Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule

Yule is the Wiccan celebration of the winter solstice. It is traditional at this time of year to make your own decorations for the home and altar. Follow this simple method to make a beautiful cedar swag for Yule.

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Materials Needed

The first thing you'll need to make a cedar swag for Yule is six stems of Cedar, each twelve inches long. This will form the base for the cedar swag. You can purchase these in craft and hobby stores or gather them from nature.

Other materials you need to make a cedar swag for Yule are two pinecones two inches in length, white acrylic paint, ½ inch flat paint brush, four yards red velvet ribbon (2 ½ inches wide), medium floral wire, wire cutters and a hot glue gun with glue sticks.

You can purchase the pine cones or gather them from nature. If they are gathered, you will first need to bake them at 200 degrees F for thirty minutes to kill any insects or larvae that may inhabit them.

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Step #1

The first step you'll take to make a cedar swag for Yule is to paint the tips of the pinecone petals with the white acrylic paint and flat paintbrush. Then, set them aside to dry thoroughly.

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Step #2

The second step you'll take to make a cedar swag for Yule is to make a nine-looped bow with eighteen inch tails using the velvet ribbon. If you don't know how to do this, please see my article "How to Make a Multi-Loop Bow".

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Step #3

The third step to make a cedar swag for Yule is to wire the pinecones into the center of the nine-loop bow. Use the medium floral wire to accomplish this and make sure to hide the floral wire behind the bow so it's not visible from the front.

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Step #4

The next step to make a cedar swag for Yule is to place the cedar stems end to end, overlapping them by two inches. Then, wire the stems together with the medium floral wire.

Yule Crafts: Make a Cedar Swag for Yule - Step #5

The next step to make a cedar swag for Yule is to cut a thirty inch piece of floral wire and wire the bow over the center of the swag. Leave two long wire tails for use as a hanger when attaching the arrangement to its final location.

Now you've made a beautiful cedar swag for Yule. Place it near your altar, on your front door or anywhere in your home that may need a little touch of nature for the holidays.