I saw a lighted garland here at ADD Housewife a few weeks ago and thought it would be a perfect way to further decrease my overwhelming stack of fabric for repurposing. After Eli left for preschool I quickly gathered my supplies.
Materials:
An old sheet – There are a few pieces of shirting fabric left over from long ago quilt projects and as I worked I included a couple of contrasting fabrics as well.
A strand of lights – I later added a second alongside to make it extra bright and colorful. My stands were 100 light strands as I wanted to hang this around the patio doors If you are making this for a mantle go with a 50 light strand or fold your 100 light strand in half.
A method for cutting– I wanted to use pinking shears but couldn’t find them (grrr!) but was so glad later when I saw how much cutting was actually involved to be using a matt and rotary cutter)
Step 1
Cut strips of cloth. Since I didn’t have the pinking shears and didn’t want tons of shedding I cut my cloth on the bias. Actually I was too lazy to find the actual bias, I cut it in a generally diagonal fashion. It worked. I cut most of the strips 2″ wide and of varying lengths from 5-10″ long. I didn’t measure the lengths… just eyeballed and hacked. I later cut other fabric 1″ in width to fill in bits of wire along the length with the thinner pieces as needed. I also chose to add some other fabrics of contrast as I got going. The darker of these I also cut to 1″ width.
Step 2
Fold a strip of cloth in half, bring it around the wire and pull the tails through the loop. I worked along the length of wire by putting the fabric on, jumping ahead a few inches before adding more and then doing the same thing back and forth again down the wire. This way I could better gauge where I wanted to put thicker verses thinner strips and longer verses shorter. I was also able to work in my accent fabrics a little more regularly than if I had just started at one end and worked all the way to the other.
Step 3

Excuse the off center photo. Our tree’s lights at the very top decided not to light this year and we are only midway through rectifying the situation. I didn’t really want to showcase our tree in it’s current state on the blog.
When the garland is as full as you want it to be hang ‘er up. Yeah, three steps. It really is that easy.

I may go back in later and further cover up the bits of wire that still show. Once you step back it’s not so noticeable though and I was out of fabric from that particular sheet. The jury is still out as to whether the strips of darker fabric will remain or not.
Now you can really vary your look for these garlands through fabric choice, light color choice, using uniform length strips verses untidy multi length strips. ADD Housewife mentions on her blog that she has made many of these corresponding to different holidays… because of course, garlands aren’t just for Christmas anymore!
I was featured!
Here’s where I’m linking up:
Sunday:
I {heart} Naptime, Flamingo Toes, jembellish clothes upcycling page,
Monday:
Get Outta My Head Please, Skip to My Lou, The Gunny Sack, Sew Can Do,
A Round Tuit, C.R.A.F.T., diy home sweet home,
Craft-O Maniac, Sew Chatty, Sarahndipities , The Cure for the Common Monday
Tuesday:
Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Kammy’s Korner,
Home Stories A to Z, Crafty Confessions, Homemade Tuesday, Today’s Assignment,
Antiprocrastination Tuesday, Take-a-Look Tuesday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday,
The Creative Itch Boutique, Schwin and Schwin, Heart and Soul Blog Hop
Wednesday:
Sew Much Ado, Frugally Sustainable, Lil’ Luna, Someday Crafts, Whimsy
Wednesday, Whatcha Work Up Wednesday
Thursday:
Mom On Timeout, Thrifty Decorating, Bear Rabbit Bear, Thriving on Thursdays
The Crafty Blogstalker, The Shabby Creek Cottage, House of Hepworths,
Sorta Crunchy, Delightful Order, Anything Goes Linky Party,
Friday:
Simply Designing, Whipperberry, Happy Hour Projects,
Joyful Stamper, Making Lemonade Blog, Thirty Handmade Days,
Naptime Crafters, Romantic Home, Finding Fabulous,
Shabby Nest, French Country Cottage, The Charm of Home, The Grant Life,
At the Picket Fence, Fingerprints on the Fridge, One Artsy Mama,
Saturday:
The Gingerbread Blog, Too Much Time On My Hands, Hello Weekend,