How to Decorate a Wire Wreath Frame for Halloween (4 Easy Ways)
To decorate a wire wreath frame, first cover the wire with a base material: deco mesh, tulle, ribbon or strips of fabric, fastened to the frame's rings with pipe cleaners or knots. Then add your Halloween details on top, such as spiders, bats, a small sign or a big bow, using floral wire or hot glue on the base layer rather than on the bare wire.
Wire frames are cheap, light and reusable, which makes them the easiest way to build a new door wreath each season. Below are four ways to cover one, how to add decorations that stay put outdoors, and how to hang the finished wreath.
What You Need
- A wire wreath frame (a store-bought box frame, a single wire ring, or one you make from a coat hanger)
- A base material: deco mesh, tulle, wide ribbon or strips of fabric in Halloween colors
- Pipe cleaners (chenille stems) or floral wire
- Scissors and wire cutters
- Decorations: plastic spiders, felt or paper bats, a small sign, faux leaves or berries
- A hot glue gun, used by an adult
- Wide ribbon for a bow and a loop for hanging
Know Your Wire Frame
Wire frames come in a few shapes, and the shape decides which base material works best.
| Frame type | What it looks like | Best covering |
|---|---|---|
| Box or 4-ring frame | Several rings joined by cross bars, flat or slightly domed | Deco mesh, tulle, fabric strips |
| Single or double wire ring | One or two plain rings | Wrapped ribbon, yarn or fabric |
| Coat hanger ring | One bent wire ring | Wrapped ribbon or tulle tied in bunches |
Box frames have more places to tie things, so they hold full, puffy coverings. Single rings suit slimmer, wrapped designs.
Step 1: Choose a Color Scheme
A Halloween wreath looks best with two or three colors, such as black and orange, black and purple, or black, white and lime green. Pick the base color first and keep the accent colors for the decorations, so the wreath reads clearly from the street.
Step 2: Cover the Frame
Choose one of these four coverings. Each one hides the wire completely and gives decorations something soft to attach to.
Way 1: Deco mesh (fullest look)
- Twist a pipe cleaner around the inner ring, the middle ring and the outer ring at about every quarter of the frame, leaving the ends sticking up. On a large frame, add more.
- Gather the end of the mesh roll into a bunch and twist the first pipe cleaner around it to hold it.
- Push up a loop of mesh about 6 inches (15 cm) tall, gather it at the next pipe cleaner and twist that pipe cleaner tight.
- Keep making loops, working round each ring in turn, until the frame is covered. Then tuck the pipe cleaner ends to the back.
Our tutorial on making Halloween wreaths with mesh shows this technique with photos.
Way 2: Tulle (soft and fluffy)
- Cut tulle into strips about 6 by 12 inches (15 by 30 cm).
- Fold a strip in half, place the fold under a ring, pull the ends through the loop and tighten. This is the same lark's head knot used for no-sew tutus.
- Push each knot close to the last one until every ring is full.
See how to tie tulle around a wreath ring and our easy tulle wreath for close-up steps.
Way 3: Wrapped ribbon (sleek)
- Glue the end of a wide ribbon to the back of the ring.
- Wrap the ribbon round and round at a slight angle, overlapping each turn by about a third.
- Glue the other end at the back. On a box frame, wrap each ring separately.
Way 4: Fabric strips (rag wreath)
- Tear old T-shirts, sheets or fabric scraps into strips about 1 by 8 inches (2.5 by 20 cm).
- Tie each strip onto the rings in a double knot, pushing the knots tightly together.
- Mix black, orange and patterned scraps for a cozy, homemade look.
Step 3: Add Halloween Decorations
Decorations hold best when they're wired or glued to the covering, not to the bare frame. Lay everything out on the wreath before fixing anything, and group items in odd numbers, usually in one cluster at the bottom or side.
- Spiders and webs: wire plastic spiders on with pipe cleaners, and stretch a little stretchy cobweb across one side. Our Perler bead spider web makes a sturdy centerpiece.
- Bats and silhouettes: cut bats or crows from black card or felt and glue them to wooden skewers pushed into the covering. Our free printable crow silhouettes work well here.
- A sign: write "Boo" or "Trick or Treat" on a small wooden or card sign and wire it across the middle.
- Autumn touches: tuck in faux leaves, berries or mini pumpkins for a wreath that lasts into November.
- A bow: tie a large bow from wired ribbon and fix it at the top or bottom with a pipe cleaner.
Step 4: Hang the Wreath
Tie a loop of ribbon or a pipe cleaner round the top of the outer ring on the back. Hang it from an over-the-door hook or a nail. If the door gets direct sun or rain, choose plastic decorations and deco mesh, which stand up to weather better than paper, felt or fabric.
Troubleshooting
- The wire shows through: add more loops or knots, or wrap the frame with a strip of black ribbon before you start so any gaps look dark.
- Decorations fall off: hot glue doesn't grip mesh or tulle well on its own. Wire items on with a pipe cleaner, then add glue.
- The wreath tilts on the door: heavy decorations are pulling one side down. Move some weight to the opposite side or add a second hanging loop.
- The mesh flattens: fluff each loop with your fingers, and store the wreath in a box rather than squashed in a bag.
Safety Notes
Cut wire with wire cutters, not scissors, and bend sharp ends inward so they can't scratch. Hot glue guns are an adult job. Keep wreaths with tulle, paper or fabric away from candles and lit jack-o'-lanterns, and use battery lights if you want the wreath to glow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you attach things to a wire wreath frame?
Twist pipe cleaners or floral wire around the frame's rings and use them to hold mesh, ribbon or decorations in place. Fabric and tulle can be knotted straight onto the rings. Hot glue works for light items on a ribbon or fabric covering, but it holds poorly on bare wire.
How much deco mesh do I need for a wire wreath frame?
It depends on the frame's size and how tall you make the loops, so check the label on the mesh roll and the frame's diameter. Bigger loops use mesh faster. Buying one extra roll in your accent color lets you fill gaps without running short partway round.
Can I make my own wire wreath frame?
Yes. A wire coat hanger bent into a circle makes a sturdy single-ring frame, and our wire wreath frame tutorial shows how. For a free indoor alternative, you can also make a wreath form from cardboard.
What can I use instead of deco mesh?
Tulle, wide ribbon, fabric strips, yarn or faux leaves all cover a wire wreath frame well. Tulle gives a similar fluffy look for less, fabric strips use up scraps, and wrapped ribbon suits a simple frame with a single ring.
Want more door decor? Try our tissue paper garland or the felt wreath kits for fall, and see our guide to storing Halloween decorations so your wreath is ready again next year. Browse every wreath project in our wreaths section.
