How to Make Stuffed Christmas Ornaments

Making your own Christmas ornaments is a fun family activity. There are many ways to make tree decorations, and stuffed ornaments in particular are simple and beautiful. You can make these ornaments even if you don't know how to sew. They don't take long, so you can make enough ornaments to decorate your entire tree.

Things You'll Need

• Christmas-themed fabric
• Polyfiberfill
• Craft glue
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Decorative string
• Felt
• Glitter
• Beads
• Ribbon
• Craft scissors
• Fabric paint
• Paint brush

Instructions

Pre-Patterened Fabric Stuffed Ornaments

1. Select material that has Christmas decorations already patterned out on it. This materials, which can be found at most fabric stores, has several cutouts of Christmas ornament patterns with front-and-back designs. Get plain felt in a variety of colors as well, if you want to make your own patterns.

2. Gather your supplies so they're convenient when you need them and cover your work area with paper or a plastic tablecloth.

3. Cut out the ornaments from the material. Fabric glue method: Use craft scissors that give the material a decorative edge. You can lay the back piece down and put craft glue along the edges, leaving a small opening to insert stuffing. Glue a 4-inch-long piece of decorative string or cord at the top of the ornament in a loop and leave the loop coming out of the top. Lay the second piece of material on top of the other, right side out and place a book over it to hold it together while it dries.Sewing method: Place material with right sides together and sew along edges, leaving an opening at the top to stuff.

4. Stuff the ornament with polyfiberfill. Hand-sew the opening with the loop to finish.

Felt Stuffed Ornaments

1. Cut out felt circles to create Christmas ball ornaments. Use a large coffee cup or other round object to draw circles on the felt, making even numbers of each color. For each ball, cut out two 1-inch squares of felt of a different color.

2. Sew the circles together using a zig zag stitch on the sewing machine around the outside. Leave a 1-inch opening at the top. If you do not have a sewing machine, you can hand-sew a zig zag or whip stitch all the way around the outside, leaving the opening to stuff.

3. Stuff polyfiberfill into the openings.

4. Sew the felt squares over the opening at the top. Sew across the opening using a straight stitch. Cut a piece of cord about 4 inches long and place both ends inside the square. The cord will be used to hang the ornament. Then go on an angle and sew three or four times across the squares until you reach the top. This will hold your cord in place and make the squares look like the metal piece at the top of Christmas balls.

5. Decorate the balls. Some options: Dot on craft glue and sprinkle with glitter; glue ribbon in a criss-cross; paint a Christmas scene on with fabric paint; glue on beads. To make them more personal, glue on a family picture or make an ornament for each family member--even your pets. Allow glue time to dry before hanging on your tree.

Tips & Warnings

• Other easy-to-make felt ornaments include Christmas trees, snowmen and wreaths.