DIY Christmas ornaments with wreath tutorial+ Free pattern

A Step-by-Step Guide & Free PDF Pattern

Making DIY Christmas ornaments and decorating your Christmas tree with handmade Christmas decorations is one of the most fun and simple ways to make your festive decor unique, personal, and one of a kind.

I have a lot of ornaments I made in previous years, but I always want more!

Hand embroidered Christmas ornaments shaped like gingerbread houses, stars, hearts, mushrooms, and even dogs hang on our tree.

This year, I wanted to add something simple yet festive to my tree, so I made some round-shaped baubles with wreath embroidery.

Let’s make DIY Christmas ornaments together!

I got this idea of embroidered Christmas ornaments with simple wreath design while filming a Hungarian braided chain stitch video tutorial. This braided stitch has such an excellent structure that it perfectly to depicts the base of the wreath. Add some green branches with Straight stitches and some red berries with French knots, and Your custom Christmas design is ready!

Download a Free PDF embroidery pattern

To make it even easier for you to join me on this adventure, I created a free PDF embroidery pattern that you can download. Sign up for my newsletter and get this this PDF pattern by email.

send me the pattern

3 round ornaments with embroidery and a branch

DIY Christmas Ornaments With Wreath Embroidery

Step-by-step DIY ornament making tutorial

Tools and Materials

Tools:

Embroidery hoop.
Small embroidery scissors.
Fabric shears.
Needles. Bigger embroidery needle for six strands of embroidery floss and a smaller sewing needle.
Tracing tool. Friction pen or water-soluble pen.

Materials:

White felt fabric.
Embroidery floss. I used DMC embroidery floss #666 Bright red and #699 Green.
Decorative twisted cord. I chose the red color cord.
Filler for stuffing.
White sewing thread.

Instructions

Gather all the tools and materials. Download a free PDF pattern for Christmas ornaments with wreath and print it.

Tools and materials for the DIY ornament project

2. Cut out the circle shape of the ornament. Mark a circle on the felt fabric. Mark the inner circle for the wreath embroidery.

3. Frame the felt fabric in the hoop. Embroider the wreath. Use six strands of green embroidery floss to embroider the Hungarian braided chain stitch circle. TIP: Use the back of the needle when you pass it under the stitches. This will help to avoid snagging the fabric and the stitches.

Wreath embroidery with Hungarian braided chain stitch

4. Now, add some branches to your wreath. Make diagonal Straight stitches of various lengths around the braided circle. I used three and two strands of green embroidery floss.

Add branches to the wreath with straight stitches

5. Finally, add some red berries onto the wreath. Embroider French knots with six strands of red embroidery floss.

Sewing the felt ornament

1. Cut out the shape of the ornament. One with the embroidery and one more blank. Note that you can also embroider both sides of your DIY felt bauble.

Cut out the pieces of the ornament - making DIY embroidered Christmas ornaments

7. First, sew two circles of felt fabric together. Leave a gap of 1,5 cm on top. Use the Blanket stitch for sewing or a Whip stitch.

Sew the pieces of the ornament with blanket stitch

8. Put the stuffing inside the ornament.

DIY Christmas ornaments tutorial - stuffing the ornament

9. Prepare the cord for the borders and the loop of your DIY Christmas ornament.

Prepare the loop for hanging the ornament - DIY ornament making

10. Push the end of the loop and one side of the twisted cord inside the gap and start sewing the cord to the edge of the ornament. I used a pair of tweezers to do that. Use one strand of red embroidery floss and a Whip stitch for sewing the decorative cord.

Attach the loop to your DIY Christmas ornament

11. Sew the cord all around the ornament. When you reach the hole at the top of the bauble, push the remaining end of the cord inside the opening and close it with the stitches. Secure the loop and both ends of the twisted decorative cord by making a couple of extra stitches.

12. That’s it. Make some more ornaments with wreath embroidery and decorate your tree or branch.

Pine tree branch in a vase decorated with handmade felt ornaments with wreath embroidery

DIY Christmas ornaments – Video Tutorial

Recommended Products

Disclaimer. To cover the cost of creating free embroidery patterns and video tutorials for this blog, I do sometimes link to products. Please assume these links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy through my links then THANK YOU! – it will make it possible for me to keep doing this.

Beechwood embroidery hoops Etsy — Embroidery hoop

Frequently asked questions about DIY Christmas ornaments

What fabric should I use to embroider and sew Christmas decorations?

The best fabric to use for DIY Christmas ornaments is felt fabric. It does not fray or stretch and is very easy to work with. Consider sewing the decorations with a sewing machine if you want to use woven fabrics like linen or cotton blends.

If you choose to work with felt fabrics, you can choose from Wool felt, Wool blend felt, or Acrylic felt fabric.

What materials can I use for filling the ornaments?

There are several options of stuffing materials you could use to fill your ornaments:

In case you find filling the ornaments with your chosen fibers difficult. In that case, Benzie Design has a great article with stuffing tips on their site.

What stitches do you use for sewing DIY Christmas ornaments?

My favorite stitch for sewing felt ornaments is the Blanket stitch for sewing. Also, you can use a simple Whip Stitch (aka Overcast stitch).

Can I use a sewing machine to sew the ornaments?

Yes, you can. Embroider the ornament by hand and then sew it with a sewing machine. Leave the gap for filling. Then, fill the ornament and attach the twisted decorative cord and a loop for hanging by hand.

Can I embroider without the hoop?

Yes, you can embroider without the hoop. The only downside is that it is rather tricky to keep the steady tension of the stitches when you embroider a Hungarian braided chain stitch. I tried both ways and prefer making this stitch with a hoop. But if you are an experienced stitcher, give it a try!

Can I make more than one DIY ornament at a time?

Sure. To best use the fabric, fit as many circles for ornaments as you want on one piece of cloth and embroider them all. Then, cut the same number of empty circles and sew the ornaments.

Will you decorate your tree with DIY Christmas ornaments?

Tree branch decorated with DIY ornaments and acorns

In the fast-paced modern world, handmade Christmas gifts and decorations seem luxurious pieces of home decor or super expensive gifts. But instead of money, we give away our only non-renewable asset – our time.

Spending your time crafting is a great choice. Don’t you think so?