Get the whole family together to make a dried citrus holiday garland. Hang it up on your mantel, banister, hallway, tree, or window for a stained glass look. And it lasts for a few years!
Total Time7 hourshrs
Course: Beauty
Cuisine: American
Keyword: citrus garland, dried citrus garland, dried fruit garland
Cost: $5
Equipment
Dehydrator
Scissors
Materials
1largeNeedle
2Wood beads
Twine
Instructions
Dehydrator Method
Use a knife to thinly slice lemons, limes, grapefruits, and oranges.
Your dehydrator should have multiple trays. Lay as many citrus slices as possible in a single layer on each tray.
When your dehydrator is full, set it to 135°F for 6 hours.
Oven Method
Preheat the oven to 150°F.
Use a knife to thinly slice all of your citrus.
Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and lay as many of your sliced citrus pieces as possible, in an even layer.
Bake your citrus for about 5 hours, flipping halfway through. Feel free to use multiple cookie sheets if you have them to help dehydrate more citrus at a time.
Citrus Garland
Measure the window hallway, mantel, or tree you'd like to decorate. Add an extra 6 inches on each end, so you have room to tie your wood bead at the end.
Thread the twine through the eye (hole) in your needle. Leave excess twine hanging from the needle eye, so your twine doesn't fall out.
Use your needle to poke a hole away from your body, near the rind. The hole should be in the middle of the membrane closest to your 3 o'clock. Gently pull on your needle to thread the twine through. Leave 6 inches of twine hanging for your wood bead later on.
Then use your needle to poke a hole from the back, toward your body, near the rind. The hole should be in the middle of the membrane that's closest to your 9 o'clock. Pull the needle through until the twine feels snug.
Continue threading your citrus slices in any order you'd like. When you have 6 inches of twine left on each side of your garland, you're all done sewing your citrus. Loop the twine through the hole again to make a knot around the rind. Repeat on the other side.
Next, thread your twine through a wood bead and loop it again. You should have a piece of twine on the outside of your bead. Tie a small knot with your twine to secure the bead in place, and trim the excess with scissors.
Repeat on the other end, and now you have a beautiful handmade citrus garland!
Notes
When you thread the twine, use the needle to poke holes away from you when you add a new citrus slice. This makes it easy to thread in the same direction every time.Use an oven-safe cooling rack that fits into your baking sheet instead of parchment paper. The rack allows the air to flow better, so your citrus dehydrates properly.