Hi everyone! Here is the Christmas Wreath tutorial that I submitted in Somerset Holiday Magazine 2016. This is how it is written in the magazine:
Joyous Wreath Pillow
The wreath, a symbol that stands for eternity, is my favorite decoration, whether welcoming spring, summer, or fall. I have been creating wreaths from the time I was a little girl growing up in the Philippines. In my life, I have never bought a wreath from a store! I would string different materials from weed reeds, vines, or leftover fabric from my father's tailoring shop. It was my favorite way to decorate my playhouse, and it is still one of my favorite ways to decorate my family home.
I often draw patterns from real leaves or flowers and re-create them on a pillow design. My husband and I love taking drives in our farming neighborhood along with our two teenage girls. We traverse the rolling hills, nearby forests, and riverbanks in our minivan. We carry a basket , with my shearing scissors, for my collections of leaves, wild flowers, rocks, pinecones, acorns, or tree branches. Most of the time, my inspiration comes from these items and the surrounding scenery where they come from.
Russian olive trees (considered a weed in Idaho) grow abundantly in our countryside, and they became the inspiration for my wreath pillow. The beautiful sage and silvery-green leaves, with green berries and thorny branches, makes a very good wreath in real life if one is patient cutting those random thorns!
Supplies:
Basic sewing supplies Lining fabric: lightweight (optional)
Buttons Pillow
Chopstick/Pointed tool Fabric adhesive
Felt: sage green, 8" x 11" Pom-poms: red, (0.28"/7 mm)
Linen: basket-weaved/ Serger (optional)
white cotton/oatmeal
Technique:
Cut the felt into tiny rectangles varying from 1-2 inches. Cut leaves from the rectangles, leaving one end with a larger width than the other end. It takes approximately two hours to cut enough leaves for the whole wreath. I do not use a pattern, and I cut them in random sizes.
Cut out the pieces of the pillowcase from linen in the following measurements or to the fit of your pillow: 16 1/2" x 16 1/2"; 16 1/2" x 8 1/2"; 16 1/2" x 13".
Trace the desired wreath size with a pencil centered on the front pillow square. Start sewing leaves onto the front square in a circle pattern, one at a time, until the circle is covered. Arrange leaves any way you want.
Hand-sew red pom-poms in the centers of the leaf clusters and around the wreath. Line the back with a thin lining fabric if desired and secure the two fabrics together with pins.
To prepare the pillow-backing, serge or sew a narrow hem for button sides, and then fold 1 1/2 inches to both short fabrics, iron, and pin them together, making sure the top overlaps the bottom by 1 1/2 inches.
Sew the front and back fabrics together, on all sides, maintaining 1/2 inch seam allowance from the edge of the fabric. Finish by serging all edges. Turn the pillowcase right-side out through open flaps and push out the four corners with a chopstick or similarly pointed tool.
Lay the pillowcase on a flat surface. For a three-buttoned pillowcase, fold two equal parts and mark the middle with a pencil. From the pencil mark, measure 4 inches to the left and 4 inches to the right, and mark again. For two-buttoned pillowcase, divide the measurement of the pillowcase by three equal parts and then mark the two folded parts. Machine, or hand-stitch the buttonholes. Once your buttonholes are done, mark the underlying flap to sew buttons and insert a pillow into the case.
Tips:
I use a dinner plate to trace the circle, depending on the size of the pillow. I adjust the size of the plate accordingly, making sure that when I place the pillow inside, the wreath circle distribution falls in the center and not toward the sides of the pillow.
Dab a tiny amount of fabric glue onto the tip or side of each leaf, not in the middle where I usually sew leaf veins. Otherwise, the glue will make the sewing needle stick. Allow approximately five minutes for the adhesive to dry. The glue maintains the arrangement and saves time.
If you don't have a serger, use a zigzag stitch on the edges of the pillowcase to prevent it from fraying before sewing the wreath.
and this is what is written at the bottom of my DIY article:
Reena Rita Aserios Dutson is Filipino and was a registered nurse by profession. When the call of motherhood came, she became a stay-at-home mother in order to raise her two girls (Angela and Amy-Lois), who inspired the name of her Etsy shop. She resides in Middleton, Idaho, with her husband and daughters. You can view more of her work at: angieandlois.etsy.com and on her blog at: roomtoexplore.blogspot.com
