Learning how to make garland is a great holiday project or any time for fun DIY crafts for kids because nature garland or Christmas garland with fruit is so beautiful! Learn how to make fruit garland, how to make pinecone garland with dried fruit, or get natural garland ideas.
HOW TO MAKE A GARLAND OUT OF DRIED FRUIT
How do you make a natural Christmas garland?
Christmas nature garland can be made out of anything you can find in nature and string together on a natural twine like:
- Evergreen branches
- Leaves
- Pinecones
- Dried lemons
- Berries
- Dried limes
- Cranberries
- Dried oranges
- Dried apples
How do you make dried fruit Christmas garland?
If you’re wondering how do you make dried fruit for Christmas decorations or how do you dry oranges for decorations, there are several ways:
- Dry fruit in the microwave
- Dehydrate them using a dehydrator
- Make dried fruit in the oven
How To Make Dry Fruit Garland:
Learn how to dry oranges and make dried apples for your garland.
(You can use this same process for how to make lemon garland or any dried citrus for garland.)
More How To Make A Garland For Christmas (or How To Make Cranberry Garland):
HOW TO MAKE POPCORN GARLAND WITH CRANBERRY
Where should I put garland in my house?
- Around the front door
- On the Christmas tree
- Hanging on the fireplace mantel
- Around windows
- Draped on the stair banister
- On the balcony outside
How long does real garland last?
How long real garland will last depends on what you use for your natural DIY garland. If you use fresh greenery (like evergreen garland fresh), it will last up to a month, especially if it’s in the cold (like outdoors). If you are using fresh dried fruit garland, it can last between 6 months – 2 years.
Children’s Books to Pair with This Craft
OK! Let’s get to how to make real garland.
If you’re wondering what to do with the stuff you find on nature walks with kids, you’ll love this nature inspired garland!
How To Make Homemade Garland
We’ve listed what we used for our homemade garland, but you can get creative and use anything you find in nature!
We used natural twine for our diy pine garland with dried fruit, but you can use any color of (thick) string, twine, or yarn that matches your project.
We didn’t use sugared fruit, but you can make frosted fruit garland, too, by sugaring them (especially if you are using cranberries). LEARN HOW TO SUGAR CRANBERRIES HERE
How To Make Garland
You'll be surprised when you learn how to make garland and see how easy it is! Play around with it by adding your own items (like paper snowflakes!) and have fun with this holiday craft!
Materials
- Natural twine
- Dried orange slices
- Dried apple slices
- Pine cones
Tools
- Scissors
- Yarn needle
Instructions
- Cut a length of twine to the length of garland that you want to make.
- Thread the twine through the yarn needle. Tie a knot in one end of the twine (big enough so it doesn't slip through) and pull the knot up to the eye of the needle. You should have a single layer of thread. [To learn how to dry fruit, see the dried apples post and the dried oranges post]
- Starting with a dried orange, carefully thread the needle in one side of the orange and then out the other so that the dried orange slices hang evenly. Slide the orange close to the other end of the twine, but not at the very tip.
- Next, carefully thread the dried apple on one side and then out the other (like you did for the orange slice). Push the apple as close to the orange slice as you want. Some people like their fruit garland tight, but we like it loose and left about 4-6 inches in between each element.
- From the twine roll, cut a piece of twine about 3 inches long. Tie a pinecone onto the garland twine next to the apple.
- Repeat the same pattern, dried orange, dried apple, pinecone, until you've created the garland length you want.
- Remove yarn needle from twine and tie a knot in each end of the garland to prevent your items from sliding off.
- Carefully hang garland on Christmas tree, fireplace mantel, on stairs or even in your classroom or craft room!
Notes
We used our homemade nature garland for our homeschool room, so we tied the pinecones hanging down from our dried fruit (instead of threading it beside the apples and oranges).
