DIY Christmas Wreath with Mesh Ribbon and a Snowman

Hi friends! Welcome back to Alina Craft Studio. Today I am making a Christmas door wreath from mesh ribbon, buffalo plaid ribbon, and a plush snowman.

The wreath starts on a 14-inch metal frame. Red and black mesh make the full base, then wider and narrower ribbons add the color and texture. The snowman goes on last, once every ribbon is in place.

What you need #

A 14-inch metal wreath frame. Mine is a Floral Garden wreath ring, and I bought it for about $1.30.
Mesh ribbon in two colors. I used a red mesh and a black-and-white buffalo check mesh. The rolls in this project are 9.5 inches wide and 18 feet long.
3 wide decorative ribbons
2 narrow ribbons
Floral wire
Scissors
A rotary cutter
A cutting mat
A snowman made of separate pieces: head, arms, and legs

Floral Garden 14-inch metal wreath ring held over the ribbon and snowman supplies

The mesh is the body of the wreath. These two rolls are the red and the black-and-white check I alternate around the frame.

Red glitter mesh and black-and-white buffalo check mesh held in front of the wreath supplies

The decorative ribbons sit on top of that mesh. I am using wide buffalo plaid ribbons here, in red-and-black and black-and-white, plus the narrower spools for the smaller crosses.

Wide red and black buffalo plaid ribbon spools held over the mesh rolls

To cut and attach everything, I use a rotary cutter, scissors, a cutting mat, and floral wire. The wire is what holds each bundle to the metal frame.

Fiskars rotary cutter, scissors, and floral wire for assembling the wreath

The snowman is the focal point. The head, with the black top hat and striped scarf, is separate from the arms and the legs. I wait to attach all of those until the ribbons are finished.

Plush snowman head with a black top hat, red band, and red-and-white striped scarf

All of the ribbons and the snowman pieces in this project came from Michaels seasonal mystery boxes. I paid $10 for my box, and the retail value of what was inside was much higher. I unboxed that box in a separate video: Michaels Mystery Box Unboxing.

Cut the mesh ribbon #

The frame has 6 sections. I use 9 pieces of mesh in total, about one and a half pieces for each section, so the wreath has more volume.

Cut each mesh piece 7 inches long. Cut every piece before you start wiring. Doing them all at once is faster, and you will not have to stop in the middle of the assembly.

Black-and-white buffalo check mesh measured to 7 inches on a cutting mat

A rotary cutter and a cutting mat make the mesh easy to slice. The on-screen note in the video is the roll size, 9.5 inches by 18 feet, which is the width and length of the mesh, not the 7-inch pieces.

Rotary cutter slicing a 7-inch piece from black-and-white buffalo check mesh

Those nine pieces come from both colors, red and black-and-white, so I can alternate them as I go around the ring.

Red mesh ribbon roll labeled 9.5 inches wide by 18 feet

Attach the mesh to the frame #

Start by putting a piece of floral wire on each section of the frame and securing it. Twist the wire so it stays put and you still have two tails to tie.

Twisting a piece of floral wire before tying it to the wreath frame

Take a piece of mesh, twist it slightly, then cross it in half. I pair the two colors: black on the bottom and red on top.

Red mesh crossed over black-and-white buffalo check mesh

Pinch that cross at the center and tie it to the frame with the floral wire already on that section.

Tying the crossed red and black mesh to the metal wreath frame with floral wire

On the next section, switch which color is on top. Keep alternating, section by section, until the mesh goes all the way around the ring.

Red and black mesh poofs wired around the wreath frame

Cut the decorative ribbons #

The three wide ribbons are cut into 12-inch pieces, nine pieces of each color. The on-screen note marks that cut as 12 inches, nine times.

Stack of 12-inch red and black buffalo plaid ribbon pieces

The two narrow ribbons are cut into 8-inch pieces. A faster way to do that is to measure 16 inches on the cutting mat, fold the ribbon in half, and cut through both layers. One cut gives you two 8-inch pieces.

Add the ribbons #

The narrow ribbons go on first. Cross two of them over each other and tie that cross directly on top of a mesh section, using the same floral wire.

Stack of narrow black-and-white buffalo check ribbons ready to attach

This is the twist. Lay one narrow ribbon over the other so they form an X, then secure the center.

Narrow red and black buffalo ribbons crossed into an X

The wide ribbons are different. Use three pieces in each section, and place that bundle between the mesh sections rather than on top of them. Stack the three ribbons, twist them together at the center, and tie them on with floral wire.

Three wide ribbons layered together: buffalo check, black glitter, and red plaid

Repeat that pattern all the way around the wreath. I speed this part up in the video so you can see the wreath fill in.

At this stage it already looks finished. If you stopped here and only changed the ribbon colors, you would have a completely different wreath. The same wiring method works for other seasons and holidays. For this Christmas version, I still want the snowman.

Buffalo plaid and mesh wreath before the snowman is attached

Add the snowman #

Attach the snowman’s head to the center of the wreath first. That is the main focal point, sitting above the ribbon bundles.

Plush snowman head set into the center of the ribbon wreath

Then secure the arms and the legs to the metal frame. Mine has green mittens and red boots. Once those are tied on, the snowman reads as one figure instead of a pile of separate pieces.

Snowman wreath with the head, green mittens, and red boots wired to the frame

Finish the ribbon ends #

I trim and shape the ribbon ends at the very end, after everything is attached. While I was building the wreath I kept moving and adjusting the bundles, and mesh frays if you handle the cut edges too much. Waiting until the end keeps those tails cleaner.

I use two simple finishes. The first is a diagonal cut at about a 45-degree angle.

Buffalo plaid ribbon end cut on a diagonal

The second is a V-shaped cut. Fold the ribbon in half and cut diagonally from the folded edge out toward the outer edge. Open it back up and you have a notch in the center.

Buffalo plaid ribbon end with a V-shaped notch

Both look good. Choose whichever style you prefer.

The finished wreath #

That is the whole wreath. The red and black mesh, the buffalo plaid ribbons, and the snowman all sit on the same 14-inch frame, and it hangs as a Christmas door decoration.

Finished snowman Christmas wreath hanging on a white door

I love how the colors work together, and the snowman is the piece that makes it feel finished. Swap the ribbon colors and the same steps will give you a different wreath for the next holiday.