Sunshine Wreath

I've been teasing this summer craft for a couple months now. I finished it last weekend. It's a crochet and pompom wreath!

The base is made much like a hat. The crochet starts in the middle, increases to the size needed, then decreases to get smaller to fit the wreath form. This took about a skein and a half of yarn.

On the front, you can see how the increases make a sort of spiral shape at the points of increase.

I made pompoms in two sizes using my excellent pompom tool. I made six large pompoms and six extra-large pompoms. I also crocheted the two pink circles for the cheeks.

I did a dry fit on the wreath form, placing yarn markers at each spot where a pompom would be attached. I also figured out the cheek placement and marked the center with another yarn marker. Then I had to let the project sit for a while as I noodled out how to attach all the pieces together, how to place the eyes and mouth, and how big to make the stitches.

I finally just jumped in and tried it. All the planning in the world can't guarantee success. More problems usually arise. Many times, the solutions to problems reveal themselves as I work on a piece. I decided to tie the pompoms onto the base first. 

Then I sewed down the cheeks. I had to do the first cheek twice because my original sewing looked awkward. The solution was to use a running stitch instead of an overcast stitch. 

I used a disappearing ink sewing marker to draw out the eyes and mouth. I used some black yarn and a chain stitch to embroider the facial features.

I used a ten inch foam wreath form for this project. I fit the crocheted base around the wreath form.  It fit fairly well, but needed to be tighter so that the pompoms didn't droop.

So I threaded the end of the yarn through the edge of the base, cinched it up, crisscrossed it, and tied it into place. This way the front of the wreath has a nice taut base. (This photo shows my first attempt, before I attached the pompoms). 

It took a bit of finessing to get all the pompoms to line up around the wreath. Some of them were wiggly and needed a second piece of yarn to tie them to the base. That helped hold the rogue pomoms in place more securely.

The final wreath is about fourteen inches in diameter. I'd originally made this wreath to hang on the front porch and wanted it to be big enough to be seen from the street. Unfortunately, we have a lot of spiders that make their home on our porch (my American Flag Wreath has a nest of them). A yarn wreath wasn't going to survive. 

So instead, I hung the Sunshine Wreath over the fireplace in the living room. Dale and I will get to enjoy it there more often anyway.

I used an adorable pillow pattern by Repeat Crafter Me to make my wreath. Instead of making a back and stuffing it as a pillow, I used the form to make a wreath.

I'm pleased with the way it came out. Were I to change anything, I'd make smaller pompoms, probably all of the same size, and have more of them. But I ran out of yarn and don't feel like ordering another skein, so I'll leave the decoration as is. She's pretty cute.