I will cover how to create a very simple, easy deco mesh garland. You can make yours as intricate and large as you want. My mantle is fairly narrow, so I kept it simple.
Supplies (All bought at Hobby Lobby):
1 tinsel work garland, 9ft
1 roll 21" wide deco mesh, 10 yards
1 roll deco mesh ribbon, 60 ft
Assorted ornaments (16 total for mine)
Start by stretching out your work garland as much as you can on the floor. You can even tie each end to two chairs to keep it stretched out. Then go through the work garland and make sure each tinsel wire tie is stretched out and opened.
You then need to take your wide deco mesh roll. This is base of your garland and will be the primary color. Choose an end to your work garland to start on. Unravel some of the mesh and, leaving some to overlap at the end of the tinsel tie, tie it securely to the form. I typically twist the ties together twice. Be sure to twist tightly. The tighter your twists, the more your ties will ultimately be hidden. (I'll insert here that you want to be sure to match the color of your work garland to the main deco mesh color. Obvious I'm sure, but just wanted to make sure that was clear!)
Now that you have the mesh tied securely, gather it in your hand and start securing it along the garland. To make nice equal puffs along the garland, watch the technique used in this video. Basically, they measure the mesh out two tinsel ties out from where the mesh was last secured to the garland, and then bring it back to tie it to the next. So if the first tinsel tie was labeled "A", the second "B", and the third "C", you'd measure the mesh out from A (where it's already secured) to C, then push that amount back to B to tie it, creating a puff. (Yep, that sounds a little confusing when I try to explain it in writing. Just watch the video.) :) Your garland will look something like this as you work:
Notice the puffs are just about the same size. Like my with wreaths (burlap tutorial here; mesh tutorial here), I like symmetry in my garland.
Once you finish securing the mesh to the garland, it's time to add the ribbon. Like the video I linked above, you can add more mesh or fabric should you wish before adding ribbon. But I found the wide mesh and ribbon created a garland just large enough for my mantle.
I adapted the technique from the video for securing the ribbon. Basically I took the ribbon in my hand, made two loops to create a bow, and then secured the bow with the tinsel wire. Then I let it overlap the puff to get to the next tie, where I created another bow in my hand and repeated the process. As you tie the ribbon to garland, it will look something like this:
After you've finished adding any mesh and ribbon you desire, you can then add accents. I chose two different ornaments. Since they all had a topper that I could pull the tinsel wire through, I spared my hands the hot glue marks and secured them to each tinsel tie set. For this step, I actually placed the garland on my mantle first, along with any other objects I planned to have in front of the garland. This way, I could add the ornaments in places they would be seen and not get in the way of the other decor on the mantle.
And there you have it! Have fun and Merry Christmas!!
