A few years ago I made a cute little leaf garland at the start of September. Now, it's a mini tradition and I always enjoy making something cute and decorative to ring in the new season every year. Would you like to make one too? I thought you might!
Here's how I did it…1. Cut leaves… as many as you like! I used Fancy Felt and yarn. In the past I used embroidery thread too. Thread is easier to sew, but I think yarn is a little bit prettier. 2. Stitch the leaves together. This is a good project to do while watching a movie or waiting for some cookies to bake! 3. Be sure to add knots to each end of the felt leaves and to the ends of the yarn to prevent fraying. 4. Hang it in a doorway, on a mantel or on a bed frame. Enjoy your leaves…
Here's the original garland I made back in 2008. See the embroidery thread instead of yarn?
Here's our cute little garland decorating our register at Red Velvet. Have fun getting crafty… It's that time of year! xo, elsie
92 Comments
So pretty! Love it. The newer version looks beautiful on the wooden box π Must give this a go.
Aoife x
http://aoife-blake.com
this will look nice in my preschool class room! and around the house π thank you elsie!
This is lovely! I’ll have to hunt down some pretty felt and yellow wool now.
I’m gonna try to do something like that π
It’s beautiful.
I’ve been trying to motivate myself to make this the past few weeks because I have always loved the original. This morning I thought I would give it a shot but didn’t know if I had time, then I just saw this post and decided to take is as a sign. Looks like i’m making time for crafting today, not that that’s ever a bad thing. π
Beautiful! This would look great on my mantel π
Gorgeous work!! Love this! ^_^
ooh quite nice π i like it
too cute! i have got to try this. it might also be neat with other kinds of fabrics too… like some plaid and gingham prints maybe?
SOOO weird! I JUST made almost this EXACT garland for my bathroom a few days ago! It looks really cute hanging on my mirror!
I LOVE this! I made a garland last year inspired by your 2008 version, and I love that you make it a tradition:)
Love,
Stephanie May*
http://www.maydae.com
Love your DIY projects! Will you ever be putting up the wedding ceremony backdrop project? I’m too scared to attempt that one on my own without some direction!!
the cutest! i’m definitely going to make it, soon π
What a darling idea!
i LOVE this. so beautiful and perfect colors.
This would be lovely in a classroom!
Love the colors! Feeling so inspired!
It’s cool so many readers thought of a classroom application – I made felt flags for my classroom last year, but these leaves are so cute.
One question: how do you thread heavy yarn through a needle? And does it go through felt easily, or do you need to pre-poke holes in the felt first?
I’d really like to duplicate this for my classroom, too!
Hold up. Is that a portrait of you and Jeremy down there!?
Oh my gosh! It’s FALL! Yay! These would be such a fun craft to do with the little girl I take care of!
THANKS!
Kacie
A Collection of Passions
How cute! It turned out great!
β₯ Gina Michele
CrochetClouds.com
so cute and perfect for fall! I’m gonna make one now! Thanks for sharing π
xoxo, Tammy
Such a cute & crafty idea! Fancy Felt is the best!
Super cute garland, Elsie!!
Love this project! So easy and festive for the season!
i really like it!i might make one:)
I love this tutorial! It makes me so happy and excited for fall! yay! <3
I love DIY’s, and yours are always the cutest! I’m definitely going to have to try this.
-Britta
These are really fun. Definitely a great classroom project, too.
In love!! This is exactly what my house needs. Also, it’d be adorable in pastel pinkies and blues too. I like this a lot.
anastasia
http://www.uglyplants.blogspot.com
So simple but beautiful… I think I’ll have to make one to decorate my little workspace!
amazing!!!
i really love the colors!!!
great idea!
i think i need such a garland too…soon!!!
have a great week!
liebgruss from germany
eni
nice idea
Autumn is my favourite season and these leaves are just so pretty! I will be making some to decorate my fireplace with xx
This is so cute! Hang on, nerdy pre-service teacher thought: it would be super cute hanging in the classroom for Autumn.
So cute! Fall is my favorite time of year, I can’t wait!
word up! I love this one. Thanks!
