A Neutral Fall Wreath

Well, it’s officially fall, so I guess that means I have to take down my summer decor, huh? 😉 I don’t know if it’s the warmer temperatures or wishful thinking, but summer seemed to stick around extra long this year and it has been kind of a challenge to get into fall mode. If you saw my fall shelf decor, you know I’ve been going with a more neutral palette this season, and my door decor is no exception. I went with a really simple look this time around, but I still think it makes a beautiful statement to welcome any visitors that may stop by our home.

Here’s what I used to make our simple, neutral fall wreath:

• Wreath Form
• Hot Glue Gun
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Felt
• Straight Pins
• Needle & Thread
• Duck Cloth

The first thing I did was wrap the wreath form with the ribbon. (P.S. I loved this ribbon. I found it at Walmart of all places, and it was like fabric in texture– softer than burlap, and more flexible than regular ribbon.)

I started by putting a line of hot glue on my wreath form and pressing my ribbon down on it (1). I continued wrapping, pulling the ribbon snug, keeping a consistent width with each wrap, and securing the ribbon with a little hot glue on the back of the form every 3 wraps or so (2). When my first roll of ribbon ran out, I clipped it so it was on the back of my wreath form and glued the new piece of ribbon right to the first piece (3). I finished wrapping (it only took one layer of ribbon!), glued the end of the ribbon to the back of the wreath form, and the first part was done (4).

Next it was time to put together the flowers. I initially discovered a tutorial for this ruffled flower over at One Project Closer and have loved it ever since. The longer I’ve made it, the more little tips I’ve discovered, so I’ll share those below…

I started by cutting a strip of duck cloth to about 2″ wide and 22″ long and threading my needle (1).

I did a simple long stitch all the way down the middle of the strip (2).

Then, pulling one end of the thread, I pushed the fabric toward the opposite end, creating a ruffle. I find it works best if the ruffle is somewhat loose, rather than tight and packed together (3).

I folded the ruffle in half (4) and began rolling the fabric around itself (5).

I continued to fold the fabric in half and roll it around itself. When it was completely rolled up, I took a few straight pins and stuck them into the flower to hold it together (6). {Love this pinning method– it allows me to use less hot glue and is a lot cleaner!}

I cut a circle of felt, put hot glue on it, and stuck it to the bottom of my flower (7).

I removed the pins and used my hot glue gun to go back through the flower and secure the few pieces that were loose. That’s it (8)! I love how it kind of looks scrappy and messy, but it is still obvious that it is a flower.

I used hot glue to attach my flowers to my wrapped wreath form and cut an additional strip of the duck cloth to use to hang it on the door. All finished!

Tip: If you have a wreath that is heavier on one side (in this case due to the flowers), take one or two command strips and use them to attach the wreath to the door so that it hangs straight. No one will ever know! Unless you blog about it and give away all of your secrets… 😉

Our door is officially ready for fall! This is probably one of the simpler wreaths I’ve done, but I needed more “simple” in my life this season, so it worked out just perfectly. 🙂

Have you started on your fall decor yet? Or have you been waiting too?