DIY Welcome Wreath Rail Tutorial for Beginners

I absolutely love decorating wreath rails and I am so glad that you’ve decided to give my wreath rail tutorial for beginners a try! Today I’m showing you how to assemble the Welcome wreath rail for beginners and I know you’re going to love it!

I’ve been decorating wreaths and rails for a long time now. but I still remember what it felt like starting out. It looked easy enough watching someone else do it but, when I got my hands in the mesh, I seemed to be missing something. In the video below, I show you how to make the Welcome wreath rail for beginners, and I try to hit on all those little “somethings” that I didn’t grasp right away. I hope that I can take some of the little mistakes out of the way for you. That way you can skip over some of the stumbling steps of learning and head right into the fun of making wreath rails!

Welcome Wreath Rail Tutorial for Beginners

If you have been watching some of my videos and wondering about some of the steps I use when decorating wreath rails, this is the tutorial for you! I keep the camera right above me so you can look over my shoulder and see exactly what I’m doing. I walk you through each and every step, sometimes more than once. Especially the ones that I normally breeze through because they are old hat to me.

I love teaching people how to create and wish I could be right there with each of you. That way I could focus on your needs and answer your questions. Since I can’t be with you in person, though, I tried to cover everything I thought you’d need to succeed. Some of these steps you may already know how to do. If that’s the case, celebrate your triumph and fast forward to the next step. If you’ve never worked with mesh and ribbon before though, you can rewind and rewatch as many times as you need to!

I know that everyone learns differently. So, I’ve included detailed instructions for those who learn best by reading and the video for visual learners. I suggest that everyone watch the video before getting started though. It can be hard to explain some of these processes with words but they make perfect sense when you see me do it. I suggest that you treat this recipe like any food recipe you are trying for the first time. Look over each step first so that you know what to expect before diving in. That way you’ll have a better idea of the end product that you’re going for. You can do this! And it’s going to be awesome!

Supply List (This is all provided for you in the kit, the only thing you need to grab is scissors)

• Welcome wreath rail or Hello wreath rail
• Pre-cut 30” strips of 10” mesh
• Pre-cut 12” ribbon tails in two colors
• Pre-cut 22” tubing strips
• Pipe cleaners
• Pre cut ribbon (these are the longer strips) for your hand bow (you have 1- 2.5” ribbon and 2- 1.5” ribbons)

Wreath Wreath Rail Assembly Instructions

1. Start by grabbing 5 of the pipe cleaners and laying your wreath rail out flat in front of you. Take one of the pipe cleaners and fold it in half to crease the center making sure that the ends are even with each other. Open it pipe cleaner into a V and slide it under the center rail all the way to the left. Twist the pipe cleaner in place to secure it tightly. You can do this in 2-3 twists. Now do the same thing at the right end, then the center. Next, add the last two pipe cleaners between the ones you already have placed. This will give you 5 evenly spaced pipe cleaners on which to attach your mesh.
2. Now take one of the strips of mesh and curl up both ends a couple of times. Lay it on the table and hold one end while scrunching the other end toward it by walking your fingers up the center. Pinch the ruffle at the center and add it to the tie on the right side of the rail. Next repeat the process and add this ruffle to the center. Repeat again and add the ruffle to the tie on the left. Then do the same thing 2 more times and add the ruffles to the last 2 ties, laying these ruffles on top of the others.
3. Next, lay all the ribbon tails of one color in a pile and hold it in your hand. Use your scissors to dovetail the ends by folding the ends in half and cutting from the fold, at an angle, towards the open side. Flip the tails around and do the same thing at the other end. Repeat this with the other color of ribbon tails.
4. Now take one of each color and lay them on top of each other. Fold them in half and pinch the center. Add the center to the tie on the left side of our rail. Repeat this process with each tie except for the center one. We will put a bow in the center tie instead.
5. Next, take one piece of the tubing and make it into a circle. Pinch the center of it to make a little bow tie and then add the pinch to the tie on the left end of the rail. Repeat this with each tie except the center one. When you are done with this step, curl up the ends of your pipe cleaners into curly cues.
6. Now it’s time to make the bow! Start by twisting the ends of 2 pipe cleaners together to make one long one. Now grab the 2.5” ribbon and lay it pretty side down on the table. Measure an 8” tail and pinch the ribbon at that spot. Leave about 12” inches and pinch again. Now make the area between the two pinches into a loop. Pinch and twist the ribbon and then make another loop. Hold this layer of your bow in your hand and then repeat with the next two ribbons so that you have three layers to your bow. Use the long pipe cleaner you made to secure the center of the bow, twist it off at the back. (I show you exactly how to do all of this in the video so don’t worry!)
7. Next, attach your bow to the center of the rail. Do this by using the pipe cleaner on the bow to poke through the mesh to the back of the rail. Then do it again with the other side of the pipe cleaner. Now flip your rail up and pull the pipe cleaners tight and twist them off to secure the bow in place. Trim the ends of the pipe cleaner.
8. Now lay your rail back down and fluff up your bow and dovetail the ribbon ends.
9. Finally take the jute string and tie a simple knot to attach one end to the W and the other end the the e adjusting the length of it so it will hang at the height you want it.

And there you have it! A wreath rail that’s beautifully decorated with deco mesh and ribbons on it.

And that’s it, you did it! You created one of your first wreath rails like a champ. If your first few creations take you a little longer, don’t worry. You’ll soon be dovetailing and mesh ruffling with the best of them.

Like any new skill it just takes practice. If you decide that you love decorating wreath rails and know you will be making more, there are some tools you can invest in to speed the process up. Bow makers and ribbon tail boards, for example, can be a big help. I hope you loved creating this rail and I can’t wait to hear how it went for you. Welcome to the wreath rail club, we are excited you’re here and hope you love being a part of it!

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments and I will try to answer them for you. And if you decide to make this wreath rail tutorial yourself, post some pictures of what you come up with over on my Facebook page, because I would love to see what you guys do!