How To Make An Autumn Leaf Garland

Have you started placing your autumn home decor yet? I love to dress up my home for each passing season. But instead of looking to shop for an artificial autumn leaf garland as an autumn decoration, this year I decided to make my own easy autumn leaf garland diy project. 

I love Autumn. The colours of the leaves and the slight chill to the air makes it my favourite time of year. For me there is nothing better than bringing those colours into your home. 

This fall leaf garland tutorial is one of those fabulous craft ideas and DIY projects that even the smallest children can help with. Using fall leaves for decoration and decorating with fall leaves is such an simple and cheap way of bringing the season indoors. It also means that you are not using any plastic to create your autumn decor.

Personally, I love decorating the mantlepiece in our dining room, which doubles as our craft room, so for me this autumn leaf garland indoor decoration is perfect. But this fall leaves garland using seasonal colours would also make perfect thanksgiving decor, autumn wedding decor or for birthday party decorations during the autumnal months.

Furthermore, this autumn leaves garland is made even better by the fact that the price to make it is almost free and the whole project is compostable afterwards! 

*This post has been updated – it was originally posted in August 2020

Autumn Leaf Garland DIY Tutorial

this Idea!

It is lovely to go hunting for all the materials needed to make this wonderful fall leaves decor project. I love going to the park with my little girl and trying to find the most diverse range of colours to make this fabulous fall leaves decoration that will brighten up any room in your home. 

Plus, depending on where you are in the world your fall leaf decorations will be totally unique! Did you gather lots of maple leaves? Then you can make a full autumn maple leaf garland. Where I live we have a large number of sycamore, oak and horse chestnut trees. You can use whatever is local to you.

Ready to make this DIY fall garland? Read on to see how!

For These Autumn Leaves Decorations You Will Need

• 100% cotton string or burlap twine – the burlap twine does look more like a hanging vine
• A selection of autumnal decor – such as conkers (buckeyes), leaves, and flowers. I love Chinese lantern flowers (Physalis Alkekengi) because they look a little like pumpkins and so they really brighten up the display.
• A bradawl, thin screwdriver or sharp scissors.

Importantly,  an adult will need to make the holes through any conkers used with a sharp bradawl or thin screwdriver. But then after that it is then very easy for a child to thread the leaves, flowers and conkers onto the string or burlap twine for the fall garlands. So this is a brilliant family activity. 

Here’s a couple of tips to remember:

• TIP 1  – tie a knot before and after threading a conker – to prevent them from drifting too far out of place.
• TIP 2  – make 2 small slits towards the tops of the leaves rather than in the middle – which stops the leaves from twirling too much when threaded in place.

It is very easy to thread the leaves when moist, and I would certainly recommend not waiting too long before threading your fall garland DIY project or they dry out and become brittle. 

The Finished DIY Leaf Garland

I love my autumn garland! But over time, you may find that the leaves do dry out completely and become quite delicate. If they start to crumble a little too much, maybe it is time to take your DIY fall leaves garland down and make another.

In any case, once you have taken down the garland, if you have used 100% cotton string or burlap twine, the whole thing can just be placed in your garden compost bin. Meaning that there is absolutely zero waste. Which to me is totally the best type of decoration that there is!

Enjoyed This Post? Here Are Some Other Autumn, Fall And Halloween Ideas

• An Autumn Leaf Jar
• A Halloween Garland
• An Upcycled Jar Halloween Decoration
• A Halloween Rag Wreath
• Halloween Crafts For Kids

Happy decorating, and have a wonderful autumn!

Do you think that you will be trying out how to make a fall garland this year? I would love to see your makes. Comment below, or find me on social media.

And please do pin this post for later.