How to Make an Easy Fall Wreath from an Old Rake {Video}

I absolutely love finding vintage pieces and repurposing them as budget-friendly home decor. On our recent trip to Arkansas, we stopped at an antique store in Checotah, Oklahoma, where I found this old rakehead in this gorgeous green color. Immediately I knew it needed to either be a fall wreath or a Christmas tree! — Which would YOU have used it for?

Since it was September, I upcycled it for my fall door decor. This was an EASY fall decor project! Scroll down to watch the video to see exactly how easy this DIY project was.

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Supplies Used for This Super Easy Fall Wreath

• the head of an old rake
• fall leaves, berries, moss, twigs, pine cones, mini pumpkins, or other natural elements or foliage
• burlap wired ribbon
• other fall-wired ribbons
• scissors
• zip ties

{{{See a complete list of what’s in my toolbox and supply cabinet.}}}

How to Make a Fall Wreath from a Rake

One: Clean the Vintage Item

This is usually my first step whenever I upcycle anything. This antique store vendor had already done a great job of cleaning it… there was hardly any dirt or dust on this rake head at all!

But if you have an old rake that needs cleaning, take your Dawn dishwashing detergent out to the yard, scrub it off, and rinse with the water hose.

Two: Cover the Ugly Handle with a Ribbon

This particular rake head had gummy duct tape around the handle. Instead of trying to remove it, I just covered it up with a burlap ribbon.

Another idea would be to add a small harvest basket to the bottom and surround it with moss, or more florals.

Three: Attach Floral Sprays

I only used two floral sprays for this fall wreath. Both came from Hobby Lobby but you can find sprays like these at any craft store, Amazon, or even thrift stores!

HINT: When you find seasonal florals that you like at thrift stores, garage sales, or flea markets go ahead and buy them no matter what season it is. Store them in plastic bins until you’re ready to decorate for that season.

“Fluff” out the floral spray. This is basically just making sure none of the stems are stuck together and will make your arrangement look much fuller.

HINT: Just touching each of the little branches on the spray will make them look intentional… instead of just like something that was pulled straight out of a box.

Cut off the excess stem with heavy-duty wire cutters or a stem cutter. Watch the video below to see how I cut them off, even though I didn’t have heavy-duty wire cutters.

Arrange the fall floral sprays on the rake head until you have the look you want. Attach with zip ties. Trim off the extra plastic.

Optional: Use floral and/or leaf sprays that have apples and oranges, fall shades of hydrangea flowers, corn husks, succulents, lotus pods, a feather, or whatever fits with you fall decor.

Four: Make and Attach a Bow

I recently took a bow-making class because I’ve always had a problem with bows. My new secret for an easy DIY fall wreath is my bow maker! It’s like an extra hand to help keep all these ribbons organized. I’ll have to share that in another tutorial — it’s a whole project on its own!

Once you get the bow made, attach it with a zip tie, too.

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Five: Fluff and Hang on Your Front Door

That’s it! Now you can welcome guests with a unique autumn door decoration.

This is really one of the easiest wreaths I’ve made in a while. Check out the video below to see how long it actually took.

DIY Fall Wreath Video

For those of you who are more visual, here’s the Facebook Live video where I made my autumn rake wreath.

My Finished Fall Wreath

Here are a few pictures of the finished fall wreath… What do you think?

If you liked this upcycled project, PLEASE pin it!

More DIY Projects

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like to see these DIY wreath ideas too:

• How to Make a Bicycle Wheel Wreath
• 15 Easy Pumpkin Wreaths
• 30 Easy Summer Wreath Ideas
• How to Make a Wreath in Any Style
• How to Make a Wreath With Mesh

Thanks for reading my blog and watching my videos. Feel free to share! And leave a comment to tell me about any unique fall wreaths you’ve made from your thrift store finds.

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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Originally published on Oct 7, 2020.