Make a Felt Fall Leaves Garland Thanksgiving Decoration

These fun and simple leaf garlands are a fun decoration that can be used over again every year, and are appropriate throughout the autumn season. Since they are inexpensively made, and simple to create, they are a great craft for children and can be made quickly in large quantities to use throughout the house.

To make a fall leaf garland, you'll need the following supplies:

-Craft felt in an assortment of fall colors (I used golden yellow, orange, dark brown, tan, and cream)

-Leaf templates downloaded from online or made by tracing real leaves

-Twine or tan ribbon or raffia for stringing

Trace and cut out your leaf templates from sturdy cardboard to make tracing them onto the felt easier. When choosing your leaves and shapes, it is best to use simpler ones when children are tracing and cutting. Judge the complexity of the shapes based on the age and dexterity of the children in question. Using the cardboard leaves, trace each one a number of times on all the different colors of felt. I like to use a fine tip Sharpie marker for tracing onto rough fabrics like felt. This is permanent, but shows up very well and can be trimmed when the leaves are cut from the fabric.

After the leaves are traced, cut each one carefully along the lines. Cutting slightly inside the lines will trim off the colored ink used to trace the shapes. To cut intricate shapes, you'll need pretty sharp scissors and a steady hand. Use smooth even strokes to avoid ragged edges.

When the leaves have been cut out, make two clips on each one to form a slot that can be used to thread the hanging twine. Also cut the twine into 8 inch lengths. To form the garland, thread a piece of twine into each slot on a leaf, and tie the two into a square knot of the font side of the leaf, leaving short decorative ends on the knots. Continue adding leaves and pieces of twine until the garland is as long as you'd like it.

To store these fall leaf garlands from year to year, I gently roll them into a loop, making sure that none of the leaves are creased, so that they'll all hang straight and neat the next time I want to use them.

These garlands are pretty hung along the banisters of staircases and along the tops of windows. Doorways, and mantels are also good places to add fall color with these felt leaf garlands.