Festive Fabric Garlands

Getting Started
Let your friends know about your garland get-together plans. Have them gather any fabric pieces they have around their homes and would like to use. You can always supplement with a few new yards of fabric with winter holiday prints and patterns if you don’t think you’ll have enough remnants.

Also have each friend choose the “base” that she will be tying her fabric onto. You can give your friends a choice of twine, rope or twinkle lights and supply them with these bases or ask them to bring a base along with them to the party.

Step 1: Create Your Crafting Space
One of the best parts of this garland holiday craft is that it’s not very messy, and can really be done anywhere in the home. At the dining room or kitchen table, around the coffee table in the living or family room, just make sure to gather everything you need from the Festive Fabric Garland Materials List. A few additional tips for creating a crafting space:

• Choose an area that has a table of some sort where supplies can be set out and the cutting part of the project can take place. Otherwise, you can all sit back in comfy chairs while you do your tying.
• Set some snacks out on the table as well. For delicious dips you can snack on while your work with healthy pita crisps, check out Tips for Dips.
• Make sure your floor surface is easy to clean after you’re done, as some fabric scraps and loose threads will likely make their way there. See below for easy clean-up tips.

Step 2: Prepare Your Base
If you plan to use twine or rope as your base for tying fabric start by deciding how long you want your garland to be. Measure it so it is 6” longer than your desired length. Using a few inches at each end, fold the rope or twine over into a loop and tie in a knot to allow for easy hanging. If you plan to use beads spacers, leave one end untied until you’ve finished.

Step 3: Prepare Your Fabric
Prepare the fabric by making small snips along the bottom of the fabric every 2-3” and tearing into strips at least 6” in length. You'll need anywhere from 25 to 50 strips per foot of garland, depending on the thickness of the fabric you choose to use and if you want a full or sparse garland. Pull off loose threads as desired, but leaving ragged edges and a little fraying just adds to the broken-in feeling of the piece.

If you’d rather the fabric strips look more precise instead of rough-around-the-edges, feel free to use scissors or pinking shears to cut the strips instead of tearing.

Step 4: Tying Fabric
This step is the easiest, and is also where you and your friends get to be creative and personalize your garlands. You will simply knot your fabric strips onto your base rope, twine or set of twinkle lights. You can alternate fabric types, colors, patterns and textures or group the same type together and change every 3” or so.

For a full, thick look, push the strips down the rope to keep them fitting snugly together after tying on 10 strips. You can also leave them spaced out for a sparse garland or add bead spacers between a number of strips or each one.

Try whatever you like, beads and bells can also be fed or tied onto strips to add another layer of texture and dimension. Feel free to experiment and take your time, it’s a great opportunity to relax and catch up with your friends while you create something beautiful for your home décor.

Step 5: Hang It Up
Once your fabric garlands are complete, your decorating possibilities are endless! Use these display ideas as inspiration and add the cuddly softness of fabric garlands to many areas and rooms:

• Tie bells to fabric strands and attach your garland to your doorknocker or handle for fun and festive front door décor.
• Create longer garland lengths to decorate banisters or doorways.
• Adorn each family member’s doorknob in your home. Choose colors and patterns to reflect each individual’s style.
• Decorate an antique hutch or cabinet with a fabric garland tied to the knobs or handles.