Spring Garland

 ♥ Spring Garland  ♥

This garland is made up of a selection of crocheted and knitted flowers and leaves, 

stitched on to a Raffia garland held in place with florists wire.

Wool used: A selection of 4 ply cotton in Spring colours, greens and white.

3mm hook.

2.75mm knitting needles ( snowdrops )

 ♥

Any flower or leaf patterns can be used, for mine I used:

Snowdrop ( made a bit smaller ) - from 100 flowers to knit and Crochet, Lesley Stanfield

White and peach blossom - (Buttercup) from 100 flowers to knit and crochet, Lesley Stanfield.

Small leaf - Ravelry,

Large leaf - Ravelry.

Primroses - Ravelry, Cherry Heart 

I wanted to use a range of Spring pastel colours

and so chose a selection of yellows and greens to start with.

It was useful to have a couple of different yellows as I found by making the

 flowers with a couple of different yellow shades it added depth to each flower.

As I began working I decided to add a little warmth

 so added in some pinks and peach colours.

Once I had made a few flowers and leaves I laid them out to see if I had made enough.

Whilst I didn't want my garland to necessarily be completely symmetrical on each side I made roughly the same number and type of flowers and leaves for each side of the garland.

In total my garland is made up of:

8 x large dark green leaves

8 x small grass green leaves

10 x buttercup yellow primroses

14 x pink primroses

12 x primrose yellow primroses

19 x white cherry blossom

18 x peach cherry blossom

22 x small moss green leaves

12 x small lime green leaves

Whilst the flowers did not need blocking as I wanted to keep their irregularity and 3D effect,

 I did block the leaves as I wanted to provide a flat background for the flowers.

I used a foam play mat for blocking and some pins.

It helps to spray the leaves with water first as this helps you to flatten and shape them.

Once the leaves were in the shape I wanted I sprayed them with some Fablon ( Ironing starch ) 

as this provides a little extra strength once they are dry.

I also blocked the snowdrop stems as I wanted these to be stiff enough for me

 to tie them into little posies.

Once blocked I left the leaves to dry in a warm room overnight.

Whilst the leaves were drying I put together the garland.

For this I used two bunches of Raffia ( ordered online )

and twisted them into a rope shape.

 I bound this with thin florist wire so that the raffia would stay twisted.

The wire also allows you to shape the garland into loops.

I also added an artificial ivy garland to the raffia .

Once the leaves were dry I laid the garland out on a long work surface and 

grouped the flowers roughly where I wanted them to go.

I used thin twine to tie my snowdrops in to small posies.

It was then just a matter of pinning the leaves and flowers along the garland.

I used blocking pins to hold it all in place until I was happy with the placing of everything.

I then used a needle and thread to sew all the leaves and flowers in place working

 from the back of the raffia garland.

Once everything was sewn in place it was simply a matter of hanging it up !

♥