Choosing ribbon colors and patterns is one of the most creative parts of wreath making—and one of the easiest places to get stuck. You may love four individual ribbons but put them together and suddenly wonder why the combination does not look quite right.
The secret to mixing ribbon colors and patterns is not making everything match perfectly. A beautiful ribbon combination usually includes some repetition and some contrast. The colors connect the ribbons, while different patterns, widths, textures, and pattern sizes keep the design interesting.
Start with a clear color palette, choose one ribbon to help establish the theme, and then add supporting ribbons that repeat those colors without competing for attention.
Once you understand those few principles, coordinating ribbon colors and patterns becomes much easier.
Quick Answer: How Do You Mix Ribbon Colors And Patterns In A Wreath?
To mix ribbon colors and patterns in a wreath, begin with two or three main colors. Choose one statement or themed ribbon, then add coordinating ribbons with different pattern sizes and levels of visual detail.
An easy formula is:
- Choose two or three main colors.
- Select one statement or themed ribbon.
- Add one medium-scale pattern.
- Add one simple or small-scale pattern.
- Mix wide and narrow ribbon when appropriate.
- Repeat colors throughout the combination.
- Avoid making every ribbon equally bold.
- Lay the ribbons together before cutting them.
Your ribbons should look related, but they do not all need to contain the exact same colors or patterns.
Before deciding which stripes, dots, plaids, football prints, or other designs to combine, decide which colors belong in the wreath.
For many designs, two or three main colors are enough.
Examples include:
A defined palette gives you a foundation for choosing ribbon colors and patterns without making the wreath feel disconnected.
If you have not selected your colors yet, start with How To Choose Colors For A Wreath.
Once you know your palette, stop asking only:
“Do I like this ribbon?”
Instead, ask:
“Does this ribbon belong in the wreath I am designing?”
That one question can make ribbon shopping much easier.
A simple way to coordinate ribbon colors and patterns is to begin with one statement ribbon.
This is usually the ribbon that establishes the theme or attracts the most attention.
It might feature:
Suppose you are creating a navy and orange football wreath and choose a football-print ribbon first.
That ribbon gives you direction.
Now you can choose supporting ribbon in:
The statement ribbon does not necessarily need to be used more often than the others. Its job is simply to give the combination a visual starting point.
Browse our Ribbon to coordinate sports, team-color, patterned, and decorative ribbon.
This is one of the most important things to remember.
Every ribbon does not need to contain every color in your wreath.
Suppose your palette is:
Navy + Orange + White
Your ribbon combination might include:
No single ribbon needs to contain navy, orange, and white all at once.
The entire group of ribbon colors and patterns creates the palette.
This usually produces more variety than choosing several ribbons that look almost identical.
One of the easiest ways to make ribbon colors and patterns work together is to vary how visually busy they are.
Imagine combining:
Each ribbon may be attractive on its own.
Together, however, every pattern is competing to be noticed.
Instead, create a visual hierarchy.
For example:
Football print
Navy and white stripe
Orange with small dots
Now each ribbon has a different job.
The football ribbon establishes the theme.
The stripe contributes pattern and contrast.
The smaller dots add color without competing with the football print.
A quiet ribbon does not have to be plain.
It might have:
The difference is visual intensity.
A quiet ribbon supports the stronger patterns instead of demanding the same amount of attention.
When your combination feels too busy, you may not need different colors. You may simply need one quieter pattern.
Pattern scale is extremely helpful when combining ribbon colors and patterns.
Think about patterns in three general sizes:
A large football graphic or oversized plaid
Wide stripes or medium check
Tiny dots, narrow stripes, or small repeating shapes
A combination of large, medium, and small patterns is usually easier to look at than three large patterns competing together.
For example:
Football Print + Wide Stripe + Small Polka Dot
works because each ribbon creates a different visual rhythm.
The same idea can work with:
Changing pattern size lets you add variety without adding more colors.
Yes.
Stripes and polka dots are one of the easiest combinations because their shapes are different enough to create contrast.
For example:
Navy and white stripes + orange and white dots
can work beautifully in the same wreath.
The shared color palette connects them.
The different shapes keep them interesting.
Add a football-print ribbon and you now have:
Theme + Stripe + Dot
without making every ribbon look alike.
Yes.
Again, pattern size matters.
A large plaid often works well with a narrower stripe.
A fine plaid can work with a wider stripe.
If both patterns are very bold, add a quieter ribbon to separate them visually.
The goal when combining ribbon colors and patterns is not avoiding multiple prints. It is keeping those prints from competing equally.
Absolutely.
This is an especially useful combination for sports wreaths.
For example:
The sports ribbon communicates the theme.
The polka dots provide a different pattern.
The orange ribbon reinforces the team-color palette.
Each ribbon contributes something different to the design.
