Bittersweet and Broomcorn Wreath

I've made a lot of broomcorn wreaths over the years, usually using a metal coathanger or the premade 12 and 18 inch metal hoops. This week, however, I had a request for a larger wreath, which I knew would be the perfect time to experiment with adding bittersweet to the broomcorn.

To begin, you will need a 24 inch grapevine wreath to use as the base. Cover it with broomcorn, using 22 gauge wire to secure the broomcorn to the grapevine base. Normally I go around the edges with brown thread (which is pretty much invisible against broomcorn) to keep the broomcorn tight, but since this wreath was so big, I thought it looked better with the edges loose, so I left them alone.

Tie a large, two loop bow from some autumn wire-edged ribbon. I found that plaid looked very nice. Secure it to the wreath with wreath wire.

Make four bunches of bittersweet stalks, each piece being about 4-6 inches in length. Fasten them to the wreath with wire putting two bunches at the top near the bow, and two bunches toward the bottom, but leaving several inches of space in the middle between them.

Make three bunch of dried roses (yellow or red work best as they're autumn colors). Use wreath wire to fasten the rose bunches on the wreath, in between the bittersweet bunches.

Hang this wreath on an indoor wall or outside under an eave.