18 DIY Fall Wreaths We've Been Dreaming About

DIY wreath in progress
Photo: Tatiana Soares/EyeEm/Getty

When the leaves begin to change, we know it's time to start breaking out our favorite fall décor to get us in the spirit and give a warm welcome to the season. From festive tablescapes to DIY home decorating projects, we look forward to making our homes cozy and bursting with everything autumn. Fall decorating isn't quite complete until there's a big, festive wreath hanging from our front door (or a simple one if we're feeling like going more subtle this year). Wreaths are the ultimate fall décor canvas. You can add pumpkins, corn husks, nuts, flowers, herbs, or burlap—the possibilities are endless. Make a wreath highlighting just one fall theme or material, or be ambitious and choose one that includes all of them! It's simple and easy to make a wreath that's perfect for you and your family this season. Get to work on your favorite for the front door centerpiece and keep going to adorn your interior doors, too. Here are 40 dreamy DIY fall wreaths.

01 of 18

The Fragrant Flower Basket Wreath

Yellow Pansy Hanging Basket
Photo: Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Looking for something unexpected? This hanging basket is filled with yellow pansies and marigolds, but also has seasonal herbs too.

How To Make It
Find a lined hanging basket at your local hardware or crafts store. Fill it with empty plastic bottles and good-quality potting soil. Yellow garden pansies and radiant marigolds to give the arrangement bright bursts of color. Add baby kale for a dose of purple in between the yellow. To make this basket functional, add cilantro (growing along the handle), golden lemon thyme (on the bottom left), and Italian oregano (on the bottom right.)

02 of 18

Rustic Charm Wreath

Rustic Fall Wreath
Robbie Caponetto; Design: Kathleen Varner

Liven up a monochromatic wreath with pops of texture and warm golden tones.

What You'll Need
Bleached and dried oak leaves, 18-inch grapevine wreath, bleached and dried ruscus, dried pampas grass, two tones of bleached and preserved gypsophilas, brown and gold wired ribbons, spear-shaped mini dried palms, dried poppy pods, dried burgundy coneflowers without petals, dried yellow Billy buttons, dried bunny tails, and foraged wispy grass

How To Make It
Moving in a clockwise direction, insert oak leaves into grapevine wreath to create shape. Fill in with ruscus. Add stems of pampas grass and gypsophilas for depth. For the badge: Tie two pieces of wired ribbon in a knot around bottom right section of wreath. Insert palms into badge. Tuck poppy pods and coneflowers in the center. Finish off by adding Billy buttons, bunny tails, and grass to badge once wreath is hung on door.

03 of 18

Dried Flower and Herb Wreath

Dried Flower and Herb Wreath
Laurey W. Glenn

This wreath looks like a fall fairytale, and smells good too! Craft this whimsical decor with your favorite foliage ad hues.

Find the DIY guide at Southern Living

04 of 18

Bittersweet Vines Wreath

Bittersweet Vine Fall Wreath
Photo: Helen Norman

Give your front door a bold update with a bright red wreath made with (non-edible) bittersweet. Be careful to dispose of seed heads in the garbage rather than the compost bin, as bittersweet can be invasive in the garden.

05 of 18

The Welcome Wreath

Fall Weath
Photo: Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Foliage in shades of moss, burnt orange, crimson, and rust come together to create this seasonal door decor

How To Make It
Start with a 15-inch-diameter green moss wreath. Then, using florist picks and wire, wrap the wreath with green, yellow, red, and orange leaves. (Tip: For extra-vibrant and long-lasting color, buy artificial foliage.) Add in bittersweet branches for pops of red and touches of texture.

06 of 18

Pumpkins and Gourds Wreath

Create a DIY Gourd Wreath
Helen Norman

To make this classic wreath from bright pumpkins and gourds, first cover a 20-inch foam form with sheet moss, using a glue gun to hold the moss in place. Loop a 3-inch-wide burlap ribbon over the wreath to create a hanger long enough so it can reach the top of the door and allow the wreath to hang at eye level. Insert wooden florist picks into the bottoms of pumpkins and gourds, and hot-glue the connection to secure. Once the glue has cooled, stick pumpkins and gourds into the wreath. Fill in with more moss, using a glue gun. To hang the wreath, secure the burlap ribbon with an upholstery tack hammered into the top edge of the door.

07 of 18

Shades of Red Wreath

Red Leaves Wreath with Pinecones for Fall
Hector Manuel Sanchez; Produced: Kathleen Varner

When it comes to creating a wreath yourself, always remember to work in groups. This grapevine base is covered with preserved red sycamore leaves and then groupings of preserved plume reed grass, oregano, pinecones, and phalaris grass are added on top.

08 of 18

Colorful Fall Foliage Wreath

Colorful Fall Foliage Wreath
Laurey W. Glenn

Nothing says autumn quite like our favorite fall leaves. Red, orange, and yellow leaves make this brightly colored wreath the perfect at home in autumn.

Find the DIY guide at Southern Living

09 of 18

Calico Corn Badge Wreath

Calico Corn Badge
Hector Manual Sanchez; Design: Rebecca Bull Reed

Ribbons of burlap create a rustic background for iconic fall plants that are bundled into sheaves to form decorative accents.

