Make a Chicken Wire Cloche for Your Garden or to Use in Vignettes.
by Jann Olson
1 Material
Chicken wire cloches are easy to make. They just take a little time and patience. They are great for protecting plants in the garden from visiting critters. I also love using them in vignettes indoors. The fun begins when the cloche is made and you get to dress it up however you want!
Supplies needed: Chicken wire, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, gloves, wire (opt)
Supplies needed: Chicken wire, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, gloves, wire (opt)
Margo is showing that you just curl the chicken wire around to see about how big you want your cloche. One garden book showed that you could form it around a plastic pot, but I don't find it necessary. This works just great!
Next, using wire cutters cut clear up the chicken wire. Leaving an excess of 1-2 octagons for overlapping. Kimi is showing her piece all cut. That nice preformed edge will be the bottom of your cloche.
Cut close to one of the octagons, not in the middle. That way you will have plenty to wrap with. This photo is totally blurry, but I was too lazy to take another one. :) I think you can see what I mean.
overlap and line up the octagons. Wearing gloves and using needle nose pliers, weave that little wire piece in and around until you get a nice tight circumference. You can work with the shape more later. I can wrap it better with just my hands, but some people are masters with the needle nose pliers.
Now this is where the fun begins. Decide if you want your cloche smaller. If so, you can cut some off the top. Just be careful to not cut too much. Also now is when you decide if you want to add something to the top or finish with just the wire.
This one I just kept working with the wire until I formed a round knob on top.
This one I kind of flaired it out.
It's fun to add an old door knob or found object to the top. This is when you would use the extra wire. Leave a small hole then wire it into place. This is an old salt shaker. Bits of ribbon and lace dress it up nicely.
For a door knob add a washer underneath to secure it tightly and then you can cut the screw down. Here I've slipped a pearl napkin ring over the door knob. The possibilities are endless.
Here I used the wire cloche as a skirt for a couple of fair ladies.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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3 of 94 comments
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These are beautiful and so different. Thank you
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Thanks so very much!!
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You totally saved my garden with your grand idea. Thanks so much!
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Thank you for your sweetness!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Will these cloches keep cats away?