Felt and Button Star Christmas Ornaments
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Have you ever shrunk an old sweater in the laundry by mistake? Don’t worry, we can make something lovely with the felted fabric that you’ve inadvertently created.
Got a tin full of old shirt buttons that you’ve keep “just in case they come in handy”? Well today’s the day they are going to find their new purpose!
With a felted sweater and old shirt buttons you can make beautiful felted star ornaments for your christmas tree, let me show you how.
Today I’m joining Janet from Try it, Like it, Create it who has organised the 12 days of Christmas Ornaments with this felt and button star ornament tutorial.
Felt and button star Christmas ornaments
What you need:
Felt - an old sweater that had a laundry hot wash mishap like mine is perfect but at a push you could just use regular store bought felt.
Buttons - plain old shirt buttons are ideal for this Christmas star ornament idea. You can mix in other fancy buttons too if you have them but this is a great way to make a dent in your button tin if it’s overflowing like mine!
Strong thread - a strong thread is best for these ornaments, you don’t want the buttons falling off in a few years. I used a really fine crochet thread I was given because I don’t really enjoy very fine fillet crochet very much. A strong sewing thread would work well too.
A needle - ideally you want an embroidery or crewel needle. One that has a sharp point but a large enough eye for your strong thread.
Fabric scissors - for cutting out your felt.
A small amount of fibre fill
Star template - you can use my star template or make your own. I’ve provided several different sizes so you’ve got options, I used the largest size for my ornaments.
How to make felt and button star christmas ornaments
Use the star template to cut out stars from your felted fabric. You’ll need 2 felt stars for each star ornament.
Sew on the buttons
Take a length of strong thread and use it to sew buttons all over one star, leaving a small gap all around the edge.
Cast off and restart with new thread as necessary. Don’t be tempted to use a really long length of thread to save having to cast on and off. It almost always ends in a tangled mess, especially when sewing on buttons as the thread can easily get caught - all very frustrating. Keeping your thread at a manageable length will save you time in the long run.
Sew the stars together
Take a second star from your felted fabric and place them together. This second star will cover all the thread on the back of the button covered star and make your ornament nice and neat.
Sew the 2 stars together. I used buttonhole stitch but you could use a running stitch if you prefer.
When you’ve stitched almost all the way round with just one side of the last point to go - pause. Add a little fibre fill to lightly pad the star ornament and then continue with your blanket stitch to close the gap.
Adding a hanging loop
To make a loop to hang your ornament take a length of thread about 10” and thread it through near one of the star points. Tie a couple of knots close to the point and then knot the thread again near the ends and trim any excess.
That’s it! Your button star ornament is ready to hang on your tree.
Ideas to Personalise your Felt and Button Ornaments
Embroidery an initial on the back of the ornament before you sew it together
Replace some of the buttons with friendship bracelet letter beads to spell out a name or message
Add a little card tag with a personal message. This is especially nice if you use the ornament as a gift tag that the recipient can hang on their own tree afterwards
If you have the clothes belonging to a beloved family member who has passed away you could felt a woolen sweater and then use buttons from their clothes to make wonderful memory ornaments for all the family. Just make sure you add a note to let them know what their button and felt ornament is made from
Use colourful buttons to suit your own Christmas decorating preference
Find the daily reveal of all the other Christmas ornaments in the 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments over at Try it Like it Create it here : 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments.
Julie
