Handmade Christmas Ornaments Tutorial

Earlier this week I wrote about the ornament swap from the Indy Modern Quilt Guild and the ornaments I received and created here.  Well with about 30 minutes you can make your own pretty easily.  Two versions are available, a standing option and a hanging option.

handmade christmas ornament tutorial

I started with these vintage thread spools from my stash.  My mom found a sewing chair years ago at an estate sale and it was full of goodies.

vintage thread spoolsThen I coordinated with the Blend Tinsel scraps I had leftover from potholders.  These are 6″ squares.

handmade christmas ornamentFold the square in half with right sides facing each other.

handmade christmas ornamentDraw the shape you want.  I chose a U shape.  When marking on fabric I use a disappearing ink pen to mark my lines.  You could use a regular marker as well since you will be leaving a seam allowance and turning the U inside out.  handmade christmas ornamentAt the pin there is a 4″ ribbon loop inserted to hang the ornament.

handmade christmas ornamentSew the line you drew and cut a 1/4″ seam allowance outside of the line.

handmade christmas ornamentTurn the U inside out.  Use scrap batting to stuff U to fill it out.

handmade christmas ornamentOnce the U is as full as you like, gather the fabric at the open end.  I folded mine in like a present.

handmade christmas ornamentAdd a dab of hot glue to hold the fabric together.  Once dry add another dab of hot glue and adhere the thread spool over the closure.  Press hard to help it adhere.

handmade christmas ornamentHold for a minute or two and there you go.  Hanging Christmas tree inspired Christmas ornaments.

Note:  There are tutorials out there to make this more of light bulb look.  However I tried it and it didn’t look right.  So I flipped the hanging part over and the trees were much better.

hanging and standing options
hanging and standing options