Felt Leaf Garland -- A Picture Tutorial : :

Since the leaves have all fallen of the trees and there is still some Fall Season left to celebrate before we wish for Christmas snow -- we decided to bring some of those autumn colors we love so much indoors, with this simple Felt Leaf Garland.

Besides basic sewing supplies you will need:

• scraps of felt in autumn colors -- reds, greens, oranges, golden yellow, brown, etc.
• bias tape -- extra wide, double fold (in a coordinating color)
• sharp scissors
• pins
• leaf shape templates(optional)

First : : Gather your felt -- with the harvest colors in mind, of course. You can make several leaf templates using card stock for uniformity and trace your shapes onto your felt with a fabric marker, but I chose to do ours free form, cutting what I could from my scraps of felt. I had a stack of 21, which worked perfectly with the 3 yard strand of bias tape.

Second : : Arrange your leaves in the order you'll want them to hang in your garland.

Third : : Make sure you have extra wide, double folded bias tape and your pins handy.

Forth : : Now take your bias tape, which is folded in half and slide the stem of your leaf in-between the fold, close, and then pin in place. Leave about 6" on each end to use as a knot or loop for hanging. Repeat with all of your leaves, leaving a 1 - 1.5 inch space between each leaf. I used the entire length of the standard 3 yards package of bias tape to make my garland, it can easily be made longer or shorter by omitting or adding leaves.

Fifth : : Using thread that matches the color of your bias tape (recommended) start sewing along the bias tape, removing pins as you go. Continue sewing until you get about 6" from the end, making sure you've left that length for making your hanging knot or loop. Example of knotting the end : :

Now, that's it! Your Felt Leaf Garland is ready to hang!

A photo of the one I made for Cynthia

Super easy, eco-friendly, and such a great way to use up some scraps! And don't limit yourself to just this leaf garland, if you just change the theme, this idea works with any holiday or celebration garland -- really the options are endless!

I hope you have enjoyed this project. Create on! ~ Maureen