Julie Finn
Felt is one of my favorite materials for holiday crafting, because whether I’m keeping a project, making it as a gift, or crafting with a group, there is a felt that works for everyone!
Prefer a natural fabric? Wool felt has a wonderful hand and dyes easily into a rainbow of colors.
Prefer a non-animal fabric? Eco-fi felt is widely available, and is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic.
Prefer a recycled fabric? Thrifted wool sweaters felt into a thick, dense, sturdy fabric that’s different from anything you can buy new.
Felt is excellent for children and beginners because it doesn’t fray. It can be hand-sewn or machine sewn, and while it has zero drape, it has a ton of structure that allows you to skip the starch and interfacing.
So pick your favorite ornament, your favorite felt, and start crafting!
The Easiest Ornaments to DIY
candle ornament. This is a fun ornament to make with older kids, as it calls for simple hand stitching or the use of hot glue.
cookie cutter ornaments. Here’s another simple ornament that’s good for beginning sewists. Master the blanket stitch and adding simple embellishments and you’ll be ready for embroidery!
traditional ornaments. These templates for traditional ornament shapes are fun for kids to embellish. Skip the glitter but pass the rick rack!
mandala ornament. It’s the pattern seeker in me, but I LOVE the potential of these mandala ornaments! They’re user-friendly with the potential for machine sewing, hand-sewing, or glueing, which you can also use to add beads, buttons, dangly bits, or other embellishments.
felt bauble. So many of these felt ornaments are single- or double-sided that this nice and round one is even more special! It requires only a little sewing, and can be made in any size.
two-toned stars. These simple ornaments still manage to add a huge pop of color to your tree.
pinecone. Instead of a Styrofoam egg, upcycle an old plastic or wooden Easter egg and glue the felt pieces on.
Ornaments That are Great for Gift-Giving
gingerbread house ornament. Okay, don’t freak out, but this gingerbread house will be a LOT of work. There are so many adorable details and embellishments, though! If you use Eco-fi felt, you may need to line the inside of this house with thin cardboard to add more structure.
letter to Santa. For maximum cuteness, make the envelope yearly and enclose your kid’s actual letter to Santa!
felt letter. Many of these ornaments look best made with Eco-fi or wool felt, but here’s an ornament that I think would look lovely when cut from a felted wool sweater. A sweater pattern would allow you to skip most of the elaborate embellishment without leaving the ornament feeling undecorated.
felt ice skate ornament. There are several cute ornament tutorials here, but my favorite is this ice skate.
mitten ornaments. Mittens on a Christmas tree are so cozy! Feel free to experiment with different types of embellishments for these, especially fabric paint.
message hearts. Here’s the perfect ornament to make for a crowd. It’s easy to batch sew, but the message box allows you to personalize each one.
Food
felt taco ornament. Because you should have your favorite things on the tree!
hot cocoa ornament. Stitching on the smiling little faces is a great way to practice your embroidery!
felt gingerbread man. His buttons are so TINY!!!!! Also, tiny things use up scraps!
gingerbread cookie ornaments. The key to making these ornaments is adding LOTS of embroidered details.
easier gingerbread house. If you suspect that trying to create that elaborate gingerbread house ornament will make you cry, make this one instead!
peppermint stuffie ornaments. I love how cuddly these plush peppermint ornaments are. Feel free to fill them with fabric scraps, thread bits, newspaper, and other odds and ends instead of batting.
candy. These easy no-sew ornaments are a fun way to add candy to your Christmas tree! If you have a small child, make an extra set to add to their pretend food collection.
The Most Christmassy Ornaments!
Santa ornament. Whether you’re a true believer or not, you still can’t have too many Santa ornaments. Anyway, it’s another excuse to upcycle a button!
poinsettia. I’ll take any excuse to upcycle a button!
3D snowflake ornament. This is a remarkable and brilliant way to easily sew a snowflake. It would look wonderful not just as an ornament but also on a wall hanging or in a garland.
two-toned ornaments. I love using two different colors of felt for these ornaments.
retro no-sew ornaments. The previous ornaments look modern, and these ornaments look retro!
jingle bell ornament. The addition of a real jingle bell make this ornament absolutely magical!
wool sweater and button snowmen. There’s no tutorial associated with this image, but it’s easy enough to copy. Sew all your buttons and embellishments onto a piece of felted wool sweater, then back it with another piece and blanket stitch the two together.
ugly Christmas sweater ornament. I can’t even find ugly Christmas sweaters in the thrift stores anymore, because the hipsters have snatched them all up! Fortunately, these miniature versions can be as ugly as you want!
Christmas tree. A Christmas tree on a Christmas tree is a little meta, but I think your brain can handle it.
Animals
felt owls. I love an ornament that has a lot of “scope for the imagination,” and these owls have a lot! You can make so many fun color choices with the same pattern.
deer and fox ornaments. Projects like these are where felt really shines. Look at all the detail you can put into each ornament without having to worry about stitches or fraying!
animal ornaments. There are SO MANY cute felt ornament patterns here! All would work equally well with Eco-fi or wool felt.
alpaca ornaments. I don’t know what the deal is with alpacas, but my teenagers LOVE THEM.
sloth. I don’t know, you guys. If you’re making alpacas, you might as well make sloths.
felt squirrel ornament. The templates for this squirrel are simpler than most of the other felt animal ornaments in the previous listing, so it’s the perfect canvas for adding detail through embellishments.
unicorn. Add some unicorn magic to your Christmas tree!
I am always trying to collect new ornament ideas. If you’ve got a felt ornament that you love to DIY, please tell us all about it in the Comments!
