Christmas Ornament Tutorial: Sew a Felt Jingle Bell

PLEASE NOTE: this project will be removed from my blog at the end of November, after which it will be available as part of a printable pattern from my shops. Please make a copy of the instructions and templates if you'd like to save a free copy before then! :)

It's time for the final ornament in the series - hurrah! Last but by no means least, today I'm sharing a tutorial for sewing a felt bell ornament that actually jingles.

This jingle bell ornament is part of a set of cute felt Christmas decorations I designed for docrafts Creativity magazine last year.

You can make the whole set of ornaments, or just mix and match your faves. As well as the bell I'm sharing today, you can also make a snowman bauble, a reindeer bauble, an angel bauble, a Santa bauble, a sparkly star, a stripey stocking and a button heart.

To make the bell, you will need:

- templates (see the bottom of this post)
- royal blue felt
- royal blue and white sewing thread
- white embroidery thread (floss)
- a mini ribbon bow and matching ribbon (I used glitter bows and silver ribbon from the docrafts Create Christmas range)
- silver seed beads
- a silver jingle bell
- white narrow ribbon
- toy stuffing
- sewing scissors
- sewing needles and pins

To make the jingle bell:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out two bell shapes from royal blue felt.

2. Cut ribbon piece a few cm wider than the bell. Sew on with tiny white whip stitches (or line of running stitch at edge) folding over ends. When fold ends over, sew at back with small whip stitches sewing into the felt not through it.

3. Two rows of silver seed beads. Sew with double thickness of blue sewing thread. I used 5 beads for top and 6 for bottom row. Start row in centre to help get lines up neatly. Then bottom row sewn between gaps in top row.

4. Add mini bow with a few stitches in centre - to attach the silver bow I used white thread.

5. Cut a 15cm (6 inch) length of narrow white ribbon. Fold the ribbon into a loop and sew the ends to the top of the undecorated bell shape. Use whip stitch and blue sewing thread, sewing into the felt not through it.

6. Place the front and back bell pieces together so the ends of the ribbon are sandwiched between the two layers and the loop sticks out the top of the ornament.

Hold or pin the two bell pieces together and blanket stitch around the edge, using half strands of white embroidery thread and folding the bow forwards as you sew behind it. Start at the top right corner of the stocking, stitch most of the way round and leave a gap for stuffing.

Tip: sew along the bottom edge of the bell last so you have a straight edge open when stuffing the ornament. 

7. Add small pieces of stuffing to gradually fill the star, stuffing it lightly so it's evenly filled but still very squishy. Then sew up the gap with more blanket stitches and finish your stitching neatly at the back.

8. Add jingle bell. Double thickness blue thread. Sew in between layers so knot is hidden, then sew out. Sew through bell a few times to secure then finish your stitching at the back. 

This tutorial is for personal use only: you can use it to stitch as many felt ornaments as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a photo or two if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire post or share the pattern itself on your site. Thanks!

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Click here to view the template sheet, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.