The Sycamore Gap Tree - Free Felt Ornament Tutorial

Sew a felt ornament to commemorate the beautiful (and now sadly felled) Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall!

The shocking news has prompted such an outpouring of love for the tree, and for our connections with nature and the landscapes that mean so much to us.

I thought it would be nice to design a felt ornament to celebrate and remember that specialness!

The step by step sewing tutorial includes templates and instructions for making three different Sycamore Gap ornaments - a sunny summer's day, a sunset scene, and a night-time scene with a starry sky.

Choose the design you prefer, or make the whole set!

Click here to find the free downloadable Sycamore Gap pattern on my Patreon.

FREE Felt Tampongate Ornament Tutorial & Happy Tampon Embroidery Pattern

This Coronation-inspired project definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea but the idea popped into my head and I simply could not resist making it!! Sorry!! :)

Sew a very silly, VERY CHEEKY ornament to celebrate the Coronation, the classic Royal scandal that was Tampongate, and the relationship between our King and Queen* 

 

 

(*I think The Tampon Conversation is actually a very cute and funny example of how well suited they are for each other!) 

As well as templates and instructions for sewing a Tampongate ornament, I've also included an embroidery pattern version of the design which fits neatly in a 3 inch embroidery hoop.

There's also an embroidery pattern of a cute little tampon on its own, and of course you can leave off the felt crown and just make a felt tampon ornament for any occasion!

 

A little felt tampon ornament would be fun to stitch as a first period present, to fundraise to help women and girls in period poverty, or just to help promote more open and relaxed conversations around the topic of periods. 

And the happy tampon pattern would look very cute stitched on a pouch for storing your period supplies!

Click here to find the free printable PDF pattern over on my Patreon!

Click here to read more about my Patreon pattern library and to get a preview of some of the many projects you'll get access to as a subscriber. 

These projects are for personal or fundraising use only: you can use them to stitch as many ornaments or other items as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale unless all the proceeds will be donated to an appropriate charity. Thanks xx

Enjoyed this free project? Subscribe to my Patreon, or buy me a "coffee" and help support my creative work!

P.S. Visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free creative projects!

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns and lots more:

Felt Crown Ornament Tutorial for the Coronation of King Charles III (& Coronation Embroidery Patterns!)

Sew a sparkly felt crown ornament to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III!

I've had so much fun sewing these little crowns, and I hope you guys will too. They'd be fun to sew over the Coronation weekend, or for your tree this Christmas as a memento of 2023.

The design is based on St Edward's Crown - part of the British Crown Jewels, and the crown which will be used at the exact moment of the King's coronation during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. 

The printable PDF tutorial includes the templates and step-by-step instructions with lots of photos and helpful hints and tips.

It's now available as an instant download in my Etsy shop, and I've also added it to my Patreon pattern library.

If you don't want to sew your own crown but would love one as a keepsake you're in luck, as I'm selling the handmade ornaments too!

As well as the felt crowns tutorial I've shared some Coronation-themed embroidery patterns over on Patreon, which would also make great colouring pages (perfect for making some DIY decorations!). 

There's a Coronation Crown Embroidery Pattern - the full design with the lettering "The Coronation of King Charles III, 6th May 2023", designed to fit in a 7 inch embroidery hoop, and the crown on its own if you'd like to just stitch that or add your own custom lettering. 

I've also included a couple of pages with repeats of the crown design so you can easily print out lots of crowns for some group colouring-in sessions or to make a paper crown garland.

There's also a Cute Coronation Embroidery Pattern with a sweet little lion and unicorn. I've included the little union flag heart as a separate pattern, and repeated lots of times on the final page so you can easily print and make some DIY bunting. The heart would look fab stitched on felt to make a little ornament - just add the date of the Coronation on the back to turn it into a memento of the day.

Click here to read more about my Patreon, get a preview of the many projects included in the pattern library, and to subscribe!

A Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Felt Ornament Tutorial

Sew a felt portrait of the Queen, to commemorate her long life and reign!

 

This step by step project includes templates, instructions, and several text options for the embroidery - including "Thank you, Ma'am, for everything" for the Paddington fans among you. 

Don't want to make an ornament? Sew the finished portrait onto a larger piece of felt or fabric and frame it instead. 

CLICK HERE to find the printable PDF pattern over on my Patreon.

In case you missed it - here's the embroidery pattern I shared earlier. 

I'm sharing these patterns for free, but if you'd like to support my work you can sign up to become a Patron, buy me a coffee, or visit my shop. 

If you'd prefer to make a donation to a charity in memory of the Queen that would also be lovely!

How To: Sew an Embroidered Felt Gingerbread House Ornament

A little house embroidery pattern + some ginger coloured felt = a sweet little gingerbread house to hang on your Christmas tree!

I shared a set of five free house embroidery patterns this spring, which I realised would be perfect for making little embroidered Christmas ornaments. They'd be sweet for any Christmas, but they feel particularly appropriate for this year of staying home!

To sew my ornament, I stretched a piece of ginger coloured felt in an embroidery hoop. I traced the house pattern onto a piece of white tissue paper with a ballpoint pen, adding 2020 to the roof and the house number 10 to the door to personalise the ornament (it's gonna be a gift for someone who doesn't read my blog!). I attached the tissue paper to the felt with large tacking stitches of sewing thread, then followed the lines to stitch the design.

I used white embroidery thread (floss) to represent lines of icing, using three of the six strands. I stitched most of the design in backstitch then added French knot berries to the little tree. 

I then removed the tacking stitches and carefully tore away the tissue paper, revealing the embroidered design. I carefully cut around the house leaving a border of felt around the edge. I then used the house shape to cut a second backing shape of felt, added a loop of narrow ribbon, and joined the layers together with blanket stitch. 

I lightly stuffed my ornament but flat houses also look great and would be ideal for popping inside a card to a friend this holiday season!

Click here to find the free little house embroidery patterns.

These patterns are for non commercial use only: you can use them to embroider as many houses 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  post or share my pattern on your site. Thanks!

Enjoyed these free patterns? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


P.S. 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:

Little Felt Robins PDF Pattern

Psst - there's a new PDF pattern in my shops!

 

You can use this tutorial to sew sweet little felt robin brooches or Christmas ornament... with or without sequins! 

The printable PDF file includes step by step photos and instructions, plus three easy-to-print sizes of the templates. 

 

As with all the PDF patterns I sell, once you've bought my little robins pattern you have my permission to use it to make items for sale at craft fairs or in your own online shops.

 

Click here to buy my Little Robins PDF Pattern from my Etsy shop (the file will be available to download immediately after purchase).

Felt Dove Ornaments Sewing Pattern & Peace on Earth Embroidery Pattern

Sew lots of doves this Christmas with my latest PDF pattern!

 

 

The printable PDF pattern includes a step-by-step guide to sewing the ornaments, and templates for two sizes of the birds... plus a Peace on Earth embroidery pattern!

I've included instructions for adding embroidery, sequins, and beads to your doves. You can copy my doves, or get creative and add your own embellishments.

 

These look so pretty against the dark green of a Christmas tree, and make lovely gifts. 

As with all the PDF patterns I sell, once you've bought the doves pattern you have my permission to use it to make items for sale at craft fairs or in your own online shops.

Click here to buy my Doves pattern from my Etsy shop (the file will be available to download immediately after purchase).

Sew a 2020 Christmas Ornament: Masked Gingerbread Man Tutorial

Yesterday I shared a tutorial for making fun felt Santa-in-a-Facemask ornaments and today I'm sharing how to make another very 2020 decoration... cute little gingerbread men wearing facemasks!

 

I based this ornament on the gingerbread man tutorial I posted a couple of Christmases ago - click here for the template and tutorial.  

