I have just spent a month designing and making this large wall hanging, a yarn wrapped wooden Christmas Tree. It was a fabulous project and I enjoyed it so much I am writing this blog to accompany the Etsy listing. There is so much detail to show and talk about I felt a project
such as this deserves featuring, not just because it is very cleverly engineered, but also because it is just sooo pretty and unique.
For many years I have saved the colours I have used in Drafties and wreaths in the form of the wool wrapped around pieces of card. It was only recently I realised that 'yarn wrappings' is actually a thing. I researched on Pinterest and Etsy and there was nobody doing yarn wrapped wall hung Christmas Trees. From this initial research the design for the tree virtually created itself. The key feature of my tree is the pom pom 'hooks' disguised along the tree 'branches' that bauble strings or wire hooks can be used to hang baubles and ornaments.
The baubles, robins and hessian bow are added decorations and are not part of the tree, though they can be purchased. The main design features of this 2 metre high tree starting at the top are:
Three various sized pom poms pointing to the hanging knot as a crowning top completing the triangular point of the tree
Two jute twine lines joining the recycled slats together, knotted and glued for extra strength through the middle of the branches
A 6 cm band of decorative macrame jute twine representing the trunk woven between the 'branches' runs from the top to the bottom
3.5 cm hidden pom poms along the length of the branches to hang baubles from
4.5 cm pom poms on the back at intervals so the tree sits away from the wall to allow for great shadows and the appearance that it is floating
Five 6.5 cm hang at the bottom as a positive, bold end
It has year round interest as undressed without baubles it is still a fabulous wall hanging
There are over 20 colours used from ivory, cream and light greens at the top to dark greens at the bottom, again tipped with ivory and creams
Below are pictures showing some of the detail and the shadows they create
The fluffy, multi coloured poms are glued, tied and glued again in place so they are extremely
strong and secure, and each is capable of holding the weight of a pair of scissors, whilst the branches remain straight despite uneven weight distribution.
I have also glued every colour join so the back is firm and rigid with no chance of any of the wool unravelling.
The woven macrame 'trunk' is purely decorative as I felt such a large piece needed something more constructive rather than just the two lines of jute twine.
Above are photographs showing the detail of the back which is just as neat as the front. I chose to put pom poms on the back for a few reasons:
Creates beautiful shadows as fairy lights can be wrapped around the branches without them touching your wall
Protects the wall so it never gets scuffed if fairy lights are used
Creates the impression that the tree is 'floating' as it is obvious it is sitting away from the wall
Below are two photos showing lots of detail in how the colours gradually change. I used the same math as I do when making my draft excluders.
When I was researching these wall hanging trees I noticed that although there were some big
ones, there weren't any really big ones. Due to the complexity in the colouring of this particular tree I realised the greatest impact could only be achieved if made on a grand scale. Our cottage has low ceilings and there isn't a wall big enough so my dear friend Zoe came to my rescue. She has an old Lincolnshire farm house with really high ceilings and picture rails, which is exactly the sort of home the tree has been designed for. Thanks to Emily for being the size comparison!
The photograph below left shows how the top of the tree is more cream than green to represent fallen snow. Below middle clearly shows how neat the rows of little poms are and the photo on the right shows the neatness of the wrapping and that fabulous snowflake shadow.
The photograph below shows that even with uneven baubles the tree will always hang true.
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