Blunder to Wonder

You don’t always need fresh flowers and leaves to make a beautiful toran; you have all the items at your home. Read along to get some ideas.

Festivals give a reason to decorate your homes and welcome positive vibes. Start your decoration with the entrance of your home during Navratri. For this, you don’t need expensive decorations or a completely new set of festive supplies to make your doorway look beautiful. Give a chance to the items in your cupboard, and they will turn out to be the most prettiest toran.

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What is Toran?

A toran or a bandhanwar is a decorative hanging that is placed around the entrance of a home. It is commonly made with flowers, leaves, fabric, beads, or other decorative elements.

What You’ll Need—

Before you decide to go shopping to get the items, look around the house first.
You might already have everything you need.
For Navratri, you can make your own version using colors and materials that match your home. There’s no single right way to make one; you can keep it simple, colorful, modern or traditional, whatever suits you.

Things You Can Use From Around Your Home:
Before buying anything, collect whatever you already have from this list:

• An old dupatta or piece of fabric
• Leftover ribbon
• Wool or colorful yarn
• Old decorative lace
• Artificial flowers
• Fresh flowers, if available
• Beads from old jewelry or craft projects
• Small bells
• Colored paper
• Old greeting cards
• Cardboard
• Jute string
• Buttons
• Decorative thread
• Scissors
• Glue
• Needle and thread
  You don’t need all of these. Pick 3 or 4 materials and work with what you have, as it is DIY and we need to upcycle the items.

Read the following ideas:

Dupatta Toran

If you have a colorful dupatta that you don’t use very often, now is the time to use it. To make this, cut the fabric into small strips or simple shapes. Then, fold the strips and tie them onto a strong thread or ribbon. Add a few beads, bells, or artificial flowers between the fabric pieces to make it look more attractive.

If you have a particularly colorful dupatta, you can also try to cut small triangular pieces and string them together like festive bunting. Make it more beautiful by choosing the colors that complement each other instead of using every color you have. For example: pink + yellow + orange or red + green + gold.

Flower and Ribbon Toran

This is one of the easiest options if you already have artificial flowers at home.
Take a long ribbon, jute string, or a sturdy thread. Tie the small flowers along the length, leaving a little space between each one.
You can then add small bells or beads between the flowers for extra detail (if you have). If you are using fresh flowers, make the toran shortly before you plan to display it so that the flowers stay fresh.

Paper Flower Toran

No flowers at home? DIY them too! Take colored paper or leftover craft paper and cut out simple flower shapes. You don’t have to make perfectly identical flowers. In fact, slightly different shapes will make the decoration feel handmade.
Attach the flowers to a thread or ribbon using glue. You can alternately add flower and leaf to create a simple pattern. This is also a good way to use your scraps of colored paper that might otherwise end up in the bin.

Wool and Yarn Toran

Are you a knitter or crocheter? You might already have leftover yarn in your collection. Put those little leftovers to work by cutting several pieces of colorful yarn and tying them to a long thread.

You can leave them as tassels or combine different colors to create small decorative bundles. Add a few beads or bells if you have them.

Styling Tip: This design gives the toran a softer, handmade appearance and works particularly well with a simple or boho-style home.

Lace and Ribbon Toran

Look through your old gift-wrapping supplies and sewing box. You will surely find some lace, decorative thread, satin ribbon, old fabric borders, and bow ribbons.
Layer two or three different textures and attach them to a strong base, like on a piece of cardboard. You can keep this one very minimal.

Greeting Card Toran

Here’s a fun way to reuse your old greeting card that you might have added to the dustbin. Pick up old greeting cards with colorful patterns or illustrations. Cut them into simple shapes such as flowers, leaves, circles, triangles and small flags.
Punch a small hole near the top of each piece and thread them onto jute string or ribbon. If the cards have writing on the back, you can simply turn them around or cover that side with paper using colored paper.
This is a great upcycling project for kids and adults alike.

Diya-Inspired Paper Toran

For a more festive look, you can cut colored paper into small diya shapes and
Decorate the shapes with simple dots, lines, glitter, or metallic pens.
Then attach them to a thread or ribbon.
You can alternate the diyas with small paper flowers or leaves. Try this color combination of orange, yellow, red, and gold. It will give the toran a warm, festive appearance without requiring many materials.

Bell and Bead Toran

Do you have old beads, unused jewelry pieces, or small decorative bells? Use them by creating a toran for your festival. String the bell and beads together and then hang them to a sturdy thread.
You can even make a layered toran which has movement and a little sparkle. For this, make several short hanging strands and attach them to a longer piece of ribbon or fabric.

Natural Leaf and Flower Toran

If you have access to suitable fresh leaves and flowers, you can create a simple natural toran. Choose clean, healthy leaves and flowers and string them carefully.

The combination of green leaves and bright flowers like marigolds creates a beautiful festive look. As natural materials wilt, make this decoration close to the day you plan to display it.

Mix Everything You Have

Got confused by reading all the ideas and can’t decide which idea to try?
Don’t worry, mix all of them and create a unique and personalized one. Take a little fabric, a few flowers, some ribbon, leftover yarn, and a handful of beads.

Create a colorful, slightly imperfect toran from all of them. And this might turn out to be your favorite option. Because that’s what DIY is about. You don’t need matching supplies to create a wonder.

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How to Assemble Your DIY Navratri Toran

Once you’ve decided on your materials and made up your mind, choose which one to put on for which door. Follow these simple steps:

Measure Your Door:
Measure the area where you want to hang the toran. Leave a little extra length on both sides so you have enough room to secure it. If you are planning to make different torans for all the gates, then keep a diary and pen to note all the measurements accurately.

Choose Your Base:
Use something strong enough to hold your decorations so they don’t fall off. A thick ribbon, jute string, sturdy thread, or fabric strip will work depending on the weight of your materials.

Arrange Everything First:
Don’t glue or tie anything immediately. Lay everything out on the floor or table first. Try different arrangements until you’re happy with the pattern, as this is the right moment to use your creativity.

Attach the Decorations:
Secure your flowers, paper shapes, fabric pieces, beads, or other decorations to the base and make sure the heavier pieces have additional support.

Give a Quick Inspection:
Look at your toran from a distance if everything’s fine. Is one side heavier than the other? Are the colors balanced? Is every item in place? And if anything needs to be removed, sometimes removing one item makes the whole thing look better.

Hang it on your door:
Secure your finished toran firmly above your doorway. And make sure it doesn’t interfere with the opening or closing of the door.

You don’t need to go to a shop for a Navratri toran. The items can come from your cupboard, leftover craft supplies or the ones you were going to throw away.

All it needs is a little creativity, your time and a handmade touch of yours. So, this Navratri, before you buy another decoration, take a look around your home.
That old item of yours might just be waiting for its own little Blunder to Wonder moment.