Welcome to the Unique In The Creek ™ definitive decomesh guide. Decomesh can be one of the most frustrating materials in the wreathing industry! Even for seasoned wreath makers, it is confusing, it is volatile, it is not always easy to work with and there are just so many different types.It’s hard to know where to begin as a new wreather and we want to help! You know we love to make things simple here at UITC™, so this is our comprehensive guide to decomesh, types, styles and the best use for each! Find our free video tutorial of this resource. And if you’re looking for tips on safely and effectively preventing decomesh fray, we’ve got you covered with a video tutorial HERE and a written resource ! Our best resource on hacking all Things Unique In The Creek ™ is the playlist we’ve put together on our you tube channel where we post all our best Tips And Tricks. You’ll find videos on upcycling paper gift bags for decoupaging on our character board, decomesh prep and cutting tutorials and a full tutorial on all the Petal Techniques Laurie uses!
Value Mesh – this is a more economical material with a loose weave. It frays a lot but, it comes in a wide array of colours and is perfect for rustic flowers. Because of the loose weave, if you are using this with our boards, you should double it up to prevent the board from showing through or prep your board with a like coloured spray paint. This mesh is perfect for Ombre Designs as the layering of colours hides the loose weave. It is also waterproof and durable. Sometimes it can be a little stiffer but, it will hold shape well. This mesh is great for ruffles, cruffles, poofs and curls. It also works well as a filler to add color, with added ribbon tails and bows. And this mesh works great for Flower Designs that use folded petals like the Startrek Petal, Gerbera Petal, Carnation Petal.
Border Mesh – this is a value mesh that has a border around the outer edges, it comes in a wide array of colours and multiple colours in one. It is best suited for making ruffles, it is not an ideal material for flowers or for poofs. Not ideal for petals designs because of the border but, works well in a Ruffle Petal for our Christmas Tree, or a Carnation. It’s also great for Character Board Designs.
Foil Mesh – this is a value mesh and is best suited to poofs ruffles, cruffles and curls. It is not ideal for flowers unless you seal the edges or use for a layered design like the Ombre Flower Or Sunflower.
Two Tone Mesh – this mesh can be value and it is best suited toward Ombre Flowers and Roses. It doesn’t usually come with foil and it will say two tone on the package. It is a great way to give colour and dimension for Flowers. Orange/gold is perfect for fall flowers and pumpkin wreaths and blue/green is perfect for Lighthouse and Beachy wreaths and Peacock designs. The apple/moss green most popular for leaves, it adds life like dimension. Can be sealed in various ways.
Wide Foil Mesh – this mesh is metallic and the foil is double the size of regular foil mesh. This mesh can be sealed but the foil will have to be cut manually, it will not melt. It is not suitable for flowers as the main material but it is great for poofs, ruffles, cruffles and curls.
Wide foil mesh in matte – the stripes in this mesh are dull, it is not shiny but offers great coverage. It isn’t a value mesh but, it is a lower priced mesh for the quality. This mesh can be sealed and it makes gorgeous fall roses. We also love it in the Gerbera and Daisy flower design.
Deluxe Foil Mesh – UITC™ Favourite! This mesh is a very showy mesh, it’s very sparkly all over. It is all foil and has no gaps in the weave, you can even skip a row on the rose design it’s so full. This mesh is more pricy so you don’t want to cover the mesh. This mesh is not suited to poofs, it is ideal for the Rita Petal and in one of Laurie’s favourites. It doesn’t seal well due to the foil but, it is durable with not fray a lot. It makes beautiful Poinsettias and is very popular with the Rita Petal design, the sunflower petal and the poinsettia petal. It is available in a wide variety of colours, solids and pattern designs are available.
Poly Jute Mesh – this mesh is plastic and has strips of burlap running through it. It is best suited to rustic designs, it has no foil and is not sparkly. It is available is a wide array of colours. This mesh can be sealed, you have to cut the burlap parts manually. Natural is most popular, it has a burlap look. Great to use as a wreath base, poofs, ruffles, curls and cruffles. By adding ribbon tail bows with attachments/signs it is great for the UITC Scarecrow, pumpkins and Autumn décor inspired wreaths. It is available with stripe and wide stripe color patterns as well as some with metallic stripe patterns.
