Fifteen Felt Christmas Ornaments Finally Finished!

Oh, hello, what's this? Another blog post about getting things finished?? HURRAH.

If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I was working hard to finish lots of my personal creative projects last year, including a patchwork blanket, a couple of quilts, and a set of felt Christmas ornaments I was making from Alicia Paulson's lovely patterns.

I bought several of Alicia's kits way back in 2012 and 2013 and had really made very little effort to devote any focused time to them... so, unsurprisingly, most of the designs were still sitting in pieces, unstitched, in a drawer in my flat many years later.

Well now, happily, I can say that all fifteen ornaments are finally finished! Woohoo!

Don't they all look fabulous together?

That photo ended up being my most popular Instagram photo from last year - and, indeed, my whole time on Instagram. Watching all the "likes" roll in for this project was a weird and fun way to finish the year!

Fancy a closer look at the ornaments? The first batch was the slowest to finish as they technically took me 5-6 years to complete...

... then it took me just a month to get another four finished this autumn...

... and the final four were ready just in time for Christmas.

I completed the sweet Gingerbread Girl in early December - I probably could have managed it slightly earlier but I wanted to make sure I was super focused and in the zone when I stitched her face to get it juuuuust right. She is so charmingly folksy, I love her.

The next two got finished in the middle of the month, while watching made-for-TV Christmas movies (I love made-for-TV Christmas movies). There's the cute (double-sided) Notevena Mouse (as in "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse")...

... and the lovely (single-sided) Lighted Window.

The very last design I stitched was the Whistling Tea Kettle which is the one I took most liberties with when it came to not following the instructions.

There was a lot of satin stitch in Alicia's original design and I a) do not enjoy and b) am terrible at satin stitch, sooo my version looks slightly different to hers while still keeping to the same overall pattern. Could I (should I) have used this project as an opportunity to improve my satin stitching? Probably, but never mind!

I deliberately missed out a row of blanket stitching on the kettle, too, because I was finding it frustrating and honestly just wanted this thing finished. I'm pretty pleased with the end result, though, even with the changes.

Just like the other big projects I finished last year after years of them being just works in progress, it is hugely satisfying getting these ornaments completed! I've been meaning to finish them "in time for Christmas" for so many years (and so many different Christmases) that it felt wonderful finally having them ready in time for one.

Having said that, though, I have a confession to make: although I basked in the glorious feeling of getting these ornaments finally finished (which was an excellent Christmas gift to myself), I didn't actually hang any of them up at Christmas!

My holiday decorating style is, these days, best described as very minimal. I put up a few decorations around my flat along with all the cards I'd received from friends, but I don't put up a Christmas tree... and even if I did, it would have to be a VERY big tree to fit these ornaments on it as they're quite large (though you might not guess it from the photos). The Gingerbread Girl, for example, is about 17cm (almost 7 inches) high.

Also (and it's embarrassing to admit this) there's a bit of me that's a teeny bit worried that I'll have them on display and someone will come round to my house and think I made and designed them and say something nice which ends up feeling not so great. I've had this happen several times before with handmade-but-not-by-me things and honestly hearing "oh wow this is the best thing you've ever made, I love these so much!" about something that isn't your work is super awkward and slightly devastating! (Even if you yourself think they're nicer than your own work, too!) (Ugh, maker feelings are so complicated).

So, I think I'm going to end up giving some of these as gifts to friends and family in the run up to next Christmas and possibly just keeping a few of my favourites to hang on doorknobs and other suitable places in my flat. (If you're a friend of mine please do feel free to drop hints about which ones are your faves!)

I'm going to give myself the year to think about it though - who know, by the time next Christmas rolls round I might have decided that I can't bear to part with any of them and I'll have found the perfect places to display them all! We shall see...

Want to make some of these ornaments for yourself? Click here to find all the patterns (and much more loveliness) over in Alicia's shop.

For lots more Christmas crafting ideas, visit my archive of free tutorials.

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.

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This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many felt 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!

Christmas Candle Embroidery Pattern

November's free project for my monthly pattern newsletter subscribers is an embroidery pattern for sewing a winter candle!
 

You can use the candle and holly design to add some festive cheer to any sewing project, frame it in a 5 inch embroidery hoop, or embroider it on felt to make a fun ornament for your Christmas tree.

I stitched mine on cream coloured felt...

... and added a red ribbon loop to match the red candle.

I think this design would also look fab stitched all in white on a solid colour background (maybe red or royal blue - like these baubles or this snow globe ornament). You could also personalise it by stitching a name or year on the base of the candle holder.

 
November's pattern newsletter will also include a link to October's project: a tutorial for sewing a felt tree stump brooch.

 
Click here for more information about my newsletters and to subscribe!

Click here to visit my tutorial archive for lots more free patterns... including LOTS of Christmas projects.

