DIY Woven Raffia Vase

This super pretty home accessory made of raffia can be a flower vase, candle holder/lantern, and comfortably mixed with any decor. It’s an excellent piece for chic, bohemian, and coastal design themes. When styled with a few branches of greenery, it is a breath of fresh air to any space.

I originally found this adorable decor item on McGee & Co, but it quickly went out of stock. It looked like it was woven with cane material, and I brainstormed for an alternative to DIY it and found that raffia would be the easiest and workable option, and it was! And these days with all the rattan/bamboo/jute/raffia decor trending, Could I pass it up? No way! The raffia adds an organic natural touch to the vase, while the glass presents it as modern and contemporary. You could add colored raffia and turn it into a fall decor! Read on to know how to put this vase together!

What we need:

A glass vase or a mason jar
Raffia
Hot glue gun

Let’s do it:

Pick a starting point on the bottom of the vase and glue down one end of the raffia. Hold it down with pressure, so the raffia doesn’t pop back up.
Twist it around the vase so that it would meet another raffia piece, which is 3 or 4 inches away and on top of the vase, and make a mark. Cut the raffia piece at that mark. i.e., 3 or 4 inches longer than the length of the vase.
Continue doing this along the circumference. My vase was ~10.5 inches in circumference, so I needed to do this 10 times.

Repeat this process around the top part of the vase. Your vase should be looking something like below by now, messy but don’t worry, we’ll clean it up in a bit 😀

Now here’s where the weaving begins:
- Start overlapping the bottom side’s strands with the top ones loosely, alternating between one from above and one from below.
- When they reach their meeting points on the other side, tape them to keep them in place while you go around and do the same to all the pieces.
- The overlapping doesn’t have to be perfect. Just keep adjusting the raffia around the vase, to achieve the diamond pattern.

Once you are satisfied with the look, tighten up any loose pieces, remove the tape, and secure everything with hot glue. Trim any excess ends off.
For a finished look, I wrapped the raffia around the top and bottom. This also helps us cover all the meeting points!

Raffia is not waterproof, so be careful if you need to fill the vase with water.
Display your favorite faux / real stems / a bunch of small flowers (like baby’s breath, hydrangea) or a pillar candle!