An old fashioned popcorn garland

Rather than cover your Christmas tree and home in tinsel this year, why not make an old fashioned popcorn garland? Popcorn garlands add a quaint charm to Christmas decorating and best of all they are completely used - after Christmas sprinkle the popcorn over the lawn and let the birds feast.

To make a popcorn garland you'll need three or four mixing bowls of popcorn. It's best to make it the day before you string it so it's soft and the needle will glide through easily.

Thread your needle with any type of cotton or polyester thread and knot both ends together.  To make a 2 metre garland you'll need four metres of thread.

Take a piece of popcorn and thread it onto the thread. Push it right to the end, next to the knot. Tie a knot in the yarn by bringing the end of the thread up and over the popcorn kernel, knotting the thread just above the popcorn.

Now start stringing your popcorn. It's easiest to do this by threading the needle through the thickest part of the popcorn.

Continue until you have about 5cm of thread remaining. Tie off by knotting over the last kernel in the same way you tied off the first.

Take care and carefully lay your garland on the boughs on your Christmas tree. Continue making garlands until you have as many as you want for your Christmas tree.