What You'll Need
Ears of store-bought calico corn, bunches of goldenrod and safflower blooms, and dried flowers and seedpods, which you can gather from your yard.

How To Make It
Hang lengths of three-inch wide burlap ribbon from the top of each door using tacks, letting the ribbon go about three-fourths of the way down your door. Next, attach the corn bundle to the burlap ribbon using florist wire, allowing the dried corn shucks to fan out at the top. Hide the wire with a knot of burlap ribbon and cut flower stems eight to 10 inches long. Then, push the goldenrod stems into the string that ties the bunch of corn together. To complete your DIY wreath, embellish with dried flowers and seedpods using the same method.

10 of 18

Door Knocker Embellishment Wreath

Fall Door Knocker Embellishment
Ralph Anderson

To give your door knocker a simple seasonal touch, zip-tie two crookneck gourds together, and then zip-tie them to a foam-core oval about five inches long. Cover ties with ribbon. Working at an angle, hot-glue sprigs of coontie palm, croton, holly fern, asparagus fern, and abelia to cover the foam core. Loop wire through one of the back ties, and hang above the door knocker. The hardy foliage will last about two weeks in cool weather and can be replaced.

11 of 18

Terra-Cotta Garden Pots Wreath

Terra-cotta Pots
Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Warm up an entry with earthy terra-cotta rooting pots. Use weathered pots from your own collection, or age new ones using our technique. Fasten them to a pre-made wreath, hide the wreath hanger with a ribbon, and then add a bow.

12 of 18

Blooming Basket Wreath

Blooming Basket Fall Wreath Display
Robbie Caponetto; Design: Kathleen Varner

Create a cheery hanging display with colorful cut flowers.

What You'll Need
Florist foam, a wicker basket, foraged burgundy foliage, purple salvias, hydrangeas, dahlias, zinnias, and celosias

How To Make It
Soak florist foam in water for an hour before tucking it into the basket. Add foliage, salvias, and hydrangeas to foam to build shape. Consider placing hydrangeas low around the edge of the vessel to help give weight and initially fill space. Insert groupings of dahlias and zinnias, and fill with textured celosias for interest.

13 of 18

Acorn Wreath

Acorn Wreath
Robbie Caponetto

Collect small acorns, nuts, and other items from the yard and attach them to a wreath form that is wrapped in a chocolate brown ribbon. If you would like, glue the wreath to a bed of magnolia leaves. Use an elegant bow to hang it from your door, dining chairs, or any wall you wish to accent with seasonal charm.

14 of 18

Seasonal Swag Wreath

Fall Wreath Door Swag
Robbie Caponetto; Design: Kathleen Varner

Highlight the beauty of late-autumn foliage with an atypical, cascading wreath.

What You'll Need
Dried ferns, florist wire, ribbon, foraged orange leaves, bittersweet branches, dried yarrow, dried okra pods, foraged grass, and dried bunny tails

How To Make It
Gather a bunch of ferns; flip them so the undersides face outward. With tips pointing down, bundle them together with wire. Add more ferns to the top in the opposite direction; secure with wire. Wrap a long piece of ribbon around wire. Tuck in leaves and bittersweet; add yarrow to the center. Once it's hung, finish with okra pods, grass, and bunny tails.

15 of 18

Free Spirit Wreath

Feather and Grasses Wreath
Hector Manuel Sanchez; Produced: Kathleen Varner

This DIY wreath starts with a grapevine base.

What You'll Need
18-inch grapevine wreath, dried pampas grass, preserved stardust gypsophila, bleached stardust gypsophila, dried yarrow, dried setaria grass, dried okra pods, pheasant feathers.

How To Make It
Insert the stems of pampas grass and gypsophilas to fill out the shape. Keep things interesting by inserting accents like dried yarrow, setaria grass, okra pods, and feathers to one side.

16 of 18

White Pumpkin Wreath

White Pumpkin Wreath
Laurey W. Glenn

Start with a store-bought grapevine wreath. Pick an odd number of white mini pumpkins. Attach pumpkins to florist picks, and then work the picks into the wreath, making sure to space them evenly. Secure pumpkins to the wreath with wire. Using additional florist picks, attach seasonal greenery (we used smilax) and bittersweet (available at your local garden center), filling in the spaces between pumpkins. Add an assortment of fall leaves to wreath with picks and wire for a colorful finish.

17 of 18

Pinecone Wreath

Pinecone Wreath
Laurey W. Glenn

Position large pinecones, with the tips facing outward, in a tight ring around a grapevine wreath, and then attach the cones with florist wire. Nestle pieces of garland and smaller pinecones between the large cones to hide empty spots and create a lush look.

18 of 18

Pomegranate Wreath

Pomegranate Wreath

ROBBIE CAPONETTO. STYLING: KATHLEEN VARNER

Layer foraged cedar and pine clippings around a grapevine wreath form. Tuck in berry branches and magnolia foliage throughout, turning over some of the leaves to add flashes of gold. Use florist picks to attach pinecones and pomegranates; secure with extra wire, if needed. Then finish with complementary ribbons in pink, sage, and gold.

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Sources
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  1. University of New Hampshire. Invasive in the spotlight: oriental bittersweet.

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