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I have had an obsession with pinecones lately. I love them! Pinecones are cheap, pretty and give a very natural look to your home when using them for decoration during the holiday season. I decided to try my hand at making my own pinecone garland for decoration. Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly impressed with how easy it was and how nice it came out! It only took a few simple steps!
Before you Begin
Before you do anything with pinecones, please make sure they are baked! It’s easy to find and buy pre-baked pinecones online. However, if you forage pinecones, like I did, please make sure to bake them. Pinecones are filled with mold and mildew. They are also home to many different bugs! And believe me, it’s pretty disgusting to find bugs crawling across your table!
If you want to get a more detailed tutorial on baking pinecones, Victoria at A Modern Homestead has a great post of it. Otherwise, remove all debris from the pinecones and place your pinecones on a baking sheet. Bake for 90 minutes at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely before working with them.
Getting Started
For this project, I used 4 different typed of pinecones. In the garland you will find: natural colored pre-baked pinecones, pinecones that have been bleached, white-washed pinecones and metallic cream painted pinecones.
I chose to use the 4 different colors to add a bit of pop and interest to the garland. Feel free to put this together with whatever colored pinecones you wish! It will be beautiful with any color.
What You’ll Need for the Pinecone Garland
- 40 medium sized pinecones
- Jute Cord
- Scissors
Step One:
Simply tie a 6 inch piece of jute cord in between and around the bottom of each of your pinecones. You shouldn’t be able to see much of the jute cord because it will be tied within the pinecone. Do this for all 40 pinecones.
Step Two:
Cut a 5 foot long strand of jute cord – this will be the length of the garland. Tie each pinecone to the 5 ft long jute cord. Note: You can make it longer or shorter depending on the size of garland you want or need.
I tied the natural pinecones on first and spaced them out evenly. I then added the bleached pinecones in between the natural colored pinecones. Next added were the white-washed pinecones, and last, I added the copper painted pinecones. There were about 8 white pinecones and 5 copper pinecones. The rest was an even mix of bleached and natural. I thought that having just a few painted pinecones would add some interest!
Step Three:
When completing the garland, be sure to cut off any extra jute cord from the tied off pinecones. Tie loops at the end of each part of the jute cord garland for hanging. Hang this garland above a fireplace or wherever else you’d like.
Note: the pinecone garland is very heavy. You can always add more pinecones if you would like a fuller look. However, the more pinecones added, the heavier the garland will be. Please make sure to take that into account when hanging the garland and be certain that it is anchored accordingly.
The Finished Pinecone Garland
I’m very happy with how this turned out. It’s beautiful and rustic. It’s understated but can definitely be dressed up. The best part is that the garland was so cheap! I foraged the pinecones in my back yard. The jute cord was less than 5 dollars, and I had the paint on hand! This would also look gorgeous with some lights and used as a table runner or across and entry table! Be creative and customize it to fit your needs!
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