DIY wheat sheaves

The great thing about wheat sheaves is that they can be augmented with various flowers and botanicals depending on the season. Wheat sheaves traditionally celebrate harvest season, but these days they can be used for decoration year-round.

Making a wheat sheaf

A large wheat sheaf is easily made by combining about three handfuls of dried wheat stems. These are naturally free-standing, so make an easy table centre at an event, or focal point for home decor – for example on a sideboard or French dresser.

To make a wheat sheaf, cut all the wheat stems to the same length (I cut to 40cm for a large sheaf), tidying and discarding the loose leaves as you go. Put an elastic band loosely around the waist and even up the wheat heads, trimming off the bottoms of any that are too long. Twist the whole bunch gently to enhance the natural twist effect that takes place when you add the elastic band – this will enable the whole thing to stand up. Tie with a ribbon of your choice at the narrowest point and remove the elastic band.

If you tie the ribbon a little loose, there will be space to insert additional stems. I find this easiest if the wheat sheaf is standing on a surface.

diy wheat sheaves — Level the wheat stems across the top and remove any brown or wayward stems

Make a festive wheat sheaf

For a festive wheat sheaf, tie the stems with red ribbon. Pine cones, cinnamon sticks and other Christmas items can be purchased already glued to a stem. The bouquet below has some red curly ting, three large pine cones and six gold painted cedar roses.

DIY wheat sheaf with dried roses

For a dual purpose wheat sheaf, I made a wheat sheaf decorated with red ribbon, red curly ting and half a dozen dried red roses. The red will co-ordinate with any Christmas decorations, but after the festive season, it will continue to be current until after Valentine’s Day in February. Then, rather than ditch the whole sheaf, I would be tempted to gently pull out the red stems, replace with softer spring colours such as pink or blue dried flowers, and re-tie the bouquet with a pastel coloured ribbon.