Solid ribbon can be extremely helpful when several other ribbons contain strong patterns.
It can:
Suppose your featured ribbon already contains footballs, words, several colors, and a border.
Adding another complicated print may make the combination harder to read.
A simple navy, orange, red, or black ribbon may make the entire group look better.
Simple ribbon is not wasted ribbon.
Sometimes it is exactly what allows your statement ribbon to shine.
No.
You can create beautiful ribbon colors and patterns using only patterned ribbons if those patterns vary in scale and intensity.
For example:
None of them is completely solid.
But there is still a clear visual hierarchy.
The goal is not to follow a rigid formula. The goal is to keep every ribbon from competing at exactly the same level.
Ribbon width gives you another way to create variety without changing your color palette.
A very common combination is:
2.5″ ribbon + 1.5″ ribbon
The wider ribbon may showcase:
The narrower ribbon can provide:
Using different widths also creates layering and dimension when the ribbons are stacked together.
There is no universal rule, but the ribbon with the most important large-scale design often works well as the wider ribbon.
For example, if one ribbon contains football graphics that you really want people to see, a wider width can give the print more room.
Your narrower ribbon might then be:
Choose the width based on what you want the viewer to notice.
A ribbon can look completely different on the roll than it does after being cut into short tails.
This matters especially with larger printed designs.
Before cutting, ask:
Suppose a football graphic repeats only every several inches.
If your ribbon tails are short, some cuts might miss the football almost completely.
Look at the pattern repeat before cutting an entire roll.
Some ribbon colors and patterns look the same from either direction.
Others clearly have a top and bottom.
Directional ribbon may include:
When cutting and attaching directional ribbon, check how it will face once it is placed in the wreath.
You do not want:
It is a small detail that can make a finished wreath look much more polished.
Repetition helps turn separate ribbon clusters into one complete design.
If you use a beautiful football ribbon only once near the top of the wreath, it may look disconnected.
Repeat it in several locations.
For example:
You do not have to place it everywhere.
Repeating important ribbon colors and patterns simply tells the eye that they intentionally belong throughout the wreath.
Suppose you have four coordinating ribbons.
You can certainly use all four together in each cluster.
But you do not have to.
You could alternate combinations.
Football ribbon + navy dots
Orange ribbon + navy stripe
Football ribbon + orange ribbon
Navy stripe + navy dots
The same ribbon colors and patterns repeat around the wreath, but each section has a little variety.
This can create more visual movement.
Repeating identical ribbon combinations can also look beautiful.
Matching clusters work especially well when you want:
There is no requirement that every cluster be different.
Choose the method that works best for your design.
A wreath sign can be one of your best ribbon-selection tools.
Look closely at:
Then repeat some of those colors in your ribbon.
For example, a navy sign with orange lettering and a white border might coordinate with:
The ribbon colors and patterns now connect naturally to the focal point without exactly duplicating the sign.
Browse our Wreath Signs when building your wreath around a focal piece.
Matching too closely can sometimes create another problem.
Suppose your sign has a dark navy background.
If you surround it with:
the sign may begin disappearing into the wreath.
Adding orange, white, gold, silver, or another coordinating color around the sign creates contrast and helps define its edges.
Your ribbon should support the focal point, not camouflage it.
Sports wreaths are an ideal place to combine different ribbons because you can use the team colors as the connection between the patterns.
A sports wreath might include:
Not every ribbon needs to contain a team name or logo.
For example, a purple and gold football wreath could use:
The ribbon colors and patterns create the team feeling even when only one ribbon is specifically sports-themed.
Imagine you are making a navy and gold football wreath.
You might combine:
Or for red and black:
The team colors provide the common thread.
That makes color-based wreath making especially useful for:
The design can still feel strongly associated with the intended team.
There is no required number.
A wreath can look beautiful with:
For beginners, two to four coordinating ribbons is often a very manageable range.
That provides enough variety to practice mixing ribbon colors and patterns without creating unnecessary complexity.
As you become more comfortable, you can add additional ribbons when they contribute something useful.
Suppose three ribbons already provide:
Before adding a fourth, ask:
What does this ribbon contribute?
Maybe it adds:
If it does, great.
If it simply adds another busy pattern, you may not need it.
More ribbon does not automatically make a wreath more attractive.
Lay your ribbon rolls next to one another before cutting anything.
Then step back.
Ask:
If every ribbon demands equal attention, replace one of the busiest choices with:
That one change can completely improve the combination.
The opposite problem happens too.
Suppose you choose:
The colors coordinate perfectly, but the combination may need more personality.
Before adding another color, add a pattern.
Replace one ribbon with:
Now the same color palette has more movement and visual interest.
Add Texture Without Adding Another Pattern
Sometimes you have enough ribbon colors and patterns, but the combination still feels flat.
Try adding texture instead.
