Making a Felt Leaf Garland

Last fall I made a felt wall swag using oak leaf and acorn elements. I wanted to make a larger garland this year. Originally I was considering something that would hang in the dining room window. Unhappy with the initial results, I decided to follow a process similar to that used for the oak leaf project. This is the final result.

See oak leaf project here: Autumn Felt Wall or Door Hanging

Supplies:

• felt squares in various fall colors
• manila folder and other scrap paper templates
• scissors
• tape
• embroidery floss
• buttons
• needle and thread
• pins, optional
• pen or Sharpie, optional
• push pins or thumb tacks

Steps:

1. Make leaf templates. I had several left from previous projects. The large maple leaf was made by tracing around a large maple tree leaf that I found on a walk.

2. You can try tracing your pattern onto the felt, but I found that even Sharpie does not work that well for this task. So I placed small rolls of tape on the back side of the template and stuck it onto the felt.


3. Cut out your leaf shapes. Make two for each leaf.
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4. Place the two pieces together and using an embroidery backstitch, outline the leaf shape and add veins. You can pin the two pieces together or simply hold them together as you sew, readjusting if there is any noticeable slippage.
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5. Make as many sizes and shapes as you like to create a garland long enough to fill the space you have chosen to display your handiwork.
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6. Next I laid the leaves out on the table and arranged them to my liking.

7. Overlapping the pieces slightly I sewed them together using sewing thread and a small button.
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8. Finally, I pinned them to the dining room wall using push pins. You could use thumb tacks or whatever method you like to hang your garland.