Wreath: Buffalo Check Wreath Tutorial DIY

A step by step guide to show you how to make this wreath!

Materials needed:

• – 2 or 3 rolls Buffalo Check Ribbon-I used Hobby Lobby 5.5″ x 15 feet – non wire burlap ribbon. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Floral-Wedding/Ribbon/Buffalo-Check-Burlap-Ribbon—5-1-2/p/BP73461

• – 1 wire wreath frame. Mine is from Dollar Tree and is 14″. Dollar Tree has several sizes and shapes. https://www.dollartree.com/floral-supplies/wire-forms-tape-tools

• – scissors and/or rotary cutter

• – 77 (approximately) 6″ or 8″ zip ties. I used 8″ black ties https://www.menards.com/main/electrical/rough-electrical/wiring-accessories/cable-ties/smart-electrician-reg-8in-black-uv-standard-cable-ties-100-pack/42036/p-9967014798688939-c-6443.htm?tid=-7886881169575664037&ipos=5

• – center decor – flower, ribbon, your choice

• – hot glue

• – plastic mesh sheet, I used Yarnology https://www.hobbylobby.com/Yarn-Needle-Art/Needle-Arts/Plastic-Canvas/7-Mesh-Plastic-Canvas-Sheet—10-1-2-x-13-1-2/p/PC20400

• – piece of felt – optional for covering back

You can easily adapt this tutorial for a smaller wire wreath frame if you desire. Dollar Tree only has 14″ and 6″ they sell, so the 14″ is what I had on hand. Hobby Lobby sells some slightly smaller, such as 12″ and that will be just fine. For a 14″ frame I needed 77 pieces of ribbon which takes almost 3 rolls of the 15 foot ribbon. Please adjust to what you need! There are no hard fast rules here for how many pieces you should cut, you just need to have good coverage.

A 14″ wire frame will get you about a 22″ in diameter finished wreath.

Cut your ribbon into smaller pieces. Each piece is approximately 6″ in length. I cut my ribbon by the checks in the pattern instead of an actual measurement. I counted 6 squares and then cut at an angle. See the pictures for where I cut. Again, no hard fast rules here, but you want to cut at an angle to create the points for each petal. Basically creating a diamond when cut. As long as your straight edge (where my finger is) is at least 6″, you should be good to go. You can always try a few on the frame, by following the next step before cutting all your pieces out, if you are unsure.

Tip: The less you handle the cut burlap ribbon the less it will begin to fray. So just keep that in mind. I personally like a little fraying!

I like to cut only 1 roll at a time, because the quantity you need is approximate. Do whatever you are comfortable with! Now lets start attaching them to the frame. You’ll need your zip ties for this!

First we will attach zip ties to each section where the frame has a vertical wire. You want to attach one ribbon petal to each of these sections. Wrap it around where the wire frame intersects so that this petal is firmly locked into place and cannot slide along the wire. Don’t start on the outer wire loop of the frame – this outer most wire will not have any zip ties attached to it. See the pictures for placement.

Go ahead and made a loop with your zip tie, but don’t tighten it down. You want a loop so you can slip your fabric into the loop.

Now get a piece of ribbon, or petal if you will, and cut it into a diamond and bunch it up as shown. You will gather the ribbon from the corner where you began the diagonal cut to to where you ended the diagonal cut. So gather from corner to corner and then fold it in half. Place the folded end of the ribbon into the zip tie loop you created with the points of ribbon pointed out away from the center of your frame, and tighten zip tie as tight as you can. Snip the excess tail on your zip tie and toss.

When you gather your ribbon by each corner, make sure to try and tuck each corner in under the petal and not flipped up so we see the back. I hope that makes sense.

Tip: I try and have the square locking part of the zip tie to the side of my ribbon when tightening it down, and not right on top. This will just help to hide it a bit as we continue with the layers. It doesn’t always work out that way – in my picture it is on top here – but just do your best to put it to the side as the rows work in, it gets a bit more difficult.

You’ve got your first of many petals attached! Congrats! Now lets do it a bunch more times! You may find the burlap ribbon and zip ties a bit hard on the hands. That is another reason I like to cut 1 roll at a time, because it gives my fingers a break.

Ok, attach a ribbon to each of the wire frames cross section on that row – all the way around. This picture shows 3 done, but go ahead and finish the rest.

Now we need to fill up in between these sections. For the 14″ frame I find that I need 3 additional pieces in between each of these. I add all three zips at once, then add the ribbon. Continue until you have filled up that row.

Now let’s add the center mesh. This step can actually be done as a first step before you begin adding ribbon, but again I like to give my hands a break so I add it after the first row is on.

We need to cut a circle out of the plastic mesh and attach it to the center of the wreath. This mesh gives us something to continue to attach our ribbon to after we have ran out of wire frame. Cut the circle just a tad bigger (just cut outside the line you traced around) than the inside of the wire frame circle. Take a zip tie and run it through a hole and around the inner wire on the frame.

Tip: The holes in my mesh are smaller than the zip tie, so I just simply snipped one of the squares to accommodate the zip. You may or may not need to do that.

You want it attached well so make sure it is secure. I used 8 zip ties to accomplish this.

Now lets move on to adding the next row of ribbon. Simply move to the next wire on the frame and repeat what we did earlier. This time you only need to add 2 pieces in between the sections. So one one each intersection of the wire frame, and two in between. Go ahead and do the whole row!

Now let’s go ahead the attach ribbons to the last wire frame row – the same row that you have attached the mesh on. Working around your zips that attach the mesh. No rules here, but just make sure you are putting enough on to cover the previous row.

Let’s get ready to attach the final few rows. You can mark approximately where you want to attach your ribbon, but in this picture I’ve made mine way to close. I needed half what you see marked. I like to mark them because I have to use an x-acto knife to cut a square to accommodate my zip ties.

See the middle picture above. I had to cut the mesh for the zip to go down and then a cut to allow it to come back up.

Below you can see where I realized I had these way to close together. The right picture shows better spacing.

You’ll add at least 2 more rows. It depends on what you are using in your center and how small or large it is. Do what you need to do. Here is what the next two rows finished look like for my large sunflower center that I choose this time around.

Now, the next step is your preference. You can use floral wire to attach your center or just some hot glue. I’m sorry I didn’t get pictures. I snipped off the large wire from the back of my sunflower and used ALOT of hot glue all over the back of it and glued it down, applying pressure while it set up. It was basically being attached to part of the mesh on the bottom but mostly glued to the last row of ribbon that was attached. Be careful to protect your working surface as the glue can drip through the mesh.

Optional: You can use a piece of felt to hot glue to the back. I like to do this just to keep it from scratching any surface it might rub against like my door.

Here are two I have finished. The white center is some braided rope ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby and I simply wound it up and glued it as I went to make a center. Then glued it in the middle. It is actually on a smaller wire wreath frame, but I have since gifted it and forgot to make notes! Rookie mistake, huh? But you can see it is a bit smaller.

Be sure to tag me when you post yours! I would love to see all the variations you can make!