Everyone should know how to make a homemade grapevine wreath for the holidays. It’s super duper easy. No one even taught me, that’s how easy it is. It just takes a few minutes and a little imagination. Don’t pay high prices when you can practically make one for free.
If you live in a rural area or know something with a bit of land, chances are pretty high they have wild grapevines growing on it. They aren’t hard to locate. Just walk along the tree line until you see them reaching up into the limbs. (But don’t pull vines that are stuck to the trees–those could be poison ivy). Wild grapevines hang loose and free.
The vines can be quite thick at the base–thick enough you’ll need a small hand saw. Try to pull down the entire vine after you cut the base, because the smaller parts of the vine from the tree tops are more pliable, and thus easily woven into the wreath.
Once you get them home, and if they are too stiff, just pop them into a large tub of water for a day or two. But you probably can skip this step. I’ve never found any vines too stiff to weave.
Just sit down and begin weaving a wreath the size you want. When you’ve intertwined as many branches as you like (the more you weave, the thicker and sturdier the wreath), tie the loose ends with twine, or some light gauge wire if you have some handy. You can spruce it up with ribbon after you add the goodies.
Now for the really fun part. Take whatever “goodies” you have on hand, like ribbons, or nandina berries, or holly berries and leaves, or oak or maple leaves, or acorns, or pine cones, or…you get the picture. Put whatever you think looks good in between the vines, securing with twine or wire where necessary.
It’s super-simple, but very effective. I made a half dozen of these in one afternoon. Getting the raw materials takes the longest time, and if you have a good buddy who can drop off some grapevines–you are truly blessed.
Give it a try and when you get big fat compliments (which you will), smile and tell them you made them from scratch.
© Wade Kingston