Felt Hearts to Fabric Stars: Top 9 Christmas Ornament Sewing Patterns

Every December the same box comes down from the closet, and most of what is in it came from a store. A stitched ornament is different: a slightly crooked felt heart, a little animal with a name and a year on the back. A Christmas ornament sewing pattern is a small way to add one of those, and most of the patterns here need little more than felt, a needle, thread and a ribbon loop.

Nine tree ornaments made the cut. Six are felt, from plain trees and stars to a beaded Dala horse, two use fabric (a stuffed star and a little appliqué house), and the raccoon listing does not name its material. Under the cards you will find what changes between felt and fabric, the stitches these instructions use, and how to add the loop and the stuffing so the ornament hangs straight.

Felt or Fabric: Nine Christmas Ornament Sewing Patterns Side by Side

Machine embroidery files, laser-cut and 3D-printed ornament designs and SVG illustrations showed up in the same searches and stayed off the list. So did ornaments already featured in my other holiday roundups. Every pick below is a sewing pattern with templates and step-by-step instructions.

TL;DR: Nine tree ornaments: six in felt (dressed-up Claus hearts, simple trees and stars, a dinosaur, a beaded Dala horse, a snow globe and a penguin), a stuffed fabric star, an appliqué cottage from fabric scraps and a raccoon whose listing does not name the material. Finished sizes run from about 9 to 15 cm where the listings give them.

• Mr and Mrs Claus Ornament Sewing Pattern – Best matching pair
• Christmas Decorations Sewing Patterns – Best first ornament
• Fabric Star | Christmas Ornament DIY – Best fabric ornament
• Dino Christmas Ornament Sewing Pattern – Best playful ornament
• Dala Horse – Christmas Ornament Pattern – Best detailed ornament
• Cottage Ornament Sewing DIY Pattern – Best for fabric scraps
• Winter Snow Globe Felt Ornament Pattern – Best winter scene
• Felt Christmas Penguin – Sewing Pattern – Best little softie
• Reeko Racoon Christmas Ornament, PDF – Best woodland ornament

Quick Comparison

What Changes Between Felt and Fabric Ornaments

Felt does not fray, so felt ornaments are cut to their final shape and the two layers are stitched together edge to edge, with the stitches showing on the outside. That is why a felt Christmas ornament is usually sewn by hand with a whipstitch or a blanket stitch, and why a clean cut line matters more than a perfect seam. Wool-blend felt is thicker and softer than thin acrylic craft felt and generally holds stitches and small details better, which matters on handmade ornaments meant to last.

Fabric ornaments work the other way. The two pieces are sewn right sides together with a seam allowance, a small gap is left open, and the shape is clipped, turned and stuffed before the gap is closed by hand. The fabric star follows that route. The cottage skips turning altogether: its fabric pieces are backed with fusible interfacing and stitched flat as raw-edge appliqué, and the interfacing keeps the small shapes crisp.

The Hand Stitches These Patterns Use

• Whipstitch: small stitches that wrap over the edge of two felt layers. Quick, and almost invisible in matching thread.
• Blanket stitch: a looped stitch along the edge that makes a decorative border. The Claus hearts and the dinosaur use both of these.
• Ladder stitch: the hidden stitch that closes the turning gap on a fabric ornament, as on the star.
• Embroidery and beads: the Dala horse adds embroidery and seed beads on top of the edge stitching.

Depending on the details, a pattern may also ask for a backstitch or running stitch for lines inside the shape, or French knots for tiny dots. If most of these are new, start with a file that explains them: the raccoon comes with a 19-page guide to basic sewing and embroidery stitches, and the snow globe includes its own stitching guide. Small felt bears use much the same hand stitching; three are included in my teddy bear sewing patterns, and one is designed to hang on the tree.

Loops, Stuffing and an Ornament That Hangs Straight

Add the hanging loop before you close the ornament. Fold a piece of narrow ribbon or cord, tuck both ends between the layers at the top center, and stitch through them as you sew the edge, so the loop is held by the seam instead of a single knot. An off-center loop makes a Christmas tree ornament tilt on the branch.

Stuff in small pieces and push them into points and legs with a chopstick or a stuffing stick. Light stuffing keeps a felt heart or tree fairly flat, which hangs better than a round, overfilled shape. Before you cut anything, print the template at actual size (100%, not “fit to page”) and measure it against the size in the instructions.

Ornament Sewing Questions

Do I need a sewing machine to make Christmas ornaments?

Not for most of these. The felt patterns from The Christmas Lady say outright that no machine or glue is needed, and the penguin is sewn by hand too. A machine helps with cotton seams and with stitching appliqué like the cottage.

How do I transfer an ornament template onto felt?

Cut out the paper template, pin it to the felt and cut around it, or trace it with a fabric marker or chalk. For very small pieces, many sewists trace the shapes onto freezer paper, press it shiny side down onto the felt with a warm iron, cut through both and peel the paper away.

What thread works best on felt?

Embroidery floss, split into two or three strands, for stitches that are meant to show, and ordinary sewing thread in a matching color when they should disappear. The Dala horse lists both sewing and embroidery thread.

Can I sell ornaments made from these patterns?

It depends on the designer. The Christmas Lady listings allow selling finished ornaments as long as the pattern design is credited, while the pattern file itself may not be shared. For the others, read the terms on the product page before you sell.

Your Supply List Before the First Ornament

Almost every Christmas ornament sewing pattern here starts from the same small kit: sharp small scissors, hand-sewing needles, thread, stuffing (the flat cottage skips it) and narrow ribbon or cord for the loop. For the felt designs, add felt in three or four colors and embroidery floss; for the star, a piece of woven fabric and a point turner or chopstick; for the cottage, fabric scraps, a little felt and double-sided fusible interfacing. Seed beads are only for the Dala horse, and ornaments for a child’s tree are safer with embroidered eyes than with beads. For stockings, gifts and table decor to sew alongside them, see my Christmas sewing projects.

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