As promised in our Sept. 3 garland party column, here are four more suggestions for making your own keepsake garlands. Handmade garlands can be used for general decorating as well, but those shown here are for specific holidays.
To briefly recap the garland party idea, we suggested that a group of friends or family members get together for an evening or afternoon and make garlands, which are easiest to construct when broken into 1- or 2-yard sections.
Our samples this week are shown in 18-inch to 1-yard sections, and they all use yarn or cord made into braid with battery-powered twisters.
We found a couple of twisters: the Conair (which is really a hair-braiding tool) and Crazy Cords (geared toward children), and though both products are easy to use and cost about the same – between $15 and $20, depending on where they are purchased – we found that the Conair was a better personal fit and liked the two-stage twisting process.
That said, here are the directions for our samples:
Garland 1 – Halloween
Materials and tools: Black and orange satin ribbon (very narrow), black eyelash yarn, beaded spider decoration (available at Craft Mart in the Halloween section; $6.99 per package; see note below), plastic spiders, twister.
Instructions: Make one cord using two 2-yard lengths of black ribbon and one 2-yard length of orange (this will give you approximately 1 yard of cord, depending on amount of twist experiment with this to get your gauge). Make a second cord using 2-yard lengths of black eyelash yarn, orange ribbon and black ribbon. Weave one cord through the top and one through the bottom of the beaded spider decoration. Attach spiders with a single strand of black ribbon (or use thread for a less conspicuous look). Tie off the ends of the section and join to another section using a black yarn pompom or large spider.
Garland 2 – Autumn or Thanksgiving
Materials and tools: Brown eyelash and earth-tone novelty yarns; orange, gold and brown satin ribbon; autumn-themed embellishments (berry clusters and leaves); twister.
Instructions: Make one cord using orange, gold and brown ribbon; one cord using 3-ribbon cord and brown eyelash yarn; and one cord using orange ribbon, novelty yarn and eyelash yarn. Make the cords unequal so that you have some uneven drape, and join them at the ends and center. Attach an embellishment and some leaves to the center. Join sections together by covering the joint with a cluster of leaves.
Garland 3 – Christmas or New Year’s
Materials and tools: Gold and silver sparkle and silver/white eyelash yarns; flower loom (available at most fabric and craft stores); twister.
Instructions: Make one cord each of all gold sparkle yarn, combination of gold and silver yarn, and combo of gold or silver sparkle and two strands of silver/white eyelash. Again, make the cords unequal in length. Join all three cords at the ends and center. Make a flower on the loom using gold and silver sparkle yarn and attach it to the center. Add a fringe of the same yarn to the center. Join the ends of the section to other sections using the same flower/fringe combo.
Garland 4 – New Year’s Eve
Materials and tools: Silver eyelash and silver and gold sparkle yarns; plastic champagne glasses; twister.
Instructions: Make two cords: one using three lengths of eyelash yarn and one using a combination of one silver, one gold and one eyelash. Make the cords unequal in length and join them at the ends and at three points between ends. Attach a champagne glass to each of the three joins between ends, either tying them on with a piece of yarn or thread or gluing with hot glue; add a fringe to each glass. Join the sections together with glass/fringe combos.
Note: If you have trouble finding the exact bead and spider decoration we used for our Halloween garland, be sure to browse through the Halloween sections of local craft or department stores.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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