DIY Nautical Wreath

Our DIY Nautical Wreath starts with a pool noodle – that’s right a one dollar pool noodle. With just a few additional supplies this wreath doesn’t even require glue.

We love life here in New England and living near the ocean makes even the longest winters worth it. So when summer comes our way we enjoy every minute of it, including decorating our homes with a few (OK, maybe more than a few) friendly reminders of the sea. This easy DIY Nautical Wreath is the perfect summer wreath.

Supplies

Here is what you need for your DIY Nautical Wreath:

• One foam pool noodle, we got ours at DollarTree
• Wire coat hanger that can be taken apart or similar gauge wire
• Approximately 2 yards of rope, we purchased ours at our local hardware store
• Wooden anchor cut out, painted white – you could use a mermaid, sailboat, crab, dolphin – what ever you like! Ours came from a large craft store
• Striped jersey fabric – we purchased a yard of navy and white striped fabric – it should be stretchy
• T pins, these can be found at a fabric or craft store in the sewing section, they will be used to pin the fabric and rope in place
• Duct tape, we used blue, but it doesn’t matter what color you use because it will be covered
• Scissors, marker or pen, scrap paper

Getting Started

The first step is making the base of the wreath. We simply shaped the pool noodle into the desired wreath size, using a marker to mark off where to cut. Using scissors, cut the pool noodle to size. Next, straighten the coat hanger and feed it through the pool noodle, making a loop out of the hanger to connect the ends.

Using the duct tape, close up the ends of the pool noodle to make the desired shape. The coat hanger will help to hold the desired rounded shape.

Adding the Fabric

Using the scissors, cut strips of fabric to wrap around the noodle wreath. Note – before you cut make certain the striped are going the way you want. Depending on the diameter of your pool noodle you may need a wider strip of fabric – cut a test piece from scrap paper to see how wide your fabric strips need to be.

Working around the wreath shape secure the fabric strips with T-pins. Pin not only into the fabric but into the pool noodle as well to hold the fabric tightly in place. Don’t worry about the back of the wreath, the pins and seams will not show. Over lap each strip a little to hide the noodle. Continue with strips until the wreath is covered.

Time for the Rope

We started by threading the rope through the anchor and securing the rope to the back of the anchor with duct tape (again, this will be the back so don’t worry about seeing it). Continue wrapping the rope around the wreath until you are happy with the look. We pinned the rope in place along the back of the wreath to secure it.

Making a Hanger

We pinned a half loop (in the shape of an upside down U) to the top of the wreath for hanging – again using the T-pins.

The Finished DIY Nautical Wreath