Christmas Ornaments in Progress

I thought you guys might like to see how I'm getting on with the final four felt ornaments I'm making from Alicia Paulson's lovely patterns...

If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I've had some of Alicia's Christmas ornament kits for years and am finally making an effort to get them all stitched and ready for Christmas.

I finished the first seven this summer...

... then finished another four a few weeks ago:

They're large, double-sided ornaments, with lots of pieces and details to stitch but I'm getting there slowly!

I've almost finished the Gingerbread Girl; I just need to embroider her face, add the ric rac hanging loop and stitch the front and back together.

I'm waiting for a day when I'm feeling particularly focused, as I don't want to mess up the little details of her face!

I also need to add the face to the Notevena Mouse...

... and give him some feet, of course!

I've been deliberately leaving the fiddliest bits of these ornaments until last, skipping ahead of Alicia's instructions to do so (tsk tsk). For example, I should have stitched the little candle in the Lighted Window already, but there's been no harm done by leaving it until later.

If you're ever going to skip ahead with a tutorial, you should - of course! - read the instructions all the way through to make sure you're not going to cause yourself any problems later on. Sometimes the order things get stitched in is just a matter of personal preference, but sometimes there's an important reason why you need to stitch X before Y and if you stitch Y before X you'll end up in a pickle.

Really, you ought to read the instructions all the way through before you start stitching at all and definitely before you start cutting anything out. I foolishly didn't do this when I first began work on these patterns. I just went ahead and cut out all the pieces based on the colours and quantities marked on the template sheet.... and now I am, as you might expect, in a bit of a pickle.

I shouldn't have cut out the Whistling Tea Kettle shapes before embroidering the design, so my tea kettle is now going to end up with some extra layers of felt or fabric in the middle as I'll need to tack the shapes to some material so I can place them in embroidery hoops and stitch the flowers.

Not ideal, but hopefully it'll work out okay and I'll have a lovely finished tea kettle ornament to show you guys soon!

Click here to find all these lovely patterns on Alicia's website.

Click here to find lots more Christmas crafting ideas in my tutorial archive.

Happy Fir Trees: Felt Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Make some happy little felt fir trees to hang on your Christmas tree this year!

 
These cute felt tree ornaments are a variation on the Halloween candy corn ornament tutorial I shared a few years ago...

... just in fir tree colours, and with brown trunks added to complete the tree shape.

These ornaments are really fun and easy to sew, and would make a great addition to your decor this Christmas. For less cute ornaments, you could leave off the smiley faces and just make plain trees. You could also add seed beads or embroidery to make your fir trees into decorated Christmas trees.

You will need:

- Felt in three shades of green
- Brown felt
- Black seed beads
- Sewing thread to match all the felt colours
- Black sewing thread
- Narrow ribbon
- Toy stuffing
- A needle and pins
- Sewing scissors
- A ruler and pencil
- The template sheet from the candy corn ornament tutorial

To make a fir tree ornament:

A. Follow steps 1-5 of the candy corn instructions, using three shades of green felt (darkest at the bottom, lightest at the top) instead of yellow, orange and white felt.

B. Cut two rectangles of brown felt (each measuring 1.5 cm x 2 cm) for the tree's trunk. Place these on top of each other and sew them together along three sides with whip stitch or blanket stitch and matching brown sewing thread, leaving one of the short sides unstitched.

C. Stuff the trunk with a tiny piece of toy stuffing, then sew it to the bottom of one of the tree pieces. Use whip stitch and green sewing thread, sewing into but not through the green felt. Also add a ribbon loop to the tree, as in step 6 of the candy corn ornament tutorial.

D. Join the front and back of the tree ornament together then stuff it lightly with toy stuffing, as in steps 7 and 8 of the candy corn ornament tutorial. Start your sewing at the side of the tree ornament, not the bottom, so you can sew past / through the trunk before you begin stuffing the ornament. Turn the ornament back and forth as you sew past the trunk to help keep your stitching neat on both sides.

Your finished ornament(s) will look something like this:

These trees would also make cute brooches: just add a brooch clasp instead of a ribbon loop!

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.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many felt 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!

New in My Shop: Felt Robins Tutorial (& Robin Embroidery Pattern)

I've been busy working behind the scenes on my felt bird sewing patterns, and the first one is now in my shops! Hurrah!

My robins pattern includes templates and step by step instructions for sewing felt robin brooches and felt robin Christmas ornaments.

 

Once you've bought the pattern, you can use it to make items for yourself and as gifts for friends and family or to sell at craft fairs, etc (as long as you credit me as the designer).

I've also included a robin and holly embroidery pattern, which you can stitch onto anything you fancy or frame in a 5 inch embroidery hoop.

I really enjoyed stitching this and I hope you will, too!

You can buy the printable PDF pattern from my Etsy shop - it'll be available to download immediately after purchase!

P.S. I've got lots more patterns in the works - follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my newsletter for all the latest updates from me and my shop.