Make this Simple Rustic Garland in Minutes!

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Learn “how to” make this natural rustic pinecone garland that adds the perfect SIMPLE touch to your holiday decor. This natural garland is both budget and earth friendly and can be made in only 10 minutes! You will love how versatile this holiday garland is and how easy it is to make!

how to make pinecone garland

Today I am going to share with you “how to” make this all natural pinecone garland with burlap bows. It can be displayed year round in your home or you could add a holiday ribbon for a festive touch. I love to incorporate nature elements into my holiday decor. It brings a SIMPLE peaceful beauty to the hustle and bustle of the season.

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Where can i display this garland?

This SIMPLE garland will add a special, natural touch to your holiday table for early fall through late winter. Decorate window frames and ledges, fireplace mantel, front door, windows & walkways. When you add a strand of garland to door frames, over a bed, on your stairs, over a mirror, or even on a shelf adds a warmth to the room!

For the love of pinecones!

Our Eastern White pine trees were loaded last summer and fall with cones and they filled our side woods with beautiful mounds of fragrant gold. Late summer and early fall my kids picked up buckets of cones, and cleaned off all of the pine needles and leaves. My house smelled like Christmas as we baked all of the pinecones to “debug” them.
Our trees had never been that full in the two decades we have lived here! I was told if the trees have lots of clusters at the top then a lot of snow will fall that winter. They were right! It was one of the snowiest winters I’ve experienced here in the North Country.

Materials

For your convenience I’ve added the product links (highlighted items) that you may SHOP directly from

JUTE TWINE – you may use ribbon, cord or trim instead.
3 INCH WIDE BURLAP RIBBON – 12″ long total to make 2 – 6″ bows at either end
(or your choice of ribbon)
2 Acorns (or any natural element such as dehydrated fruit slices)
HOT GLUE GUN & glue sticks or E6000 GLUE
12 Pinecones (we used white eastern pine) – Here’s are some that you may like! (15) 3″-4″ PINECONES

(I used jute and burlap because it’s compostable, inexpensive, earth friendly and I had plenty on hand).

tools you may need

Scissors
Ruler or tape measure
Chalk or marker

Ready to create!

The following measurements are for the garland (shown in photo above) which measures 36 decorative inches long (with 5 inches of cord extra on either side for hanging)

• 1-Cut your jute twine to your 46 inches. (or cut to your desired length PLUS add 1 foot for hanging which is leaves 6 inches on each end). Then cut nine 4 inch pieces for the pinecone ties.
• Tip: Tie your ribbon to 2 chairs for stability as you’re tying on the bows and cones.
• 2-Assemble bows:
• Cut two 16 inch strips of burlap (or your choice of ribbon) & two 2 inch pieces for the “center” of your bow
• a-Cut 2 piece of jute (or ribbon) about 4 inches.
• b-Take one 16 inch strip and lay it out flat, folding it over in an accordion style with four 4 inch folds. Repeat for second bow.
• c-Take one 4 inch jute or ribbon piece and tie right in the center of the folds for the center of your bow. Double knot for stability and leave extra jute hanging in back of bow. Fluff out the bow, bringing both end pieces down. Repeat for second bow.
• d-Take your acorn & glue their tops on (usually when they are well dried their caps pop off). Apply glue to the center of your bow and place your acorn in the center. Set both bows off to the side to dry.
• 3-Take the nine 4 inch strips of jute and tie one onto the bottom of each pinecone, leaving equal amount of jute on each side to make it easier to tie onto to the garland.
• 4-Measure out every 4 inches on your garland with your chalk or marker. Leaving 6 inches on both ends!
• 5-Tie a pinecone onto each of the nine marks on your garland (use a dab of glue if you don’t want them to be movable).
• 6-Take each of your bows and tie onto the last pinecone on each end leaving the 6 inches on each end to tie up your garland. Now your creation is READY TO DISPLAY!

What can you do with extra pinecones?

Pinecones can also be placed in baskets for decor, made into bird feeders, crafted into place setting name tags, wreaths, added to potpourri, dipped in wax for fire starters, made into ornaments, added to a table centerpiece. They can be crafted or displayed plain, bleached, glittered or painted for variety. Pinecones also make great all natural mulch for both indoor and outdoor gardens!

Please share with us photos of your own creations and where you will decorating with your garland!

Baking your pinecones – my favorite part!

Pinecone scales close up when cold and wet, locking in bugs and dirt. Baking them will open up their scales to release anything trapped and create a nice full shaped cone. This is sure to fill your home with the most incredible holiday fragrance and its 100% all natural & toxin free (as long as your pine trees are pesticide free).

I bake mine at 200-250* for about an hour or two, our cones are on the larger size and loaded with sap. The sap will melt and leave an all natural shine to your cones. I use an old cookie sheet lined in parchment paper. (they can become brittle if baking too high or too long). Do not leave them unattended, and monitor closely to ensure sap does not leak onto oven and become a fire hazard. When the sap has melted, take your pan out of the oven and remove the parchment paper lined with cones and place in an area to cool and dry for a few hours. If you are purchasing pinecones online or at a local craft store most likely they have already been debugged and ready to craft with.