Look for ribbon with:
Texture gives the design another layer of interest without adding another graphic pattern or color.
This can be particularly effective in two-color team wreaths.
Remember that Deco Mesh already contributes a large amount of visible color.
Suppose your wreath uses navy mesh.
Your ribbon does not all need to be navy.
You might use:
The navy mesh already establishes the dominant base color.
Your ribbon colors and patterns can give more attention to the supporting colors.
Your Picks & Sprays can also help distribute color.
Suppose your ribbon combination contains mostly purple with only a little gold.
You may not need another gold ribbon.
Adding gold picks around the wreath can repeat that color and balance the design.
When choosing ribbon colors and patterns, remember that ribbon is only one part of the entire wreath.
Ornaments can serve the same purpose.
Imagine a red, navy, and white wreath where most of the ribbon is red and navy.
A few white ornaments may provide all the white the design needs.
Every color does not have to appear equally in every material.
Let the different wreath elements work together.
It can, but it does not have to use every ribbon in the wreath.
Repeating one or two wreath ribbons in the bow creates an obvious connection.
For example, if your wreath uses:
the bow might use:
You can also introduce another coordinating ribbon in the bow when it strengthens the focal area.
The important thing is that the ribbon colors and patterns still feel related to the rest of the wreath.
It is surprisingly easy to buy a beautiful ribbon and then hide most of it.
This can happen when:
Once your ribbon is attached, look at the wreath from the front.
Turn printed tails forward.
Separate overlapping loops.
Move embellishments slightly when necessary.
If you paid for a beautiful printed ribbon, let it contribute to the finished design.
Wired ribbon is particularly useful in wreath making because you can reshape it after it has been attached.
The wired edges allow you to:
That control makes it much easier to keep your ribbon colors and patterns visible throughout a full wreath.
Browse our Ribbon for wreath-making ribbon in multiple colors, prints, sports themes, and widths.
Four beautiful individual ribbons do not automatically make one coordinated combination.
Start with the overall palette.
Let one or two ribbons lead while the others support them.
Vary the pattern scale.
The whole combination should reflect the palette—not every individual roll.
Try another pattern or texture first.
Ribbon should help frame the focal point, not compete with it.
Check words and graphics before attaching the ribbon.
Large prints may need more thoughtful cutting.
Fluff and reposition the finished design so important patterns remain visible.
Mesh, signs, picks, ornaments, and attachments all contribute color and texture too.
If choosing ribbon colors and patterns still feels intimidating, start with this:
Choose:
Choose:
using one or more of your main colors.
Choose:
Now you have:
Theme + Pattern + Balance
That is a very easy starting formula.
For more variety, try:
- Statement ribbon
- Medium pattern
- Small pattern
- Solid or quiet ribbon
For a navy and orange football wreath:
For a red and black football wreath:
The actual ribbons can change.
What matters is that the ribbon colors and patterns each have a different visual role.
This may be the single easiest way to prevent a bad ribbon combination.
Put the rolls beside each other.
Then add your:
Look at all of the supplies as one design.
You may immediately notice:
Fixing the combination now is much easier than fixing it after everything is cut.
Once you have your supplies together, take a quick photo with your phone.
This sounds almost too simple, but it can be extremely useful.
Looking at the combination in a photograph can make it easier to spot:
The photo turns all of the separate supplies into one flat composition, which makes the overall balance easier to judge.
Ribbon that looked perfectly balanced on your table may look different once it is spread around a full wreath.
Hang the wreath and step several feet away.
Ask:
Sometimes the ribbon colors and patterns are perfectly fine.
The wreath simply needs better distribution.
Learning to mix ribbon colors and patterns becomes much easier when you stop expecting everything to match perfectly.
Look for:
Shared colors
Different pattern sizes
One clear statement ribbon
One or two supporting patterns
Enough contrast to see each ribbon
Repetition around the wreath
That is the heart of successful ribbon mixing.
Your ribbons should look like they belong together while still being different enough to make the wreath interesting.
The best ribbon combination is not necessarily the prettiest collection of ribbon rolls.
It is the combination that works with the whole wreath.
Consider:
Then choose ribbon colors and patterns that connect those elements instead of competing with them.
If you are new to the complete wreath-making process, our How To Make A Wreath: A Beginner’s Step-By-Step Guide explains how all of these individual materials work together.
With practice, ribbon coordination becomes much more intuitive.
Eventually, you will be able to place several rolls beside each other and quickly see which ones belong in the same wreath.
Start building your next combination of Ribbon and coordinate it with Wreath Signs, Deco Mesh, Picks & Sprays, and Ornaments.
Once you understand how to coordinate ribbon colors and patterns, you can build many different wreath designs from the same basic team colors.
Or browse all of our Wreath Supplies to coordinate everything from the frame through the finishing details.
