{My Cozy New Winter Wreath}&{a Roundup of Some Wintery Yarn Crafts}

{making}

Boy, has January let us know that it is winter around here lately! We've had a bunch of days with a high of 20 something and I think there was at least one day that the temperature barely broke 20, if it ever even did.  I know for a lot of places that's the norm all winter long, or even colder, but I have to say, for around here that is COLD! Cold enough, in fact, that I haven't even taken the outdoor Christmas decorations down yet (well, actually I haven't taken any of the Christmas decoration down yet really, but I'm always slow to get the inside decorations taken down.  I try to get the outside ones down in a timely manner though).  I did manage to change out the wreath on the front door at least though.  I used to be able to keep my Christmas wreath up all winter (well through January anyway, I have a Valentine's Day Wreath the goes up in February), but then a couple years ago I added a couple Christmas ornaments to it that matched the large ones that hang from the front porch, and it became a definitely Christmas wreath, and I had nothing for January.  So for the past 2 years my door has sat bare though January, but this year I decided no more.  So {of course} I hit up Pinterest for some inspiration and came up with an idea for a wreath that {if I do say so myself} I think turned out great!  It took a little time to make, but was really very easy.  It was a great way to pass a cold, early January afternoon (well an afternoon and an evening since I didn't buy enough yarn at first and had to go back to Walmart for more)

{The Supplies}

The Supplies for this wreath are pretty simple, all you need is:
~ {1} wire wreath form
~ about {4.5} skeins of yarn in varying shades of gray (or whatever color you choose)
~ A scarf (I know it's not pictured..... I wasn't able to get one I liked when I got the first batch of supplies, which is when I took the picture)
~ a pair of scissors
~ {Optional} pom pom makers (I just used my hands for some of them and then used a piece of foam core board for others)

{The How-to}
{First} Make the Pom Poms.  You're going to want at least 2 different shades of gray (or your color), and at least 2 different sizes of pom poms.  I actually ended up with 3 different shades of yarn and two larger, but slightly different sizes of pom poms and one smaller size.  Originally I had just gotten a lighter and darker gray, but when I went back to get more (after testing it out with the first skein) I went to a different Walmart and found one that has some white on it and I thought that would look really nice mixed in there too.  I also got 2 different thicknesses of yarn for a little more texture.  If you are using pom pom makers then of course follow the directions for making the pom poms that came with your maker.  I do not have any pom pom makers and can't really {personally} see spending money to buy them, when I can make pom poms just as well using my hand or a piece of cardboard/foam core board.  To make them without a pom pom maker:

{1} wrap yarn around your hand (or fingers depending on how big you want the finished pom pom to be) or around a piece of cardboard or foam core board.  {for some of the pom poms on this wreath I used a piece of foam core board, but I cut a little slit out of the middle of it, about halfway across to make the next step a little easier - it was the smaller sized pom poms so it really helped}.  You're going to want to wrap it at least 40-50 times around - the more times you wrap it the fuller your pom pom will be

{2} Slip the yarn off of your hand and wrap another piece of yarn around the middle of the bundle, and tie it as tight as you can get it (on the jig that I made for the smaller pom poms I used the slit I cut in it to tie the yarn around the middle before slipping it off the foam core board - you do have to slip it off to tighten it all the way, but it is SO much easier to get it started while it's still on there)

 

 

{3} cut all of the loops on both sides of the pom pom. Shake it out to fluff the pom pom.  You may also need to trim some of the threads to get the shape even all the way around.

{Second} using the tails from the thread you tied the center of the pom pom with tie the pom poms to the wreath alternating and evenly distributing the different sizes and colors of pom poms you made.

{I took this pic before I got the yarn with the white}

{Third} Make a bow out of your scarf. You can make whatever style of bow you want, just keep in mind it's not wire edged ribbon so it will be a little floppy, just a simple bow looks great.  Use a piece of yarn or wire to attach the bow to your wreath.

{Fourth} Hang on your door and enjoy all the warm coziness, this wreath brings to the winter months!

This was an 18inch wreath, and I used almost 4 skeins of the thicker yarns (2 of each) and much less than one of the thinner yarn.  So, I also ended up with a some leftover yarn from this project, so I went looking for some ideas of other ways to use yarn for winter crafts:
For one thing I ended up with this pile of little scraps of yarn from trimming the pom poms.

Normally I would just throw these away, but I'm planning my winter mantel decorations, and thought of a great way to make use of these little scraps...............

 

I haven't had a chance yet to try making any of the other crafts with my leftover yarn, but they would make great projects for another cold, cold day.  Maybe even a snow day (some of these would be especially great for snow day crafts for kids).  And none of them involve knitting or crocheting (crocheting, I have yet to learn how to do and knitting I'm not so great at).

~Yarn wrapped anything: Mason Jars (for candles, or vases), wreaths, cans, picture frame, etc.

~ A snowman made from yarn balls (or to not use as much yarn wrap styrofoam balls with yarn) or wreaths wrapped with yarn (I saw a couple ideas on Pinterest where they wrapped the yarn across the center of the wreath to make a solid circle)

~ {this one's a fun one} have an indoor "snowball" fight with "snowballs" that are actually white pom poms

~ a pom pom rug 

~ an old fashioned yarn doll

~ yarn wrapped napkin rings

~ snowflakes made by wrapping yarn around twigs (or Popsicle sticks)

~ let the kids practice sewing by "sewing" yarn through pre-punched holes in cardstock to make snowflakes

~ and so much more, that's just the ideas that I came across by searching for "winter yarn crafts".

For tutorials or more ideas try doing a search of your own or check out my "winter yarn crafts" board on Pinterest

Follow Joanna's board Winter yarn crafts on Pinterest.