DIY Felt Christmas Ornaments (Easy Hand-Sewn Tutorial)

I’ve loved working with felt since I was little, and these DIY felt Christmas ornaments reminded me exactly why. I made these sweet hearts, stars, and Christmas trees using pink and white felt, then decorated them with embroidery and little beads to match our Christmas tree.

They’re sewn entirely by hand, lightly stuffed, and finished with a hanging loop. No sewing machine needed! And once you learn a simple blanket stitch, you can make as many different shapes as you like.

Handmade Felt Christmas Ornaments

I still remember sitting at a table as a little girl, surrounded by colorful pieces of felt, making whatever came to mind. I could spend hours cutting shapes and putting little things together.

I guess some things never change! I still love how such a simple material can become something so pretty with just a little stitching and imagination.

For this project, I wanted soft ornaments that would look lovely with my white, pink, and gold Christmas decorations. I chose three classic shapes: hearts, stars, and Christmas trees. Each one has a slightly different decoration, but they’re all made using the same basic technique.

I especially love the embroidered snowflakes on the hearts. The pink thread against the white felt looks so pretty, and the little blanket stitches around the edges give them that handmade look I wanted.

If you love decorating with felt as much as I do, you might also like my DIY felt leaf Christmas wreath.

Why You’ll Love Making These Felt Ornaments

These are such a fun little project to make during the Christmas season, and you don’t need much to get started.

• Beginner-friendly sewing: You only need a few basic hand stitches, and I’ll walk you through them.
• Easy to personalize: Change the felt colors, embroidery designs, or beads to match your own Christmas decorations.
• Great for using felt scraps: Small pieces of felt are usually enough for these ornaments.
• Lovely handmade gifts: Make a few for family and friends, or attach one to a wrapped Christmas gift.
• No sewing machine required: Everything is stitched by hand, which makes them a nice project to work on while relaxing.

You can make one ornament in about 30 minutes, depending on the shape and how much detail you want to add. If you’re new to embroidery, give yourself a little extra time.

How to Make DIY Felt Christmas Ornaments

I’ll show you exactly how I made the embroidered heart ornament because it includes all the basic techniques you’ll need. Once you’ve made one, you can use the same process for the stars, Christmas trees, or any other shapes you want.

The full printable how-to card is further down, but first, here’s the detailed tutorial with photos so you can follow along.

Supplies You’ll Need

• Felt sheets: I used white and pink to match my Christmas decorations. You can use any colors you like, and felt scraps work too.
• Embroidery thread: Choose colors that contrast nicely with your felt. I used dark pink thread for my snowflake embroidery.
• Cotton stuffing or polyester fiberfill: Just a small amount to give the ornaments a soft, slightly puffy shape.
• Ribbon, yarn, or twine: For the hanging loops.
• Pencil or fabric marker: To trace your ornament shapes.
• Small beads (optional): For decorating the stars and Christmas trees.
• Paper ornament templates: You can draw your own shapes or use my free felt Christmas ornament templates.

Tools

• Embroidery needle
• Sharp scissors
• Pins
• Needle threader (optional)
• Hot glue gun (optional, for attaching the hangers)

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut Out Your Felt Ornament Shapes

Start by printing and cutting out the paper shapes you want to use. I’m making a heart for this tutorial, but I also made stars and little Christmas trees.

Fold your felt in half so you have two layers, then place your paper template on top and trace around it with a pencil or fabric marker.

Carefully cut through both layers of felt. This gives you two matching pieces that will become the front and back of your ornament.

I chose white and pink felt because those were the main colors of my Christmas decorations that year, but you could use traditional Christmas colors or anything that makes you happy.

Step 2: Embroider the Snowflake on the Heart

Now comes my favorite part, adding the little embroidered snowflake!

Take one of your felt hearts and lay it flat. This will be the front of the ornament, so all the embroidery goes on this piece before we sew the two hearts together.

Thread your embroidery needle with your chosen color. I used dark pink thread because I wanted the snowflake to stand out against the white felt.

I started stitching from the center of the heart, making a small cross as a guide for my snowflake. You can also begin with one straight stitch and build your design outward.

From the center, extend your stitches to create the snowflake arms. I made mine with five main points.

Next, add small V-shaped stitches along each arm to give the snowflake more detail. I kept the stitches fairly small and tried to space them evenly.

Repeat until you’ve decorated all five points.

I also added a few little reversed V-shaped stitches near the center to make the design fuller. You can skip those if you prefer a simpler snowflake.

Don’t worry if every stitch isn’t exactly the same. Handmade embroidery has its own personality, and that’s part of what I love about it.

Once you’re happy with your snowflake, turn the felt over and secure your thread with a knot on the back. Trim any excess thread.

Your embroidered heart is ready!

Step 3: Sew the Felt Pieces Together With a Blanket Stitch

Place your second felt heart underneath the embroidered one, making sure the edges match.

We’re going to join them using a blanket stitch. If you’ve never tried one before, don’t worry. It takes a little practice, but it’s a lovely stitch for felt ornaments because it joins the pieces while decorating the edges at the same time.

Thread your needle with approximately 18–24 inches of embroidery thread. You can work with a shorter length if that’s more comfortable.

I started sewing at the bottom point of my heart.

Bring your needle through the felt from the back toward the front, leaving a short thread tail that you can secure later.

As you make the next stitch, bring the thread around the edge of the felt. Insert the needle through both layers, from back to front, keeping the working thread underneath the needle so it forms a loop.

Pull the needle through that loop and gently tighten the thread.

There you go! That’s your first blanket stitch.

Continue around the edge, always inserting your needle from the same side and keeping the stitches as evenly spaced as possible.

Try not to pull the thread too tightly. You want the stitches to hold the pieces together without making the felt wrinkle or bunch up.

I like using contrasting thread because those little stitches become part of the ornament’s decoration.

Important: Don’t sew the heart completely closed yet!

Leave a small opening, about an inch or two depending on your ornament’s size, so you can add the stuffing.

I usually leave my needle in the last stitch while I fill the heart so the thread doesn’t loosen.

Step 4: Add the Stuffing

Take a small amount of cotton stuffing or polyester fiberfill and gently pull it apart with your fingers.

Add a little at a time through the opening you left.

I prefer to fill the ornament gradually, pushing the stuffing into the rounded parts of the heart first and then filling the center.

This helps distribute everything evenly instead of ending up with one big lump in the middle.

You only need enough stuffing to give the heart a soft, slightly rounded shape. Don’t overstuff it or the felt can become stretched and the edges harder to close neatly.

Give the ornament a gentle squeeze to adjust the stuffing until you’re happy with how it looks.

Step 5: Finish Sewing and Close the Ornament

Once your heart is stuffed, pick up your needle again and continue the blanket stitch along the remaining opening.

Make sure the two felt edges are lined up, and keep the same spacing between stitches that you used around the rest of the ornament.

When you reach your first stitch, make one final loop and pull the thread through to secure it.

Since I started at the bottom of my heart, I brought the finishing thread together with the little tail I left at the beginning.

Tie both threads in a tight knot and trim the excess as close to the knot as you can without cutting into it.

And that’s it! Your little stuffed felt heart is finished.

I love how the contrast stitching frames the entire ornament. Such a simple detail, but it makes a big difference.

Step 6: Make More Felt Christmas Ornament Shapes

Now that you know the basic technique, you can make the rest of your ornaments!

I used the same process for my stars and Christmas trees, changing the decorations on the front pieces before sewing everything together.

For the felt stars, I stitched strands of little beads from the center toward each point. Nothing too complicated, but I love the detail they add.

For the felt Christmas trees, I used small beads as miniature Christmas ornaments. They look adorable against the felt!

You can also try different embroidery patterns, combine two felt colors, or keep some ornaments completely plain with just the blanket stitching around the edges.

If you decide to use beads or embroidery, remember to decorate the front felt piece before joining it to the back. It’s much easier to work on a flat piece of felt.

Step 7: Add the Hanging Loop

Every Christmas ornament needs a way to hang on the tree!

Cut a small length of ribbon, embroidery thread, yarn, or twine.

Bring both ends together to form a loop, then tie them in a knot.

I attached my hanging loops to the back of the ornaments with a small dab of hot glue. You can also sew them securely in place if you prefer not to use glue.

If you’re using hot glue, make sure the loop is positioned at the top and let the glue cool completely before hanging the ornament.

For ornaments you expect to handle often, I recommend stitching the hanger in place for extra security.

Step 8: Hang Your Handmade Ornaments

Time to put those little beauties on the Christmas tree!

I love how the white and pink felt looks against the greenery, especially with the embroidered snowflakes and tiny beads.

You can hang them together as a matching set, mix them with your other Christmas ornaments, or make a few extras to give away.

They also look really sweet attached to Christmas gifts instead of a traditional gift tag.

And the fun part? Next year, you can make completely different designs using the same technique.

More Felt Christmas Ornament Ideas

Once you’ve made your first ornament, it’s easy to play with different designs using the same method.

Snowflake hearts: Try different embroidery thread colors or add a tiny bead in the middle of each snowflake. You could even stitch someone’s initial instead of the snowflake.

Beaded stars: Mix different bead sizes or arrange them in lines from the center to each point, just like I did with mine.

Little Christmas trees: Use contrasting thread for the edges and tiny beads as ornaments. You could also stitch a small star at the top.

You can also experiment with mittens, stockings, or other simple Christmas shapes. Just remember to cut two matching felt pieces and decorate the front before assembling them.

How to Store Your Felt Ornaments

One thing I love about handmade felt decorations is that you can carefully pack them away and bring them out again the following Christmas.

Make sure your ornaments are clean and completely dry before storing them.

I recommend placing them in a box with a little tissue paper between them, especially if you’ve used beads or strongly contrasting felt colors.

Keep them somewhere dry, away from moisture and anything heavy that might flatten the stuffing.

And if they look a little squished when you take them out next year, you can gently reshape them with your fingers.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Christmas Projects to Try

If you like this DIY Felt Ornaments tutorial, you might also love these other Christmas Crafts ideas too:

I hope you have fun making these little felt ornaments! I’d love to see what shapes and colors you choose.

If you make some, tag me on Instagram and leave a comment below with a star rating. And don’t forget to save this tutorial for your next Christmas crafting afternoon!

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