Drawbridge Wreath 405 feet of Holiday Spirit

We heard the drawbridge on Rt. 1 in Mystic hadn't had a wreath in over a decade.  We had a coil of 1" rope sitting lonely in the corner of our shop, what is a team of artisans supposed to do...

Amie usually helps us pack orders and keeps us organized, but when the drawbridge wreath project came up, she dove in and teamed up with our 'manila overlord' Josh Prescott to turn a coil of white rope into the biggest wreath we've ever made.  Amie taking her break really shows the scale they were working with.  The wreath is 7' across and weighs over 150 pounds. 

The material is 1" polypropeline rope with a blue trace.  The white is obvious for a wreath. The blue tracer give just a bit of texture and style... or at least that's what we tell ourselves.

 

 

 

 

  

Josh realized that the turkshead knot we usually use to make a wreath wouldn't work.  Instead he chose to do a 4 strand sennitt made with doubled up plys.  The ends come together and are stitched together and covered with the yellow whipping to compliment the details on the Mystic River sign and the bow

To support this wreath, we had Brian Jacobs of Velvet Metal Works make us a stainless steel frame.  This is the same tubular steel used for bow pulpits and stern rails, so he knew it could hold the weight.  (Honestly, I wasn't certain). 

We covered the steel with tape to provide grip, and can be seen to the left in the picture above.

The fit was perfect.

We had to test the rigging to be sure it supports the wreath.  There are two lines running behind the wreath and supported with a marline hitch to keep the wreath from tipping out.  You can see the yellow whipping behind Jill.  The whip creates a color contrast but more importantly covers the free ends of the sennitt.  We did try to find a good rope for a covering turkshead over the whip, but we opted for the simpler look.

  A wreath on Connecticut's Route 1 needs a proper bow!