Ooo, these are gorgeous!!! ^_^ YAY for Autumn!!! I love Autumn themed crafts.
I love this craft! I saw your first photo back on ’08 and did my best to recreate it! It took me quite a few lunch breaks at work to finish all 12 feet of it! π I was just think about my pretty fall garland this week…it’s almost time to pull it out!!
xoxo
Joy
very creative:)loved it
That is so pretty! I love the colors. The awesome thing is that I have exactly the materials needed in my craft room. Adding this to my list of things to do!
This looks like a great fall home project. Really cute.
Great idea, it seems pretty easy to do. I love the pic of the original garland, is such an inspiration for my room decoration…
This is awesome (!!)
I so want to make it β₯
Super pretty! π
x
culinarilychallenged.blogspot.com
This is such a cute idea! I might have to take that felt I’ve been meaning to make puppets out of, and make this instead! My son would have gotten bored with a puppet anyway π
yummers
Where do you think of all these cute details? Please share some of your brain with me.
How do you come up with all this?
its so so cute, your a very talented artist.
x
Such a simple but pretty Autumn decoration, love it shall be trying this out.
Zoe
http://blessedbeeapothecary.blogspot.com
such a lovely DIY! I love felt, it’s so fun to use π
So cute! I’m going to have to try this with my kiddos π
i just love your DIY crafty stuff!! so adorable!
This is just gorgeous. I cannot wait to make it with my two girls. I like the style of your blog! I am excited to tool around a little bit. Thanks for the fall inspiration!
Love it! Totally gonna make that π Thanks for sharing!
XO!!
So cute! I made one last year and think it’s time to break it out and hang over something to make it extra cute!!
Can’t wait to make these with my lil’ one. Love the fall colors π
β₯βΊ Carmen
They look just awesome gave me a fantastic idea to make my boring room bit colorful
What a fun, colorful fall project. I love the way the yarn is interwoven into the felt instead of just regular old thread! It really makes the project. Just so you know, I’m featuring this project in a fall roundup on my blog today. Feel free to stop by and pick up a featured button if you’d like! π
–Madison
http://www.craftycritique.com
I love it. Beautiful and simple, my favorite kind of project. I featured this project at Lines Across My Face in a fall leaf roundup.
Rachel
http://linesacrossmyface.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-heart-leaves.html
these are so pretty! i love the way you’ve decorated with them… it all looks so fall-ish and crisp!
this is a great idea, I love this and will be doing! just pinned it to my fall decor as well as activities I can do with the kids boards!
you know this would be an amazing diy headband as well with 3 or 4 leaves and yarn and just tie underneath your hair super cute i love it i’m making one right now
This is so darling! Very creative! I featured this post on my blog today:
http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/09/wednesdays-wowzers-3.html
Thanks for inspiring!
XO
~Alison
Thank you so much for this great idea! I tried this at my home in germany, if you want to have a look:
http://kessolina.blogspot.com/2011/09/dekofieber-im-herbst.html
I love all the vintage dresses.
this is great idea to make with my Rainbows,but I think I would make it shorter and use them for book marks
LOVE this! what a perfect fall craft! had to share it! I linked you back! π
p and s
I love seasonal decor in the house and this garland is perfect for late September!!! Thanks for posting!
P.S. Can I link it to my “Make It Thursday” feature this week? I will need to use one of your images (with proper credits, of course) and will provide a link to your post.
Love this – fall is my favorite season and this garland looks so easy and turned out so pretty!
I found this on pinterest and love it. I, however, am wondering about how big did you cut your leaves? I thought rather than “trial and error” it over here I’d ask first. THanks!
Ohh… I love this! So pretty. Linking up at Tangled Happy tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this. π
adorable. i dont usually decorate my apartment because it’s so much added storage after the fact, but this is so little and pretty!!
Smoking Crayolas Blogspot
love it! i’m gonna try it this weekend!
adorable! the yarn is the perfect touch.
happy fall ~
xo
elyse
I saw this on Pinterest and just had to follow your blog after that!
