How To: Sew Modern + Minimalist Felt Christmas Tree Ornaments

A few years ago I shared a tutorial for making minimalist Christmas cards, featuring simple tree shapes cut from neon felt. At the time I thought "ooh, these would make fab Christmas ornaments, too!", cut out some extra shapes for making ornaments with... then ran out of time to actually make some for Christmas. Now here I am a whole four years later, finally getting round to it.
 

 

  
(As always, I am firmly team Better Late Than Never).

 

 
I used bright and zingy neon pink felt for my trees, stitching them together with lime (almost-but-not-quite-neon) green embroidery thread. Neon pink is a total nightmare to photograph but I hope these photos give you a vague idea of just how bright and fabulous these look IRL.

I love how super simple they are, but also how much they POP. They'd look particularly fab on a white tree!

You could, of course, make these ornaments in any colour you fancy - how about stitching a whole rainbow of trees and making a festive garland?

You will need:

- felt in your chosen colour
- contrasting embroidery thread (floss)
- the template sheet from this tutorial
- a sewing needle
- sewing scissors

Optional: narrow ribbon, sewing thread (to match the felt), sparkly stuff like seed beads or sequins.

To make each ornament:

1. Use the tree template to cut out two tree shapes from your chosen felt.

2. Thread a sewing needle with a length of embroidery thread, and thread it into the top of one of the trees (sewing into the felt but not through it).

Make a small loop of the thread, then sew another small stitch (again sewing into the felt but not all the way through it). Set aside the needle and knot the two ends of the thread to secure the loop you've created.

Trim away any excess thread. 

Alternatively you can add a ribbon loop, securing the ends with whip stitch and matching sewing thread.

If you'd like to add some sparkle to your tree (and make it a bit less minimal), use matching sewing thread to stitch some sequins or seed beads to the other tree shape.

3. Place the two tree shapes together and join the edges with blanket stitch. Use more of the embroidery thread, but this time use half the available strands instead of the full thickness of the thread. Keep your stitching as evenly spaced and sized as possible and finish it neatly at the back.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many ornaments as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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Christmassy Days Out

Isn't this warm weather weird? When I went to the Post Office to post the last of my Christmas orders I didn't even need to wear a coat! In late December!! Crazy.

Despite the lack of "proper" winter weather, I have been doing my best to enjoy the festive season with lots of Christmas-themed Nice Days Out...

The absolute highlight so far has been Christmas at Kew: a one mile illuminated trail through the gardens. I have to admit that (with an eye on my budget which, like most peoples, is a bit squeezed at this time of year) I ummed and aahed about buying a ticket to this as it looked a bit pricey and I wasn't sure if it would be worth the money but oh my goodness you guys it was so wonderful.

Look how amazing the Palm House looked all lit up!

 

There was so much loveliness to see along the trail...

 

 

... including a garden of fire...

 

... and fun installations like a choir of singing holly bushes (you can see a short video of them here, make sure you have your sound on!) and a fabulous colour-changing curtain of lights to walk through:

 

I had a huge grin on my face the whole way round, nearly cried with joy a couple of times and positively skipped home (where I proceeded to talk loudly about how awesome the evening was to anyone who would listen).

This year's Christmas at Kew trail runs until 2nd January, you'll find all the info here. In case you hadn't already guessed, I highly recommend it!

I've also visited a few of the big London Department stores Christmas departments, and took an after-dark walk down Oxford Street to enjoy all the bright and cheerful window displays.

Selfridges have a Zodiac theme this year:

 

 

 

I also rather enjoyed the woodland-themed windows at Accessorize (those owls!)...

 

... and the explosion of stars at Debenhams:

 

My fave windows so far this year though are probably those at Liberty (just off Regent Street) - they're absolutely jam-packed with beautifully arranged, lovely things.

Other festive outings have included a trip to the cinema to see Die Hard on the big screen (not exactly a traditional Christmas movie, but a very fun one all the same!) and a visit to the Geffrye Museum in East London.

The Geffrye is a fab (and free to visit) museum with 11 period rooms showing how the English have lived, from the 1600s to the present day. For their annual Christmas Past exhibition they decorate the rooms, showing how we've celebrated Christmas through the centuries. This was quite delightful! I also learned a lot about how our seasonal traditions have changed and evolved over time, which was rather fascinating. The Christmas displays at the Geffrye run to Jan 3rd, click here for all the info.

