I have been wanting to make some felt ornaments for a while. In fact, I purchased all of the supplies last Christmas and just never got around to it. But, this Christmas season, I’ve been feeling extra crafty, so I got out my felt and embroidery thread and made a few easy embroidered felt ornaments.
For inspiration, I looked at a few felt ornaments I already owned. I have some of from and a couple of other references that were gifts. I share these ornaments in the video tutorial embedded below. I didn’t copy them, but rather used them as a jumping-off point for inspiration. I wanted to keep these felt ornaments very simple, though. I didn’t want to get into stuffing or needle felting. I wanted to create ornaments that had the layered and stitched look I loved but took less than an hour to make. These easy embroidered felt ornaments would be something you can work on while you’re watching TV because they don’t require your full attention.
And I loved how they turned out! I am definitely going to make some more. I already made a fox for Calvin, since that’s his favorite animal.
These easy embroidered felt ornaments are, of course, perfect for hanging on the tree or giving as gifts, but they also make nice present-toppers that can be used year after year. Since you’re designing and making them, the options are endless. You can add dates, monograms, names, places. Oh, what about a house shape with an address to give to someone who just bought their first home! That would be so cute. Anyway…you can see that this tutorial is just a jumping-off point and there are so many directions you can take it.
This project is also great for little hands that like to make things. They are still charming, even if they aren’t perfect. In fact, I think it’s the handmade imperfections that make them so charming. Because they are so forgiving, this is an ideal project if you want to get into needlework. It’s perfect practice without any pressure or complicated pattern.
easy embroidered felt ornaments | what you’ll need
Wool Felt – The navy felt is from Hobby Lobby. The thick cream felt is from .
Scissors – are my favorite
Embroidery floss – I used
Yarn – I used
Embroidery needle
Ribbon
This is the vintage graph I used as a template. (I’ve had a thing for swallows lately!) I printed it up, cut out the shape, and transferred it to a piece of cardboard to make tracing it onto the felt simple. You can also use cookie cutters, stencils, or other ready-made shapes.
I use very simple stitches for this project. Just a running stitch and I used the twist in the yarn as a guide as well. I made little berries with three simple knots. I show the process in the video.
easy embroidered felt ornaments | video tutorial
This video is a little bit longer than some of my other recent tutorials because I make two different kinds of easy embroidered felt ornaments and I share the supplies as well as where to gather inspiration…
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I loved this project and how it turned out. I can’t wait to make some more…
You can find more Christmas & holiday crafts, decorating ideas, and recipes HERE.
5 Responses
Oh wow, hand-stitched felt ornaments, sometimes embellished with beads or sequins, are something I make every year! And I also made one in the shape of the front facade of my daughter’s brand new house that she moved into last year!
Felt is an amazing material to work with, whether it be fancy wool felt or easily-available thin colorful craft felt from any craft store. The best part is that it doesn’t fray. My kids made ornaments over the years with me and we still have all of those too. These can be holiday specific or for any occasion you want to dream up, or simply purely decorative.
So many possibilities, and the ones you have made are beautiful! Like you said, they are a very pleasant hand craft that you can pick up and put down for times when you are listening to something or watching TV. Any search through Pinterest for ideas will knock your socks off!
Will you pretty please share your fox ornament? Foxes are my daughter’s favorite animal, too!
I love your European flare to wool felt ornaments. I have made blanket stitched wool ornaments for many years. I tracing hint is to trace your designs on freezer paper on the paper side, Iron the “waxy” side to the felt, and cut your designs out and peel off the paper. Sometimes it is difficult to see the chalk or it rubs off.
Oh, great idea! I haven’t tried freezer paper, but that sounds like it works better than tracing a template. I’ll give it a try.
I would LOVE the foxes too! These are so fun! I would like to get our church ladies together for a crafting night every once in a while and this would be a good one! I’m thinking a snowman or hedgehog would be fun!