How to make a beautiful garland using artificial flowers

Whether you're decorating your mantelpiece, or looking to create the perfect spring / summer tablescape, floral garlands are definitely a must-have item!

Below we'll show you how to make a garland with artificial flowers, including a handy video and step by step guide. Let's begin!

Choosing your flowers

Trying to choose the right stems for you can feel like an impossible task; filled with never-ending possibilities and combinations. So, to help you in the picking process, we have broken-down some of the things you may wish to consider before choosing your faux florals.

Choosing flowers by meaning

Did you know flowers have hidden meanings? This is known as floriography.

Whether this craft is a gift to a loved one, or for you to keep, you may wish to choose flowers of a certain meaning, in order to convey a certain message or sentiment.

As all flowers have an associated meaning, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed if you jump straight in the deep end. So, to avoid this, we think a good place to start is with your (or the recipients) birth month flower.

Do you want to take a deep-dive into a specific birth month? Well you're in luck, as we have dedicated blog entries to each birth month flower as well as a general go-to guide!

If birth flowers aren't for you, you can always take a look at popular flower choices and the meanings behind them.

Popular flowers and their meanings:

The rose is commonly known to be symbolic of love and passion, but specific varieties can take that meaning further; such as the cabbage rose, symbolising an 'ambassador of love'. If roses aren't for you, the peony is a great alternative to the rose and represents both wealth and good luck.

If you're looking for a more exotic flower, the lily may be a great choice for you. Traditionally, the lily is symbolic of both rebirth and purity, however, different coloured lilies can take on different meanings; such as a purple lily is associated with elegance and spirituality.

Choosing flowers by colour

We think choosing flowers that have a harmonious colour palette is a sure way of creating a fabulous looking garland - and choosing stems that compliment each other will make your fauxs look more realistic too! 😉

The colours you may wish to use in your artificial garland could depend on its intended use. If you are looking to create a garland for a particular season, you may wish to incorporate that seasons colour palette. To help with this, below is our quick guide to seasonal colours:

Spring

Spring is the season of pastels. Shades such as pale pinks, yellows and whites are perfect for this time of year, as they represent a fresh start.

Our ranunculus single stems are a great faux floral choice to use in a spring-themed garland.

Summer

As the heat rolls in, so do brighter colours! Vibrant pinks, oranges and yellows are a classic choice.

We think tropical stems, like our artificial orchid stem, are perfect for the summer.

Autumn

Autumn is the time of harvest, where colours like burnt oranges, deep reds, and dark greens become more present.

Sunflowers are a popular flower choice for this time of year, and can be symbolic of the local wildlife gathering seeds in preparation for winter.

Winter

Cold weather and cosy evenings can only mean one thing, winter has arrived. You cannot go wrong with traditional winter whites, Christmas reds and forest greens.

Berry sprays and winter flowers, like poinsettia, are the quintessential choice for the winter period.

Want to discover more on colour theory? Check out our 'the meaning and psychology of flower colours' blog, or delve deeper into flowers for special occasions in our '10 best & most popular flowers for weddings' blog post.

Choosing flowers by shape

When picking florals, it is important to consider what you want the structure of your garland to look like. If you want your faux floral garland to be evenly shaped, opt for artificial flowers of similar sizes; whereas if you are looking to create a more whimsical or natural-looking garland, try using a variety of different flower sizes and types.

What we chose & why:

Before going into the craft and our faux flower choices, we recommend you choose a 'statement flower', a 'tail flower' and a type of foliage spray.

A 'statement flower' refers to a large or bold flower that you want the rest of the garland to centre around - in our garland, we use a sunflower as our statement flower. For a garland measuring 120cm, we use three sunflowers total; one in the centre and two on either side, spreading out from the middle - if your garland is 200cm or over, we recommend increasing to five statement flowers.

A 'tail flower' refers to a small, and typically longer, flower that can be used at the two ends of the garland, and blend well within those chosen foliage type. For this we used a larkspur spray, however our artificial cosmo, cornflower or stock, would work just as well.

Foliage sprays are going to form most of the basic structure of the garland and help to hide imperfections when crafting, so it's important to choose a foliage spray that will suit you. We recommend opting for a 'fluffy' foliage spray like a silver dollar eucalyptus or laurel foliage spray.

How to make a DIY artificial flower garland

Making an artificial flower garland step-by-step:

1. What you'll need

2. Building the base of your artificial garland

3. Finding your style

4. Adding foliage and flowers to your garland

5. Adding 'statement flowers'

6. And repeat for the other side!

What do you need to make fake flower garlands?

• Thick string or twine

• A pair of wire cutters

• A pair of scissors

• A hot glue gun & spare hot glue gun sticks

• Artificial single stems ( x15 minimum for a 120cm garland - 3x statement flowers, 2x 'tail' flowers, 6x foliage spray and x4 floral stems)

• Green cable ties

• Tape measure

Step 1: Building the base of your artificial garland

Begin by measuring how long you want the garland to be and then add an extra 20cm to it - for example, to create a 120cm garland, you will need to cut your twine at 140cm. Repeat this 3 times, so you have three pieces of twine that are all of an equal length.

Secure the three ends of twine together using a cable tie, and begin to braid the twine until you reach the bottom. Once you have done this, secure the other end with a cable tie and cut any excess.

Once you have a secure 'rope braid', you can begin to experiment with your artificial flowers.

Step 2: Finding your style

Play about with your faux stems until you create a look you love!

Step 3: Adding foliage and flowers to your garland

Now you can begin weaving flowers and foliage into your garland!

Cut one of your foliage spray into segments - we think its better to have a mixture of both long and short sections in order to create a more natural look.

Working from one end, begin to 'push' the segments into the braid. When you're happy with the look, you can begin to secure the foliage to the braid, using cable ties and hot glue.

Once you have secured that foliage spray, we can begin to add the 'tail' flowers.

Working down from the end you started at, begin to add your flower stems alongside more foliage, until you get to 1/4 of the garland. Don't forget to secure the stems with cable ties and hot glue as you go.

Step 4: Adding 'statement flowers'.

Once you have completed about a quarter of the garland, you can begin to introduce your statement flowers.

Leaving a 5-10cm gap from the completed area of the garland, push the stem of the statement flower into the braided twine and secure it with a cable tie - you can also use hot glue for extra security.

Begin to add extra foliage and flowers, working around the direction of the statement flower. This ensures the statement flower stands out and will blend naturally into the rest of the garland.

Top Tip: to ensure your garland looks good from all angles, we recommend adding extra foliage to cover the back of statement flowers.

Once you've done this, you can begin to add more foliage until you reach the centre of your garland.

Step 5: And repeat for the other side!

Once you have reached the centre, repeat step 4 so that a beautiful statement flower is in the centre of your garland.

When this has been done, its time to repeat! Working from the other end of the garland, begin to add artificial foliage and flowers, aiming to mirror the already completed side.

Don't forget to regularly rotate your garland to ensure it looks good on all sides.

And voila!

Want to take your artificial craft ot the next level? Why not make it smell good too! Check out our 'making your artificial flowers smell great' blog post, where we reveal all the best tips & tricks to make your fauxs seem identical to the real thing.

Need help making your fake flower garland?

Not the craft for you? Feel free to check out our other blogs, or contact us.