I love how simple this project is and these garlands look great on a mantle piece or draped over a picture frame.

You will need …

• Green & red felt

• Thick thread such as perle cotton

• Scissors

• Needle with an eye big enough for the thread you use

How to …

• To create the holly leaves you can create yourself a template but they are quite easy to freestyle cut. Take a strip of felt the width you want your leaves and fold this in half longways. Make the first cut in a quarter arc from the centre fold to the edge. Then make a semi circle arc from the edge where you finished the first cut to further down the strip. Then make a final quarter arc cut from the point where you finished to the centre fold. You can vary the size and shape of the arcs and if you don’t like the look of any when you open them up you can trim them down until you are happy with the shape.

• To create the berries you can cut around a coin or just freestyle cut circles.

• Once you’ve cut a range of leaves and berries you can start threading them together to create a garland. Cut a length of thread as long as you want your garland to be and thread the needle. To add the leaves and berries stitch running stitch through each in turn and push them towards the end of the thread (but leaving at least 20cm from the end). The garland looks best if leaves and berries alternate and if you mix up the order of the leaves if you’ve used different colours.