Looking for a super easy (and inexpensive) Dia de los Muertos wreath tutorial? You’ve come to the right website! Using only items that cost $1 or less, this super cute rag wreath is large enough for a front door or window. Here’s the scoop on how my Day of the Dead wreath DIY was done.
If you’ve been to this website before (thank you!), you may know that my daughter has Mexican heritage. And, truthfully, I love to embrace it, especially when it comes to Mexican holidays. Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a three-day celebration starting on Halloween and ending on November 2nd. The celebration is filled with flowers, sugar skulls, and papel picado. It’s colorful, beautiful, and a lovely tribute to family members that have passed on.
Last year, we actually had the pleasure of celebrating Dia de los Muertos at Mexico Pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World. My daughter loved it!
So, in honor of the Day of the Dead, I’ve created a fun, rag wreath using inexpensive items. Of course, you can feel free to upgrade to more expensive ones if you like. The time commitment is roughly an hour to 90 minutes, depending on how fast you can cut, and the effort is so worth it.
Day of the Dead Wreath Supplies
To make this Dia de los Muertos wreath, you’ll need the following:
- 1 Wire Wreath. You can find it in the craft/holiday section at Dollar Tree
- 5 11×60 inch sugar skull scarves. You’ll be cutting these up to make the rags. I found mine at Dollar Tree.
- 3 bunches of brightly colored silk flowers. I got mine at Walmart for 97 cents a bunch.
- 1 roll of wide ribbon. Your choice – I got mine in the Halloween section at Dollar Tree.
- 1 Sugar Skull Paper Halloween Decoration. Again, feel free to customize. I found mine at Dollar Tree.
If you look at the photo, there are two packages of creepy cloth and a paint-yourself sugar skull. I ended up not using both.
Day of the Dead Wreath DIY: Instructions
It’s super easy to make, I promise. You’ll be using three scarves for longer pieces and two scarves for shorter, inner pieces. Here’s the scoop:
Cutting the Scarves into Rags
- Take three of the scarves and fold each in half longways. One at a time, start cutting it into one-inch pieces. You can just make a big pile. Don’t worry about precision, either. As long as each piece is roughly an inch wide, you’ll be good to go.
- For the other two, cut the scarf down the middle longways, then cut into one-inch pieces. Again, precision is not necessary.
Take a look at my wire wreath – there are four separate wire rings to it. Starting with the second largest ring (check out the photo above for reference), tie the larger rags all the way around it. Use all three scarves’ worth.
Once you have that finished, tie the smaller rags onto the third largest ring. You don’t have to make a knot, just a simple one-end-over-the-other-and-through type of tie. You will want to make them snug, though.
Once the rag part is finished, it will look like this:
Add the Flowers to the Day of the Dead Wreath
If you have a hot glue gun, use it to save some time. If not, you can wire all of the pieces in.
Pull a few of the silk flowers off their stems. I added them to the wreath before gluing down to get a feel of what I wanted it to look like. Next, glue or wire them onto the wreath. I wanted them to look like a corona de flores (flower crown), so I added the largest flower into the center and smaller ones on wither side. Again, totally your choice.
Add Decorations and a Bow
Lastly, I pulled apart my Dollar Tree sugar skull decoration and hot glued a top hat to one of the skulls. I made a simple bow and glued a sugar skull into the middle. Then, I wired it to the wreath frame.
Once it was hung on my door, I fluffed up the rags to make it look fuller. I also think that the rose crown gives a nice base for the top rags.
Tips for Celebrating Dia de Los Muertos
Our friends at Porch have an amazing post on tips for celebrating Dia de Los Muertos at home. Above, check out the infographic on the meanings of popular Dia items and what they represent.
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