Festive Felt Garland
The first thing I do every morning these days, before I brush my teeth or even put the coffee on, is to plug in the lights on our Christmas tree. I just think it is the cheeriest sight to set our fir twinkling straight away. Between my Elvis Christmas album and my Ella Fitzgerald holiday station on Pandora, I just hope I’m not driving the neighbors batty with my tireless holiday spirit.
Today I engaged in my absolute favorite Christmas tradition: my annual viewing of Anne of Green Gables coupled with some craft time. I like easy, cheap crafts that won’t end up in the junk pile in three months. So I fell hard for all the simple felt projects that have been cropping up in magazines for the holidays. The easiest looking of all was a felt garland that required nothing more than felt, twine and glue. I could put down the scissors and watch with rapt attention when Anne walks into the barn to thank Matthew for her first puff sleeve dress. She has tears in her eyes. “Don’t you like it?” he asks, unsure. “Like it? It’s more exquisite than any dress I could ever imagine.” Then they hug in the hay-filled warmth of the barn, and I bawl. It’s a great tradition. Watch with me:
And this is just the most charming garland, is it not? Just find a circle around the house––I used the bottom of a teacup––and trace it on to the felt. Fold the piece of felt in half so you can cut out two circle at a time. Sandwich twine between two circles and glue. Leave an inch of twine between circles and repeat.
It turns out it’s not as easy as it looks to cut round circles. But don’t let that deter you. What happens is what I like to think of as the Destiny’s Child effect––no one will be zeroing in on each circle when the effect of the ensemble is so smashing.
H: This is so cute….would be good in stars too.1 year ago
Yes, but much more labor intensive. No good for a lazy crafter like me.
1 year ago
jora: i LOVE anne of green gables and i LOVE felt garlands (have a few hanging around the house right now too). cheers, friend!1 year ago
Jessica: I hear ye, Jora.
How about triangles? A modern-esque Christmas tree if you will.1 year ago
Cadi: I love the down-home simplicity of this craft Sarah. And while you can do it alone it would be equally at home with a couple of small christmasy types (read: kidlets) to glue, or cut, or whatever. I like the rhythm of the same-sized circles, too, and agree that who cares if it’s perfect? The ensemble effect makes it more than the sum of it’s parts.
And I love, LOVE how homey crafts are making a comeback and getting the credit where credit is due. It makes my inner girl scout happy. Happy Weekend to you!1 year ago
rachael speirs: If you ever want to come visit me in Canada we can head over to PEI and do the Anne tour! They shot a lot of the scenes at a pioneer village near my parents house too.1 year ago
Betty: I love Anne of Green Gables. It’s my go-to watching when I’m not well. I don’t have a copy where I live at the moment but I just thought of when Matthew dies the other day and I cried for twenty minutes solid.1 year ago
Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams: Oh, I love Anne and Christmas and fun DIY projects. That garland is so festive! And our tree lights are twinkling at me right now.1 year ago
Kelly: That sounds like the coziest, loveliest tradition! I love it. I’m putting the felt garland on my to do list. The felt circles are also shockingly pretty strung on ribbon or string and scrunched up, as a gift-topper. Anthropologie was wrapping gifts that way a while ago, and I stole the idea. I won’t put a long, random link here in case you’d rather I didn’t, but googling “Anthropologie felt gift wrap” will give you a few good links, one from wooldurham-dot-com.1 year ago
J: I used pinking shears because I am a horrible cutter (and because I like the zigzag border), and you can’t really tell the circles are not all uniform…
1 year ago
Danielle: I love Anne Shirley so much, and I haven’t seen that movie in years. I used to have it recorded on VHS and I watched it so many times that it broke. I need to find it on DVD somewhere. I love love love watching Marilla fall in love with Anne, and when she goes to the ball in her sleeves, and most of all when she recites the Lady of Shallot in the boat.
I hope you enjoyed it so much. I’m going to amazon now to search for the movie.
p.s. I am Canadian and a tiny piece of the movie was filmed in my town (the early scenes at the orphanage). Yup, I was that close to celebrity.1 year ago
Sara Rose: I plug in our tree as my coffee is perking and sit in my silent, dark kitchen staring at it until my coffee is ready. We watch White Christmas nearly daily, alternated with cool claymation Frosty and Rudolph, and my husband sings along to the grinch. It is indeed an entire effect, not the individual thinks.1 year ago
Kathryn: I love the garland – thank you!1 year ago