Felted Wreath: Felt Balls, Rolled Roses and Fringed Felt on a Ring

A felt wreath is an afternoon's project, and it outlasts a fresh one by about twenty years. It drops no needles, and it goes back in its box in January looking the way it did in December. The base you pick decides most of how it is made, so start there, then work out how many balls or roses the ring will swallow before you heat the glue gun.

Pick the base first

Wrap a foam or straw ring in a strip of felt or ribbon before you start. Any gap between balls or roses then shows color instead of white foam.

Felt ball wreath

The most popular version, and the one with the most surprising arithmetic. A wreath covered edge to edge in balls takes far more of them than it looks as if it should.

These assume a ring face about 2 in (5 cm) wide and balls packed tight, staggered like oranges in a crate. A wreath that only needs to look full from the front can leave the sides bare and wrapped in ribbon. Wet felting the balls in batches is far quicker than needle felting them, at roughly 1 g of wool each for a 2 cm ball; how to make felt balls has the method.

1. Wrap the ring in felt or ribbon in the main color.
2. Glue a first row of balls around the inner edge, then a second around the outer edge. These two rows set the shape.
3. Fill the face between them, staggering each row into the dips of the row before.
4. Add the sides last if you are covering them. Lay the ring face down for this so the balls do not slide while the glue sets.
5. Leave a bare gap at the top for the hanging ribbon, or tie the ribbon on before you start.

Color decides whether it looks like a decoration or a candy dish. Pick two main colors plus one accent, such as white and gray with a few red, or three greens with a scatter of red berries. A gradient, from dark balls at the bottom to light at the top, looks good on a door.

Rolled felt rose wreath

The heart-shaped wreath pictured at the top is covered in rolled roses, and roses are the quickest way to cover any base completely.

1. Cut a circle of felt 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm) across. The edge does not need to be neat.
2. Cut a spiral into it from the edge to the center, about ¾ in (2 cm) wide, leaving a small round tab in the middle.
3. Roll the spiral up tightly from the outer end, toward the center.
4. Put a dot of glue on the tab and press the rolled flower down onto it. The tab becomes the base.

A 12 in ring takes 20 to 30 roses of about 2 in laid edge to edge across the front, or 35 to 50 for a deep, layered look like the heart above. Thick felt makes a fatter, more open rose, and thin felt a tight bud, so a mix of the two looks more natural than one size of everything. Felt cut from a felted wool sweater rolls beautifully and costs nothing. For wet felted flowers with real depth, see felt flowers and needle felted flowers.

Shaped as a heart rather than a ring and done in reds, it is a Valentine's Day wreath. Done in creams and blush pinks, it is a wedding or spring one.

The fringed felt wreath

The mid-century kind, still sold in antique shops. Cut green felt into strips 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) wide, snip a fringe along one long edge about two-thirds of the way across, and wind the strips around a straw ring in a tight spiral, pinning the uncut edge as you go. Each turn should cover the pins of the turn before. Use two or three greens together and it looks like branches instead of a felt tube. Red felt balls for berries and a few small felt figures finish it.

A looped version works the same way: fold short strips into loops and pin them into the ring close together, like a rag rug. It takes more felt and is the fullest-looking wreath of all.

Felt leaf wreath

Holly, eucalyptus, bay or autumn leaves cut from felt and pinned or glued in overlapping rows, all pointing the same way around the ring. Cut leaves from homemade wet felt and the edges stay soft and slightly irregular, which is the difference between this and a craft-store wreath. Slip a length of florist's wire into a fold at the back of each leaf before gluing it, and the leaves can be bent into a curve once they are on. For a holly wreath, cluster three red felt balls at the base of each pair of leaves. The holly garland in felt garland uses the same leaves.

A wet felted ring

A wreath that is felt all the way through, with no glue anywhere. Wrap thin layers of wool around a polystyrene ring, alternating direction with each layer, until no white shows. Slide the ring into a length of nylon stocking or net, wet it with hot soapy water and work it with your hands, rolling the wool around the ring, until the wool has felted into a skin around the ring. The ring stays inside. It is the same method as a felted bauble on a polystyrene ball, explained in felted Christmas balls, just longer. Needle felt holly, berries or a robin onto it once it is dry.

Wreaths for the rest of the year

• Christmas. Felt balls in reds, greens and white, or a fringed green wreath with red berries. A small needle felted snowman or gnome tucked into the lower curve gives it a focal point, and so does a pair of felted cardinals.
• Autumn. Rust, mustard and brown leaves with a few small felted pumpkins and mushrooms.
• Valentine's Day. A heart-shaped ring of rolled roses, or a plain ring with felted hearts.
• Easter. Pastel balls with a few felted eggs and a felted bunny sitting in the lower curve.

Hanging and looking after it

Tie a loop of wire-edged ribbon around the ring at the top before decorating, so the ribbon is held in by what you add. A felt wreath is light, so an over-the-door hook or a removable adhesive hook holds it. On a door, a felt or foam pad behind the bottom stops it knocking every time the door shuts.

Wool copes with a little damp, but not with being soaked or left in strong sun. Under a porch roof is fine. On an exposed door, the dyes fade and the glue softens within one winter. Brush off dust with a soft brush, never wash it, and store it flat in a box rather than hanging, so the weight of the balls does not pull the ring out of shape.