Items Needed:
- 12 inch wire wreath. I got mine at Wal Mart for $2 but you can find on Amazon here: wire wreath
- Spray Paint (whatever color tulle you are using)- purchased at Wal Mart but you can find similar on Amazon here: spray paint
- 8 yards of tulle- Purchased at Jo Ann Fabric
- Crystals- I opted for two different sizes on Amazon. You can find on Amazon here: 18 mm and 14 mm
- Fishing line- 20 lb and 6 lb- Purchased at Wal Mart
Step 1:
Spray paint your wire wreath. You will probably need more than 1 coat on each side. My amazing husband helped with this part. Allow about 2 days for this step so you can allow the paint to fully dry on each side between coats.
Step 2:
Attach the 20 lb fishing line to each of the 6 "cross bars" of the wreath. Each crossbar should have a "bump" between the second and third rung, and you will want to tie it to that. Make sure to tie a few knots on each strand since you don't want this falling down and hurting someone later. Make each strand 1.5- 2 ft. long (depends on your ceiling height). Once you have tied the fishing line on all 6 bumps, tie all six strands together at the top. Make sure each strand is the same length, or your chandelier will hang off center. Note- you can also do this after step 5. You just need to make sure you complete it before you start attaching beads.
Step 3:
Cut your tulle. Since I was figuring things out, I cut as I went instead of cutting all pieces upfront. What I learned is that for the outermost rung, you need the shortest strips of tulle, and as you work your way to the inside, they need to be longer. All strips should be about 2 inches wide although I included some 3 inch cuts for variety. Note- I wanted an aggressively fluffy tutu so I opted to cover all four circles. For a less full tutu, you can skip putting tulle on one or two of the circles.
Outer Circle: 6 inches long
Second Circle: 7 inches long
Third Circle: 8 inches long
Inner Circle: 9 inches long
Step 4:
Starting on the outermost circle, make some knots. In order to do that, take 3 strips of tulle to make a bundle and bend the bundle in half. Put the loop side of the bundle under the wire and then wrap the ends around and slide through the loop. Pull tight to make a knot.
Go around the entire outer circle knotting the bundles to the wreath. Every so often, I would put a bundle of 2 pieces of tulle on the wreath instead of the standard 3. Each section (there are 6 sections) of the outermost circle will have about 15 bundles knotted to it.
Step 5:
Move to the second circle. For this circle, tulle strips should be 7 inches long. Knot the first and second bundles of tulle as you had in on the outermost circle. However, on the second bundle that you knot, flip the direction downward. You will need to to this to get a full look on both sides. Alternate one bundle up and one bundle down around the second circle. For this circle, you will have about 13 bundles in each section. Continue this process for the third circle and the inner circle. For the third circle, bundles should be 8 inches in length, and you will have about 11 bundles per section. For the inner circle, bundles should be 9 inches in length, and you will have about 9 bundles per section. Note- I followed the same process as I did for the outermost circle in that every so often, I would put a couple bundles of 2 pieces of tulle in the mix.
Once you finish knotting all your circles, the tutu part of the chandelier should look like this:
Step 6:
Now you are ready to start putting together the hanging strands of beads. For this part, you will want to make sure that you have somewhere to hang the tutu while you hang the beads so the strands do not get tangled.
You will need about 6 strands of beads for each section- 3 on the outermost rung and 2-3 on the inner most rung. I used 34 strands in total (18 on the outer rung and 16 on the inner)
Divide out all your beads into 34-36 piles. I tried to do 3-6 beads on each strand with the majority of strands having 4 beads.
Step 7:
Utilizing your first pile of beads, select one and string the 6 lb fishing line through the hole. Tie a few knots to make sure that it is secure. I probably went overboard and tied 7-8 knots. Cut the fishing line at any desired length. Since this will be the bead closest to the tutu, you will want to make this part extra long so you can tie this to the wreath later.
Continue stringing/knotting beads to make your strands. You will want the look to be a bit random, so no need to measure each one precisely. I elected to make my strands between 16-24 inches long in total but you will want to do what is right for your space.
Step 8:
Once you have made all your strands, start tying them to the wreath. These strands tangle easily, which is why you will hang them from the outermost rung and the inner most rung and skip the two rungs in the middle. You will hang 18 strands from the outermost rung (3 in each section) and 16-18 from the inner most (2-3 in each section).
Then Voila! You are done!!!!!!
Thank you to those who wrote such amazing blogs that helped me piece together how to make this.
Crystal Chandelier with Ruffle
Tulle Wreath
