Lavender Stalk Christmas Ornaments
How to Make Lavender Stalk Christmas Ornaments
Lavender Stalk Christmas Tree Ornaments are quite stunning. They are packed with Lavender flowers and woven with one or two colors of satin ribbon. They are not difficult to make once you have learned how to make Lavender wands.
Instructions How to Make Lavender Stalk Christmas Ornaments
First you will need some long fresh Lavender flower stalks(stems) and your desired color of ribbons. For these large Lavender ornaments you will need 4" Styrofoam balls but smaller ones will work to make small ornaments.
I like to use the hard smooth Styrofoam balls instead of the soft ones with all the tiny holes. I don't like how they shed tiny bits as you work with them. You will need 30 or 34 stems of Lavender flower to make a 3" ball, 46 or 50 to make a 4" ball.
Very Important - The stems are woven in pairs of two so you will want it to work out that there is an odd number of pairs. Having enough Lavender stalk to encase the ball without leaving large gaps between each pair of stems makes getting a nice smooth basket weave easy.
You will also need twine or rubber bands, two 1" safety pins and some straight pins enough to secure hanging loops to each ornament.
1. Take your Lavender (always choose an odd number of pairs) Bind them tightly together just below the last flower buds. I used 30 Lavender stems which is 15 pairs of two and tied them together being careful to not tie so tight that I cut into the stems. Choose sturdy fresh cut Lavender flowers whose stalks will be very pliable. Strip each stalk free of any leaves; choose stalk of equal thickness.
Choosing Grosso or Provence to make these will give you long sturdy stems to work with making it very easy when weaving the ornaments. I used my White Lavender Grosso.
2. Take the Lavender stems and bend them over around the flowers just like you do when you make a Lavender wand. Place the Styrofoam ball inside with the flowers. Fold the stems snugly over the flowers and ball spacing the stems in pairs equally around the ball. Try to get them tightly around the ball so its very round.
Yes, the flowers will crush against the top of the ball and this is ok. When satisfied with the placement secure the stalks with a tight elastic or twine to hold them securely in place while you weave. Hint: Securing the top with a small U-pin found in most craft stores really helps!
3. Take a length of ribbon and cut it to 18". Fold it in half with the good side facing out and knot the ends securely together. Secure the knot side of the ribbon to the stem end of the Styrofoam ball using a straight pin giving you a hanging loop. You will want this loop to be in the center of the Lavender stems so you may need to attach it to the ball prior to using the elastic or twine.
4. Cut at least 2 yards(depending on the width of the ribbon used) of each ribbon and knot them together. Attach this knot side to the flower end of the ball. Next attach a safety pin to the end of each ribbon by folding over the end by 1/4" and pinning. You will use the pins as bodkins to weave the ribbons over and under the Lavender stems.
To alternate colors simply alternate ribbons every 2nd or third row as desired. Keep the tension uniform, ribbons flat and the stems neatly spaced as you weave. Hint: Have a few stick pins handy to use as an extra pair of hands. They can hold a finicky stem in place temporarily or maintain tension on a ribbon. Simply remove them when the project is finished.
5. Continue weaving until you reach the stem end with the elastic. Examine the Lavender ornament and make any adjustments to ribbon tension or stem spacing. When satisfied knot the ribbons securely around the stems. Cut the stems to the desired length based on the size of your ornament usually 3-4". Wrap the stalks with one or two colors of ribbons and tie a pretty bow around them. Now sit back and admire your hard work!
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