DIY Fabric Garland

A few weeks ago I shared my little girl’s nursery and several of you asked to see a tutorial for the DIY fabric garland I had hanging over her crib. You can see that post here if you missed it. Fabric garlands are actually very simple to create. And cheap. And easy. And purdy. All reasons you should make one. I’ve made a few of them over the years, so today I’m happy to show you exactly how to do it for yourself. I’m actually in the process of doing a bit of a makeover on the playroom in our basement, so this was perfect timing. I just whipped up a new one and took photos along the way so I could show you fine people how to do it too!

Supplies Needed:

• 1 yard of 2-4 different fabrics
• lace, ribbon, or burlap for added texture (totally optional)
• twine
• scissors
• coffee, obviously.

I think this garland looks best if you have a few different patterns/colors working together, so grab a variety of fabric and get creative.

Lay your fabric on a table or flat surface and start cutting slits about 2 inches up the fabric. Do this all along the edge of one side, I cut mine about 2 inches wide as well.

Then simply start “ripping” the strips. Just grab one tab, hold the fabric tight and pull. Easy. Very easy.

Do this with all of your fabric. Just make sure you’re ripping the strips the same way on each one. And FYI, it will fray and some of them will have lots of stray strings attached. That’s ok, you can trim them off later.

Next up you’ll start tying the fabric to your twine. Start by holding it together like in the photo above and make a little loop at the top.

Then lay the loop over the twine and pull the back pieces through.

Keep pulling…

Pull it all the way through and make it nice and tight.

You’ll end up with a little tie knot at the top. Continue to do this with each piece of fabric. alternating as you go.

And here’s a little tip: if you tie either piece of twine to two chairs like I have done here it makes it much easier to tie the fabric on.

This next step is totally optional, but I usually like to include some kind of ribbon, lace, or burlap in my fabric garlands to add a bit more texture. Just measure out your strips to match the long of the others and simply tie it on. I typically don’t do the loop technique for these extra pieces, I just tie an old-school knot at the top.

All done and ready to go up!

I went back in and added a few strips of white burlap. Burlap is great, but I’ve found it only works well if you have a few strips. It sheds easily and tries to unravel a bit, so I use it sparingly.

Well that’s it. This project is so easy. And there are so many ways you can customize it to make it unique to you. Plus it makes a great gift. About a year ago I made a fabric garland for my cousin’s nursery for her new baby boy. I actually used one of my Grandpa’s old shirts. It was one of his old button up flannel shirts and I just cut it into 2″ strips. I mixed it with soft gray fabric and burlap. It made the most amazing garland and was such special way to remember him. Well let me know what you think and if you have any questions at all. I’m always happy to chat with you guys, it definitely brightens my day! And thank you so much for being here!