Materials:

PVC pipe �?various diameters
miter box, chop saw or hand saw
clear PVC pipe cleaner
clear PVC cement
canvas drop cloth
macramé hoop
drill with small bit
strong monofilament or fishing line
picture hook
plastic paints, primer
ornaments

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• Cut the PVC pipe into various lengths. Michele Beschen used pipe ranging from 3/4" to as large as 4" in diameter, with every size in between. She recommends using a miter box or chop saw with a good blade to cut the pipes (figure A); you also can use a hand saw or hacksaw, or ask the staff at your home improvement center to cut it when you buy the pipe.

  Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection when using a power saw; the saw will throw up small, sharp pieces of pipe. When you get close to the end of a piece of pipe, set the remainder aside for another project—you don't want to have your hand get too close to the saw blade.

• Clean the cut pipes: Vacuum off all of the sawdust; if you have a large pile of PVC sawdust, set it aside in a plastic bag for another project. Rub the pipes with clear PVC pipe cleaner. Make sure you use the clear cleaner; the colored cleaner stains the pipe and anything else it touches. Use the cleaner in a well-ventilated area (figure B).

• Spread out a canvas drop cloth on a flat work surface. It's important to use canvas instead of newspaper, which will end up cemented to the back of the wreath.

• Place the macramé hoop in the center of the drop cloth and arrange the pieces of PVC around the hoop. Mix up the pipe sizes and arrange them however you like, as long as each piece of pipe touches the ones on either side of it and touches the hoop. If the last piece doesn't quite reach the hoop, that's OK (figure C).

• Once you have a circle of pipe sections touching each other around the hoop, it's time to start gluing with clear PVC cement. As with the pipe cleaner, make sure you use the clear cement and are in a well-ventilated area. To glue the pipes, take one piece of PVC out of the arrangement and spread the cement on one side. Slide it back into the arrangement to spread the glue along the piece you're gluing it to.

• Glue all of the pieces together. Don't worry about excess cement getting on the drop cloth—it peels off the canvas easily. When you pull a piece from the arrangement to apply glue, notice where it will touch the neighboring pieces and apply your glue to that portion of the pipe instead of just covering the pipe with glue.

• Once the first circle of pipes is glued, lay out the next row. Arrange the pipes so they are touching each other and the inner row, then glue once the dry fit is complete. Make sure you glue these pipes to the inner row as well as to each other.

• Continue adding and gluing pipes until the wreath is the size and shape desired.
  

  	Figure D
  	Figure E

• To hang the wreath, find two points that are straight across each other on the top half of the wreath. Drill through each side with a small drill bit (figure D) and string a piece of strong monofilament or fishing like across the back. Use line rated to hold 30-50 lbs. Double the line and string it tightly through the holes; fishing line does stretch slightly over time. Tie the line off with a couple of tight knots and trim away the excess; hang the wreath on a standard picture hook.

• You can paint the wreath to jazz it up. Remember to either use paint suitable for plastics or prime with a plastic-friendly primer.

• You also can add some ornaments: Simply secure them inside the larger pipe sections with double-stick tape or sticky putty (figure E).

• Feel free to hang the wreath outdoors—it's very durable.

What to do with the odds and ends of PVC leftover from making a PVC holiday wreath? Here are some tips from Michele Beschen:

• Slice leftover PVC into ½-inch pieces and glue them together to make holiday jewelry (figure F).
  

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  
• Drill through the middle of some PVC circles and hang them on a hook as ornaments (figure G).

• Use the piles of PVC sawdust as meltproof decorative snow