 

To make the masked 2020 version, follow steps one, two, and four (skip step three!).

Then cut a rectangle of pale blue felt for the mask (white would also work if you don't have any pale blue!), approx 16 x 11 mm. 

Position it on the gingerbread man and sew it in place with lines of backstitch in matching sewing thread. Sew along the outside edges first, then sew two more horizontal lines to represent the folds of the mask.

 

For the Father Christmas ornament, I made the mask curved at the top and bottom to create a 3D effect but gingerbread men are flat so their masks would stay looking like a rectangle!

(It's very important to make your mask-wearing gingerbread men look realistic, hahaha).

Adding the elastic straps/loops is a little fiddly so take your time: sew a stitch of white embroidery thread out from one corner of the mask and over the edge of the gingerbread shape. Secure it with a few stitches on the back. Then repeat this process to add three more lines of "elastic".

Because these ornaments are smaller than the Santas, I used fewer strands of embroidery thread (three of the six strands in my thread). 

Then follow five and six of the original tutorial to add the ribbon loop and finish the ornament. 

And, ta-da! One cute ornament for Christmas 2020!

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch 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  post on your site. Thanks!

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


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

Visit my shops to buy colourful craft supplies, plus my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Sew a 2020 Christmas Ornament: Santa in a Facemask Tutorial

Sew a silly felt ornament to commemorate this deeply weird year!

I made my masked Father Christmas decorations using my Santa Bauble pattern, but you could easily adapt other festive felt ornament tutorials to make 2020 versions!

To make the masked Santa, follow steps one and two to cut out and assemble all the felt pieces.

Then cut a face mask shape from pale blue felt. You can use the template included at the bottom of the post or just measure a rectangle of felt large enough to cover where Santa's nose and mouth would be, then cut the top and bottom edges to be curved to give a 3D effect.

Position the mask and sew along the straight edges with backstitch and matching pale blue sewing thread.

Then sew along the curved edges with more backstitch.

Add two more curved lines of backstitch to represent the folds of the mask - aim for curves similar to those pictured but don't worry if you end up with uneven spacing or unbalanced curves, the mask will still look like a mask!

For the elastic straps of the mask, sew one stitch with white embroidery thread (floss) coming from each of the four corners. 

I used the whole thickness of my embroidery thread but it's easier to sew with fewer strands! I positioned my stitches so it looks like Santas has the elastic loops tucked behind his ears. 

If the character you're adding a felt mask to doesn't have ears (or, in the case of an animal, maybe has ears on the top of its head) positon your stitches so it looks like the elastic is stretching around the back of the head.

Then give your Santa some eyes! I used black seed beads for my 2020 baubles but you could use black embroidery thread instead (sew a large French knot or just sew a few very small stitches on top of each other to create the eye). 

For the background you could sew on some seed beads (see step four of the original tutorial), or add embroidery. I've been making baubles that say XMAS 2020 or 2020 2020 but you could add any short text you fancy! You'll find the templates I used at the bottom of this post.

When I'm adding a bit of embroidery to felt, I like to use a bit of tissue paper. Write the text you want to stitch onto the tissue paper, tack the paper to the felt with a few stitches of sewing thread, embroider the design with backstitch (I used half the strands of my white embroidery thread), then remove the tacking stitches and carefully tear away the paper to reveal the stitching. 

You can see photos of this technique in my pocket hugs tutorial. 

Finish your bauble by following steps five, six, and seven in the Santa bauble tutorial (I skipped the stuffing for my 2020 baubles to make them easier to post!).

Want to buy one of these ornaments instead of making one? You'll find them in my Etsy shop. 

After I'd sewn some Santas, I couldn't resist making a masked gingerbread man as well! Come back tomorrow for the templates and how to...

 

 

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch 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  post on your site. Thanks!

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


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

Visit my shops to buy colourful craft supplies, plus my printable PDF sewing patterns:

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