5
Dec
How to Make an Autumn Leaf Crown
Ahhh autumn. It’s the time of the year when the world is ablaze in rich colors of crimsons, golds, bronze, and brown. The trees in our neck of the wood turned late this year starting in October and continuing well into the end of November. After posting this picture of Lorelei wearing a leaf crown there were a few folks curious who wanted to make some of their own and I had promised to put together a little tutorial. Well, that time has come for ALL THE LEAF CROWNS!
Originally, I learned how to make these in Linnea’s Almanac, a book about seasonal observations. The setting is in England, but a great deal of the references are applicable throughout the northern hemisphere. This activity is a modification of the one outlined in the book. Next time you’re outside on a fall day, grab a basket or fill your pockets with leaves of every shade for this simple activity to transform the season’s bounty into a coronet for autumn royalty.
HOW TO MAKE LEAF CROWNS
Step 1: Collect freshly fallen leaves. Dry leaves will crumble, but fresh leaves will be more malleable and will be the easiest to work with for this activity. I find that maple leaf varieties (sweet gum and gingko leaves) work the best. You’ll need 15-20 leaves depending on the size of the crown wearer’s head. You might need a pair of scissors too, so grab a pair if you have some handy.
Step 2: To start, gently fold the leaf in half along the leaf’s midrib. The with your fingernail or a pair of scissors (optional) make a small slit that goes through both sides of the leaf, above the midrib.
Step 3: Taking another folded leaf, insert the stem into the slit you just mad and pull it through. This leaf should be folded around the leaf with the slit.
Step 4: Continue the above process. Fold a leaf, make a slip, pull another folded leaf’s stem through that slit. At times I did use scissors to make a slit in the leaves because they were too thick for me to puncture with my finger.
This is what the back of the crown should look like. Don’t worry about the stems. If they’re super long, you can trim them once you’ve finished.
Step: 5: Eventually, you’ll have a lovely chain of leaves. Measure your chain around the crown wearer’s head to fit to size.
Step 6: Once you’re at a length you prefer, make two small slits in the first leaf of the chain. Slide the stems of the last few leaves of the crown chain through this slit.
You’re autumnal crown for falltime fae is complete! Trim stems of leaves if needed, but don’t cut them too short. Keep them at least an inch long so that the crown holds together.
Happy Autumn-ing!