Fabric Mesh – UITC™ Favourite! Laurie loves this one for Roses! This mesh is very poplar right now, it really will work for any Flower Design. It’s expandable, soft and bonds well. It is very similar to poly jute with a much tighter weave. It can come with foil and does not seal well, it tends to get stuck and frays really badly. It is available in a wide variety of colours and metallic options. Overall it has beautiful color saturation. Popular in yellow for Sunflowers and red for Poinsettias, works great for poofs, ruffles, cruffles and curls. Also available as stripe fabric mesh or buffalo check fabric mesh. The main difference being the direction of the jute that runs through the mesh. Stripe is more of a straight line and check looks more like a square pattern.
Snowball Mesh – this mesh has snowballs or rounded balls within the mesh weave pattern. This mesh is not completely solid. This mesh comes in a wide variety of colours. White is very popular with the snowman and Mr And Mrs Claus Designs on the UITC Character Board. It’s perfect or poofs, cruffles, ruffles and curls.
Snowdrift Mesh – this mesh is similar to snowball mesh, the snowballs are connected all the way around the mesh and it is more solid. This mesh is very popular in the winter time and makes gorgeous winter Flowers and the UITC snowman and mr and mrs clause designs. It is a very pricey mesh, you can alternate with another mesh of he same colour to save money in designs where you use this mesh. You can heat seal this mesh and is available in a wide array of colours.
Tinsel Mesh – this is a value mesh and can have a border strip of tinsel at the ends or throughout. You can seal it, cut the tinsel manually if it doesn’t quite melt. It’s not an overly popular mesh but, it has a lot of great uses and is easy to work with. Full tinsel mesh has the fuzzy tinsel foil running all the way through the mesh usually as a strip or stripe pattern. It’s great for poofs, ruffles, curls and cruffles. This is a great mesh for Halloween Designs. Tinsel border mesh has the fuzzy tinsel strip on the ends and is a newer mesh not readily available but the most common right now is the halloween colours with fuzzy tinsel.
Poly Deco Mesh – this is a plastic mesh. It is cheaper than poly burlap and has a tighter weave. It seals well with various methods. It is similar to regular value mesh but, is a much better quality. It’s available in lots of colors and is a very popular mesh. It can be used for petals, poofs, cruffles and ruffles. Great for your base mesh in your wreath and adding ribbon tails, bows signs and attachments. It is great for most petal folds and Flower Designs. Some of the lighter colors are thinner, consider doubling your mesh or adding an extra row of petals.
Poly Burlap Mesh – this is a plastic mesh that is very thick, has the burlap look but is plastic and waterproof. It also seals well and sealing is recommended, as it frays very badly. After your flower is finished it is highly recommended to also seal your flower by spraying with clear gloss sealant krylon or rustoleum brands are popular. This gives extra protection from the color fading. This mesh is most popular with the UITC Sunflowers and is perfect for the sunflower petal, Dean Michael Petal and the Rita Petal and is popular with the Sara Flower as well. We do not recommend this mesh for roses as it is too thick. It comes in a variety of colors and is available in a few patterns. However, at certain times of the year and during holiday seasons poly burlap is very hard to find in specific colors and sells out very quickly.
Metallic Net Fabric Mesh – this is a brand new style of mesh, it’s very light weight and will not fray. It is available in a wide array of colours but, it’s only in 9.5” instead of 10. It’s very shiny and would be great for a Christmas Tree on the Triangle Board.
Poly Burlap Check Mesh - this is a large poly burlap weaved mesh. Similar to window pane mesh and is a little pricey. It is very thick and durable and the weave resembles a wide basket style weave. It seal well using various methods and is gorgeous as an accent petal in the Sara Flower design.
Window Pane Mesh- this is very similar to poly burlap check. It’s a little less stiff and is a cheaper version of poly burlap check mesh.
Burlap Deco Mesh- this is very similar to poly jute mesh. It has the burlap look with jute running through the plastic. It is a softer look and look and is very popular in the Denim Blue. It’s very hard to find this mesh in metallic and it does not seal well. Good for poofs and ruffles but it frays really badly. This mesh comes in solid colors, checked colors, wide and thin strips and buffalo check pattern.
Want more resources like this? Find all of our free step by step video tutorials on hundreds of our designs. Remember, these are our best suggestions and our favourites, every wreather will develop their own style and preference for every part of every wreath they make, that’s part of what makes your creation yours! Happy wreathing!