Thursday Tip with Hali - Ornaments: made with fabric scraps

Thursday Tip // Ornaments: Made with fabric scraps

We are continuing our scrap busting/gifting series today with a fun little project that can be machine or hand sewn. I had this idea to use up my scraps as filling for some festive ornaments or a garland and this is what I came up with. If you have kids in your life and they are into sewing (and decorating) this could be a great project for them too! If you like gifting ornaments or adding a crafty touch to a wrapped gift, these could make a sweet gift tag as well.

I used felt for the base of the ornaments because I had it on hand already and I liked that I didn’t have to worry about finishing the edges of each ornament. If you were using scraps of other fabrics you would need to decide whether you cut the shapes with added seam allowance, sew the pieces right sides together first and turn right side out OR cut the shapes you want and sew around, leaving the edges raw hoping they only fray slightly. Totally your call!

I took scraps from garments I had made this year and just had some fun piecing fabrics together and then appliqueing onto the felt. You could also make this a hand sewing project for a little more of a relaxed sew. Some embroidery stitches over the fabric scraps would be neat as well! So many possibilities. It was fun to remember some of the garments I had made over the year and be reminded of how much I love this sewing hobby! (I mostly get paid to write or teach, so I can still call it a hobby!)

How to make scrappy ornaments:

These are the steps I followed to make the tree ornaments using felt as a base. The others were made in a similar fashion, just remember to leave a gap somewhere to fill the ornament with scraps!

First, cut your desired shape (times two!). For the trees I just free handed a triangle. For the circles I traced a red solo cup. The resulting circle was about 3 ½ inches in diameter.

Cut a small rectangle for the trunk. For the circle ornaments I used the rectangle on top to thread a string through for hanging. You could also use this method to make a garland by stringing several ornaments together.

Sew your scraps as decoration on the tree. Use up all those bits and bobs leftover from other projects, lace, buttons, trims etc. I used the selvedge edges from some fabrics I used this year and I think they turned out so cute.

Find a piece of yarn, string or strong thread and cut a loop to the size you want. Then tie a knot and place it between the two tree pieces. The knot will keep the string from slipping through the seams.

Sew around the edges of the tree starting at one bottom corner, pivoting at the top and down the other side; making sure to sew over the string too. Leave the bottom open for filling with scraps. Remember to backstitch at the start and end of the seam.

Fill with as many scraps as you can but not so much that you can’t sew it closed. If you want to really stuff it then you may need to hand sew the opening closed. The picture below shows the amount of scraps I used to fill one tree.

Fold the small rectangle in half and place it between the gap and then sew the gap closed.

We would love to see what you make with your scraps. Feel free to tag us on social media so we can share your unique ideas with the sewing community too!