Make grave arrangements for Totensonntag yourself

As the church year draws to a close, the last Sunday before the start of Advent is used to lovingly commemorate the deceased. This is expressed by sprucing up the graves with great attention to detail. Traditionally, the cemetery is transformed into a sea of ​​lights that subtly illuminate the magnificent grave decorations. As part of active mourning work, relatives decide to make grave arrangements for Totensonntag themselves with the side effect of saving costs. The following DIY instructions explain how to do this for sacred, traditional and modern design variants.

Classic plant cross

Religious symbols have always served as templates for classic grave arrangements for the Sunday of the Dead. The following instructions integrate noble accessories that give the arrangement a tasteful touch.

material requirements

• 1 cross made of vine or rattan
• 5 fir picks (shoot tips with 3-4 branches, approx. 20-23 cm long)
• Green and cream colored wool cords
• 1 handful of flake wool
• 1 cream-colored soft rose suitable for outdoor use
• White acrylic beading pins, 6.5 cm long
• Silver or gold wire snails
• 2 decorative hearts made of weatherproof material with fastening wire, 5.5 cm x 5.5 cm
• floral wire
• 100 grams reindeer moss
• Plug-in compound or grave soil for filling

This bill of materials can be modified by choosing a pegboard of a different shape. The color combination of creamy white and green with silver or gold accessories can be modified to other nuances. Just take a look around the craft store to see what the range has to offer.

Instructions

You give the mourning cross special stability by filling it with grave soil or in the form of cut plugs. Hooks 6 centimeters long are formed from the floral wire to fix the reindeer moss to the base. In the middle of the arrangement, form a round nest with a diameter of approx. 15 centimeters. The whole thing is fastened with pearl pins. Arrange the cords of wool so that the two ends are draped to the right and left of the cross. Ideally, wire these ends into a spiral shape. The next step is to embed the rose in the nest. Fill in the gaps at the four ends of the cross with the fir tips and work in the remaining flocked yarn to create even more fullness. Give the mourning cross the finishing touch with the decorative hearts and the golden wire spirals.

Modern mourning heart

The following instructions for self-made funeral flowers try to bridge the gap between the classic heart motif as a base for modern creation thanks to an asymmetrical shape and the use of contemporary Materials.

material requirements

• 1 pointed moss heart made of vines with a plantable center, e.g. B. 40x30x9 cm
• 2 branches with artificial, frosted berries in cream
• 2 small crosses made of birch wood, approx. 7-8 cm long
• 50 grams of natural flake moss
• 20 grams of flax fiber hay, dyed green
• 1 soft rose in cream with an open flower made of weatherproof material
• rough ribbon, silver or transparent with black stripes, 4 cm wide
• Black and white mourning ribbon with wire edge, 4 cm wide, 2 m long
• 4 spruce cones for crafting, sprayed white or silver
• 1 small moss heart, approx. 7 cm tall in natural green
• floral wire
• hot glue

Plant hearts are available in an almost endless variety of shapes and materials. A weather-resistant moss heart, made of vines, brushwood or similar natural materials, is recommended as a base for a funeral arrangement for the Sunday of the Dead. Unlike a stone heart, the moss heart is easy to handle.

Instructions

The mourning heart is filled with the flake moss in order to loosely arrange the green linen fiber hay over it. The large soft rose is shortened to 10 centimeters at the stem and then pushed diagonally on the left side into the moss in order to embed it decoratively. The 4 white or silver spruce cones follow, which are arranged to the right of the rose. Wire the small moss heart from behind with the floral wire underneath the rose and cone. The birch cross is attached to the small moss heart with hot glue. The remaining gap on the moss is decorated with frosted berry umbels. Make sure the entire arrangement is pushed down compactly and firmly. Now put the black ribbon around the heart so that it can be knotted at the bottom. Still stuck in the upper heart cavity with hot glue, it cannot slip. Knot the second ribbon to create a beautiful tail. The second birch cross could be placed here.

Tie and decorate the grave wreath yourself

For hobby gardeners with their own stock of trees or large coniferous hedges, it is a matter of honor to tie and decorate a wreath as a grave decoration for Totensonntag. In addition to the green binding material, the garden may supply dried or fresh flowers for the head garnish. Alternatively, weatherproof decorative materials can be bought in the craft store.

material requirements

• 1 straw wreath with a maximum diameter of 60 centimeters
• 1 brick plug-in mass from the specialist trade
• 1-2 rolls of dark green non-woven tape
• Support wire for the flower stems
• Binding wire for tying
• 1 roll of green chicken wire from the hardware store
• Knives, garden shears and wire cutters, all ground extra sharp
• Binding greens, dried flowers, fresh flowers, berry branches, ivy and similar materials

For a large double burial site, the wreath may be larger than 60 centimeters. In this case, the material requirement increases only slightly. Only one more brick made of floral foam is to be planned.

Binding instructions

The fir branches, thuja shoots or similar binding greens are cut to a length of approx. Cut 5 centimeters and put in small bundles. Wrap the straw wreath with the green fleece ribbon so that the underside looks neat. Now put two bundles of the green on the wreath and tie them with 1-2 wraps. Always work from the outside in until the green touches the tabletop. The next row is created with a slight offset and overlapping. It is important to note that the tips of the new row cover the stems of the previous row. Since a head garnish is provided, the wreath will not be fully tied. Instead, a piece the size of the swaddle is left blank. The wire ends are left long enough to be knotted at the bottom of the wreath.

Step by step to the finished decoration

In order for the hand-made mourning flowers to create an opulent look, a wreath should be 2/3 decorated with a flower arrangement. The plug-in brick serves as a base, which is soaked in a bucket of water if fresh flowers are used. Wrap the brick in the wire mesh and attach it to the designated place on the wreath with winding wire. Place this exactly on the struts of the wire mesh so that there is still space for the decorative material.

Proceed with these steps:

• Tuck larger fir or leafy branches into the wreath around the floral foam on the back
• Ideally, the arrangement runs to the sides in ivy tendrils or narrow coniferous fronds
• Use shorter twigs for the front part of the wreath that reach no further than the middle of the wreath
• The creative arrangement on the plug-in material begins with a large flower in the middle
• The lengths of the other materials are based on this in order to stand above the green and below the leading flower
• Stems that are too pliable are stabilized with support wire wrapped in a spiral around the stem

Flowers or decorative branches form the conclusion, so that there are no large gaps to the greenery. When composing the colorful decoration, always start with stronger varieties and end the creation with the filigree accessories. No more than 3-5 types of flowers should be used for a grave arrangement, which ideally appear in similar color nuances.

Conclusion

Beautiful mourning flowers are no longer reserved for professionals. Equipped with the right materials and a good dose of creativity, you can easily make funeral arrangements for Totensonntag yourself. Use this DIY guide for inspiration to decorate the resting place of a loved one for the high holiday.

Learn more about grave design