If you are like me, you grew up hanging treasured felt ornaments on your Christmas tree every year, most of which were usually made by someone in your family. In fact, I still have the one my mom made for me for my first birthday, since I was born during the holiday season.
I love making my own now, and I’ve put together this tutorial for a very simple felt ornament, 4” in diameter, using one of my Snowflake Stick & Stitch patterns.
I’ll go over the stitches I used for the design on this project, but this tutorial is mainly focused on the construction of the ornament itself, and not a detailed stitch guide.
These instructions are also geared towards using a stick and stitch pattern, but if you have your own designs and are comfortable with the various other pattern transfer methods out there, go for it! Everything I show should be a jumping off point for experimenting with your own preferred style. That’s the exciting part of embroidering and crafting, and I hope you have fun making yours!
What You Will Need
- 4” embroidery hoop
- Wool-blend felt; enough for two 4” (10.16 cm) diameter circles
- Stick & Stitch pattern, or your own design transferred onto the felt
- Satin ribbon, about 10” (25.4 cm)
- Embroidery thread
- Polyester fiber fill, about a softball size amount; you can also recycle fabric scraps to use as filling
- Embroidery or chenille needle
- Scissors
- Heat-erasable pen
- Optional: Round stencil; straight pins
Preparing the Felt & Hoop
Cut a piece of felt approximately 6” x 6” (15.24 cm x 15.24 cm). Place this in your 4” hoop and secure tightly. If using a stick and stitch design, follow the directions on the packaging for placing the sticker.
Stitching the Pattern
The possibilities are endless for what type of stitches you can use for your ornament design. For the snowflake pattern in my example, I used 3 basic stitches: the straight stitch, the satin stitch, and French knots, and DMC 712 for my embroidery floss color. I have a short video on Instagram and also on TikTok showing these stitches, and you can see where I used them below.
Once you are done stitching, follow the directions on the pack of patterns for washing away the stabilizer paper. Depending on the felt you use, getting it wet can be a bit tricky. I’ve had great luck with my wool-blend felt, but you may want to try a small scrap first to ensure it doesn’t shrink or warp when it dries. Once you have rinsed off the stabilizer, make sure your felt is completely dry before continuing.
Trimming the Felt
The next step will be cutting the felt into approximately 4” circles. You can use the inner edge of the outer hoop to do this, or use a round 4” stencil to mark the cut-line with the heat-erasable pen (you can remove any stray marks later with a hair dryer). You will need to cut out the embroidered piece of felt, as well as a second piece for the back of the ornament.
Making the Ribbon Hanger
This is a quick and easy way to attach a hanger to an ornament. I’ve used a satin ribbon for this example (about 10”) and a small piece of polyester fiber fill.
Double over the ribbon, and decide how long you want the loop of the ribbon to be on the finished piece. At the spot you want the ribbon to join with the ornament, make a knot.
Place the small piece of fiber fill next to that knot, and with the two ends, make another knot, tightening the fill between the two. This creates your anchor for the hanger.
Sewing the Felt Together
I chose to use a blanket stitch for my ornament…I think it makes a nice effect around the edges. But you could easily use a whipped stitch or running stitch to join the front and back. The thread color you choose can also impact the overall design…you can use a color that contrasts with the color of your felt, or the same color for a more subtle look. I decided to match my thread (DMC 3052) to my green felt. To start a blanket stitch:
- Cut off a length of thread about 2.5 times circumference of the ornament. Make a knot in the end of your thread, and line up your two pieces of felt. You can use straight pins to temporarily hold them together while you sew the edges.
- Come up with your needle from the inside of your front piece of felt (not through both pieces), so the knot is hidden between the two pieces. Your needle and thread should now be at the front where your embroidery is.
- Take your thread over the top edge and bring your needle up through the back and through both pieces of felt, coming through the front in the same spot as the first stitch.
- Next, loop your thread twice underneath the thread at the top edge of the felt, looping towards the direction you are going to sew around the circle. This secures your thread so you can make your first true blanket stitch.
- Decide how much space you want between your stitches. A helpful way to keep them even is to draw a few guide marks on your thumb.
- From the front, take your needle through both pieces of felt to the back, however far away from the first stitch you decide. Pull your thread through a little bit, and then bring your needle through the loop you are making to catch the thread before pulling it snug. Your needle will now be at the front of the ornament again. Your remaining stitches will be made this way.
Here is a video showing the steps outlined above:
Adding the Ribbon Hanger
As you are making your blanket stitches, decide where you would like to place your ribbon hanger. In this example, I made about 5 stitches before adding the hanger. Place the hanger between the two pieces of felt with the ribbon coming out next to your last blanket stitch. Holding everything in place, make your next blanket stitch around the ribbon to secure it. Continue with your blanket stitches.
Adding the Fill
Once you are about 3/4 of the way around the edge of the ornament, you will want to add your fill before finishing your blanket stitching. Add as much or as little as you like for your desired effect.
Securing the Thread
Once you finish your blanket stitches, you will want to secure the end of your thread; here is a video showing how I do that:
And you are done!
After you are done stitching, you can gently tug around the edges of your ornament to make sure all the stitches are in place and the fill is evenly distributed. Then it is ready to be displayed on your Christmas tree, doorknob, or kitchen cabinet!
I would love to see how your ornaments turned out! Find me @olmstedneedleworkco on Instagram, TikTok & Pinterest - tag me or use #olmstedneedlework