Jenna
callherhappy.com
http://funfamilycrafts.com/fall-leaves-garland/
Well don’t I feel silly! I pasted the link instead of my message, sorry about that! Here’s what I meant to say π
Just stopping by to let you know that I have featured your project on Fun Family Crafts! You can see it here
http://funfamilycrafts.com/fall-leaves-garland/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, I’d love it if you would submit them π If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.
i remember seeing your first leaf garland and its been on my to do list ever since, i finally got round to it
http://deezkatz.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-fun-autumn-leaves.html
thank you for the inspiration
deanne xxx
Woah, I know you probably posted this a million days ago as I look as some of the dates on these comments, but I still wanted to post a comment to you just to say that I made my very own Fall Leaf Garland truly based off of your own DIY found here on A Beautiful Mess, which I read religiously. Seriously, it’s sad how much I enjoy reading your blog and get so motivated from.
So I did post a few photos on my blog, and more than a couple of links to you from many of my posts because of course you are one of my favorite, Skunkboy Creatures is a close second π
If you like and have the time, for I know you are a busy one with many readers and so many like me I bet, you should head over to my blog The Loud Whisper just to see how similar I tried to get it to look like your little garland… http://laurensloudwhisper.blogspot.com/
It would be an honor to have you take a look, even a comment to see how you like it π Although I know how life gets and there’s so many things to do, so no worries if you never get to it.
Just sending you some love from a reader who is always inspired by you and your blog.
Lauren
The Loud Whisper
Hi Elsie! I adore this garland (and your pictures of it), and I posted about it today on my blog:
http://www.chickabug.com/blog/2011/11/fall-leaf-craft-ideas.html
Thank you for the wonderful inspiration – you are SO talented!
Heather
I was wondering the same thing as Jen. How do you thread the yarn through the needle?? Do you need a different type of needle? This garland is so cute. Love the photos!
I tried the yarn version, but was too lazy to follow through with it! I decided to use the sewing machine with the largest stitch and it still turned out cute! My 12-year-old daughter actually did the sewing part! I posted a link to your page on my blog!! http://www.nobus4us.blogspot.com. Feel free to check it out! I LOVE your blog! π
I tried out your older version (with thread, not yarn–I actually tried the yarn which I LOVE, but it was a bit difficult/time-consuming.). We also used the sewing machine instead of hand-sewing. I linked your instructions on my blog! It is a wonderful craft to do with your kids! Thank you for sharing.
You can see my version of your wonderful craft at http://www.nobus4us.blogspot.com.
Sorry for the double post! I didn’t realize that you had so many comments, so I didn’t think I really posted mine. π
It’s great to hear from you and see what you’ve been up to. In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. thank you.
This is such a pretty garland! I made one for myself and just did a blog post on it with a link back to you for the tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing!
http://sittingatourkitchentable.blogspot.com/2011/11/felt-leaf-garland.html
http://www.guccibagsjapan.com/ εη½²γ«γγγ¨γιζΌθΉγ―εζ₯εεοΌζγγγη»ε₯ζΈ―γεΊθͺγεζ₯εεοΌοΌζιγγζ΅·γγγγ¦γγγγγεΈ°ζΈ―γγγγ¨γγ¦γγγ¨γγγοΌδΊΊγ¨γγ©γ€γγΈγ£γ±γγγ―ηη¨γγ¦γγγ
Hi Ben and LindsayHey I enjoyed raeidng both of your new sites. The leaf idea is really neat Lindsay. I love it when people add a new little twist to their decor. You guys are both so good at it. I’m going full blast with 19 piano students and my new strict policy is sure paying off. I really have seen an improvement in practicing – always is encouraging. Well thanks for all of your news – love to hear and see it.
What size needle do you use in order to stitch with the yarn?
Thank you so much for this fun and simple project. I used it for the first day in our homeschool co-op sewing class, ages 7-10. What a great way to practice the running stitch! The kids were so excited at how quickly they had results of their work. I made them little packets to take home with pre-cut leaves and yarn and a needle. Looking forward to see their art when they bring their garlands back to show off next week.
Nice ideas and diy, i really liked this content.