Mom Upcycles: An Old Curtain Becomes a Shabby Chic Fall Wreath

Last week, I decided it was time to change out my Halloween rag wreath for a Fall wreath. As I was looking through old shirts, I came across an old curtain panel that I haven't used in years.

Then, I remembered seeing this tutorial on threading burlap through a wire hanger. Burlap has a great weave for doing this, but my thin sheet of cotton definitely does not, so I had to get creative.

First, I cut out 7 strips of fabric--about 4-5 inches wide. This curtain was about 80 inches long (and looks magenta in this photo, for some reason, but is definitely burgundy).

Next, I folded the strip like an accordion.

Now for the creative part. I took my scissors and snipped a small hole into the center of each fold.

Now it's ready for threading. I took a wire hanger and shaped it into a circle. I unwound the top part and then threaded each piece through.

Keep threading! After 7 strips it looked like this:

At this point, I started spreading out the folds and using hot glue on the hanger and inner folds every 4 or 5 folds so it would not slide. You are deciding how you want your wreath base to look, so just eyeball it and turn and twist your loops until you like what you see.

Now it is starting to look good!

I used a scrap of the curtain to wrap the hanger part.

Now for the decorating!

I wanted a bow on top to balance everything, but had no ribbon. Another sad, thin curtain to the rescue! This one is a cream color and was perfect. I just played with this until it looked right to me.

I cut a 2-inch wide strip, following the hem of my curtain.

Next I played with it until I had this shape:

I then pinched the center, adjusting the bow and tails until it was even. I took a cut rubber band and tied it in the middle to hold my place.

Next, I cut a strip of the fabric out and tied it on to the center, cutting the excess at the back.

I cut a "v" into the bottom of the tails and hot-glued it onto my wreath. I had to apply glue behind each loop shape, since this does not have wire in it, but it worked.

Next, I found shirts that were what I decided are fall colors--greens, oranges, yellows, and used this tutorial to make pretty rolled flowers. There was no rhyme or reason to my flowers; some I cut big strips for big flowers, others were smaller. I even free-hand cut a couple of leaves.

My strips: