How To: Make a Pine Cone Garland

Holiday garlands come in all different varieties—evergreen, tinsel, beaded and more. A pine cone garland can bring indoors a rustic sense of nature at Christmastime. And if you have pine cones nearby to collect for free, a sumptuous and earthy garland can be yours for the price of a roll of jute twine—around $2. So start collecting!

Head out on a beautiful day to collect pine cones from the park or yard. To make a really full garland, you’ll need approximately 15 cones per linear foot, or about 90 pine cones for a 6' garland. If you have a small dwarf in your household to conscript, collecting becomes much more fun.

Wash your pine cones under running water to remove any loose dirt and sap.

Wrap a small length of twine around each pine cone by working it into the scales at the base. Tie in a single knot to tighten, letting the loose ends hang free.

Tie each pine cone onto the garland twine with a simple knot. Slide the pine cone into place on the twine by tugging on the ends of the short twine. Make a second knot with your short twine piece to lock it into place.

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