Finally, I'm planning a visit to Windsor Castle, which is currently decorated with a Regency-themed display to show "how the Prince Regent (the future George IV) celebrated Christmas at Windsor Castle in the early 19th century". Windsor is always worth a visit but it was especially wonderful to see it decorated for Christmas last year - I'm really looking forward to seeing this year's decorations!

You can enjoy a Regency Christmas at Windsor until Jan 5th, click here for all the info & a short video.

I'm taking a short break from blogging to spend time with family, etc, over Christmas but I'll be back soon! Best winter-y wishes to you all xxx

How To: Minimalist Neon Christmas Cards & Tags

Today I'm sharing an easy "how to" for making simple Christmas cards and tags from neon felt.

  

This is a super simple design but the bright colour + the texture of the felt = a great combo. Of course, you could use any colour of felt for this project but the neon colours work so well!

 

I used acrylic felt for this project, the same type sold at Fuzzy Fish (as "lime" and "punk pink"). Cloud Craft also sell neon pink felt. (Full disclosure, these shops are currently sponsors of my blog but these are in no way sponsored links... I just love neon felt!). If you've spotted other places selling neon felt, please share a link in the comments :)

 

You will need:

Blank card & tags - I used these recycled cards from Paperchase
Felt
Fabric scissors
The templates at the bottom of this post
Glue or double sided sticky tape (and scissors for cutting the tape)
A black marker or other pen
Optional: a pencil, ruler and eraser

To make the cards:

1. Use the large template provided to cut out your Christmas tree shapes, one for each card you want to send.

2. Stick one tree to each card. You can use craft glue or pieces of double-sided tape. Peeling off the tape can be a bit fiddly but it's mess-free and sticks felt to card really well with no lumps or bumps. Make sure to leave space at the bottom of the card to write your greeting, if you want to add one.

3. Use a marker or other pen to write a simple greeting under the tree. It's a good idea to write the text in pencil first to make sure you get it nicely centred. You can also use a ruler to give yourself a straight line to write across. Wait until the ink is totally dry and then erase the pencil lines.

I tried using a silver marker for the card with the green tree but it didn't work at all as the silver didn't show up well on the brown card. Oops! However, silver lettering would look great if you were using black cards.

For a super minimalist look, leave the cards text free!

To make the tags:

1. Use the small template provided to cut out your Christmas tree shapes. If needed, resize the template to fit your tags. I used ready-made blank tags but you could make some yourself from blank card, a hole punch and a piece of string/twine/yarn/etc.

2. Stick a Christmas tree to each tag. You don't need much to attach the trees - I just used one piece of double-sided tape. 

And that's it! Quick and easy tags ready for dressing up your parcels. These tags would look great paired with brown paper and silver ribbons... or with other neon gift-wrapping supplies. Neon London sell a great selection of neon ribbons and wrap. 

Click here to view the template sheet in a new window or tab. Make sure you're viewing it full size, then print at 100%.

This tutorial is for personal use only. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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DIY Christmas Cards & Advent Garland

Today I'm sharing an idea for making some easy Christmas cards using some of my free felt ornament patterns.

You can make sparkly Christmas cards...

... or an advent garland made from 24 mini envelopes:

For both projects, you'll need the templates from the following felt ornament tutorials:

Candy Cane Ornaments
Snowmen Ornaments
& Christmas Tree Ornaments

To make the Christmas cards...

1) Cut out all the templates you want to use, turn them over and trace the shapes onto the appropriate colours of paper or card with a pencil. Cut out the coloured shapes and turn them over - any pencil marks will now be hidden at the back. I used plain paper/card for most of the pieces but used some shiny gold wrapping paper for the stars on the Christmas trees.

2) Arrange the pieces and take a note of which pieces are underneath or overlapped by the others and will need to be glued on first. Use a glue stick to glue each piece in position on a blank card, leaving space at the bottom of the card for a message if you want one.

3) Use a black pen to draw eyes and buttons on your snowmen and to write your choice of message along the bottom of the card (it's a good idea to write this in pencil first, or you may end up with an off-centre message like I did! Oops).

