more manageable.
It should look like this.
Once you get to the end of your strand, cut the wire, leaving about 8 inches extra wire.
To join two strands, thread the wire from the end of the strand around your wreath into your new, already-wired-strand.
Thread the wire about six to eight inches in and twist the end around the wire that is already there. Repeat this process with the wire from the new strand into the old strand.
Then, thread the yarn ends of the finger knitting chain through the strand in the same way.
Pull tightly together and continue wrapping.
When you get back to the beginning, and you still have wired finger knitting left, hold it about where it would turn around the inside of the wreath.
Twist and weave the end through the back of your wreath.
I did it such that there was a bit of hanging thread left, that I wove to come out the top of the wreath–perfect for hanging.
Voila! You’re done.
I especially love it with that long green ribbon with long tails. I only had one length of that ribbon, and I wanted to hang them on the doors, so I had to cut it in half :(. But, please, adorn it with a beautiful long-tailed bow!
Or, try a bunch of red berries.
Alright, alright, it’s time for me to get back to my other holiday duties. My family is coming in to town, including my mother, sister, brother and my sister-in-law. It’s going to be a crew! but I’m looking forward to it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you! I’ll see you on the flip side with a fun New Year’s Eve jewelry tute!
Alessandra says
beautiful!!!
xxx Ale
anne says
Thanks Ale! I love getting your comments!
ClaireLA says
I love, love, love this! We have a dark green front door and this would look wonderful in the aran color with holly or a red ribbon. Once again, thanks so much for sharing your pattern and photos. xxoo
anne says
That will look absolutely fabulous! have fun!
Yarning Too says
Love the wreath! Thanks for putting up the tutorial. I have been reading about finger knitting and really need to give it a try!
Looking forward to a new year reading flaxandtwine!
anne says
Definitely give it a try – it’s really fun!
anne says
I had a comment on another page about using the wire v. not. Here is my response:
You can skip the wire and just wrap the finger-knitting, however I liked the additional shape that the wire added. It kept a tension on the finger-knitting without it feeling too stretched out. I also think the wire will make the wreath last longer and keep the finger knitting looking perky! Happy Holidays!
Rachel Dorling says
When I first looked at it I assumed it was a tube knitted on a round loom then stuffing it to fill out the shape. No matter how it was created it is lovely!
ClaireLA says
Anne, what size styrofoam ring did you use for the wreaths? I went to Jo-Ann’s and bought the biggest size they had that was round and it’s 12 inches in diameter. I have a single front door and thought a 16 inch width might be better but the 12 inch may be big enough. The next size up wasn’t rounded at the edges so I didn’t think it would work as well for this project.
Thanks!
anne says
Clare, I think the ones I bought were actually 12″. I think the finger knitting will look great on any size wreath. However, if you have a standard size front door, my guess is that you will want a bigger size to look proportionate on your door. My double doors above are each super skinny.
ClaireLA says
Thanks for the reply, Anne! I might go with a 14 or 16 inch for my door and save the 12 inch for another project. 🙂
Sherry Butcher says
Thanks for the instructions, I have never finger knit anything so I need them. This is so wonderful and can be made it other colors too. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy Merrill says
Wow, I had no idea where to begin, thanks so much for these step by step instructions! I can’t wait to give this a try!
anne says
Thanks so much for your comment Cindy! Your welcome. I hope you love your new wreath!
Angela says
Love it! My daughter can’t get enough working with yarn. Now we have a project for her creations 🙂
anne says
This makes me so happy to hear! Have fun and happy holidays!
ClaireLA says
Anne, I made a finger-knitted wreath using your instructions and I love it! I blogged about it here: http://freezeframelah.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-finger-knitted-christmas-wreath.html
Merry Christmas!
Arlene Herring says
Hi, When I saw your wreath, I fell in love with it. I work in a yarn store, Knit N Purl, in Myrtle Beach, SC and wanted to make one for the store. I made a few changes, but minor ones when I made mine.
Do you mind if I connect your site to the wreath so others who see it in the store can also make one. Many of our ccustomers are older women who do not use the internet to search out new items, but who will go to sites if given the instructions. We know that our customers will want to make one of these for their homes. I only want to provide them with a link to your Flax and Twine site.
Thanks so much and happy hollidays to you and yours.
flaxandtwine says
Hi Arlene, I’m so glad you love it. I would love for you to connect my site to the wreath. I really appreciate your doing that. Many warm holiday thoughts!
Thanks, Anne
Jenny says
This is one of my favorite wreaths I have ever seen, Anne! I adore it! It’s absolutely LOVELY!
flaxandtwine says
Jenny, Thanks so much! I’m so glad you like it!
Jennie says
I haven’t done finger knitting in years, but this project is so cute I need to make it. Is the wire through the knitted string necessary? Could it just be wrapped? I’d like to make it with my daughter and know she’ll get frustrated with that part. 🙂
flaxandtwine says
Hi Jennie, just skip the wiring part. It will just be a little bit less consistent, but you should have fun with it! Enjoy making one with your daughter!
Vanessa says
This is so cute! I am having a hard time understanding what I am supposed to do with the wire. I learn best by doing, and I’ve read the instructions several times, and I still don’t understand. Do you have a video of this step, by chance?
flaxandtwine says
You just feed it through some the center of the strand to control the wrapping more. It is optional though – try it without!