4) You could leave the cards as they are if you want (I think the snowman and candy cane cards look rather nice left un-decorated) but it's good to have some sparkle at Christmas, right? So now's the time to add it. You can decorate the shapes with glitter glue, or brush on PVA glue and sprinkle it with glitter in the colour you want...

You could cover the whole tree shape with green glitter, or add glitter to dots or lines of PVA glue / draw on lines or dots with glitter glue, or use PVA glue to stick on some sparkly sequins.

If you're using two colours of glitter (e.g. for the candy cane) make sure one section is totally dry before glueing-and-glittering the next.

Glitter is a bit tricky to photograph (especially the white stuff!) but trust me, the finished cards are SUPER sparkly :)

For extra Christmas loveliness, why not make a felt ornament to match the card and slip it inside when you send it?

To make the advent garland... follow steps 1 & 2 as above but stick your shapes onto mini envelopes.

Then use a black pen to draw on the eyes and buttons for the snowmen, and to number each envelope. You will need 24 envelopes to make up your advent garland but you don't have to make all the envelopes as detailed as these - you could add some with simple stars and hearts as well.

Then fill the envelopes with happy messages / wrapped sweets / etc and use mini pegs and a length of ribbon or twine to hang up the garland.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it for as many cards / garlands as you like to give to friends and family but please don't make any for sale. Please feel free to borrow a couple of photos 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 tutorial on your site. Thanks!

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How To: Sew Easy Felt Christmas Tree Ornaments

Time for another festive tutorial: how to make simple felt Christmas tree decorations.

 

These ornaments are quick and easy to sew - perfect for beginners! They're also a great way to use up lots of decorative odds and ends from your stash - mix and match embellishments to create a whole set to hang on the tree.

You could also string them on some pretty ribbon to make a holiday garland, maybe with beads or felt balls or pompoms in-between the trees.
 

You will need:

- the templates at the bottom of this post
- dark green felt, brown or red felt (& optional: yellow felt)
- matching sewing threads
- sequins, beads, ricrac, ribbon, mini buttons, embroidery thread, etc to decorate the trees 
- narrow ribbon in red or green
- sewing scissors & a needle

To make the ornaments:

1) Cut out all your felt pieces. For each tree you will need 2 x tree shapes (in green), and 2 x trunk shapes (brown for a natural trunk or red for a pot).

2) Decorate one of the tree shapes. You could use sequins (sewing the sequins on with three stitches of green thread)...

... beads or mini buttons (sewing them on with a double thickness of green thread), or sew a pattern with some colourful embroidery thread (floss).

For my embroidered ornament I divided a length of thread/floss in half (using 3 out of the 6 strands) and stitched overlapping stitches to create little star shapes.

You could also decorate the tree with scraps of ribbon or ricrac. Cut the trim so it overlaps the tree as pictured, and sew it in place with running stitch in matching thread...

... then fold the ends over and secure them in place with a few whip stitches (sewing into the felt but not all the way through it).

You could also cut out a star from yellow felt and sew it to the top of the tree:

3) Use running stitch and matching thread to sew the two trunk / pot pieces together. You only need to sew along three sides, as the top (not sewn) edge will be hidden inside the finished ornament.

4) Add a ribbon loop.

Cut a length of narrow ribbon approx 5 inches (12.5cms) long. Fold it over to form a loop and sew it in position at the top of one of the felt tree shapes using dark green thread. Make sure you sew it to one of the "wrong" sides so the cut ends of the ribbon will be hidden inside the ornament when it's finished.

Sew it in place with whip stitch, sewing into the felt but not all the way through it.

5) Stitch the ornament together.

Hold or pin the two tree pieces together, with "right" sides facing outwards. Use dark green thread and running stitch to sew around the edge, stitching the layers together. When you sew along the bottom of the tree, insert the trunk / pot piece in between the two layers as pictured and sew across it, sewing through all four layers of felt to hold the trunk / pot in place.

When you've finished sewing all the way round the edge of the tree, finish your stitching neatly at the back.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only. Please feel free to borrow photos 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 tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

To print the templates click here to view the template sheet in another window or tab. Make sure you're viewing the image full size then print at 100%. I've added a scale so you can check if your templates have printed out correctly, but you can make them larger or smaller than mine if you prefer.