Felted Christmas Ornaments: Twelve Decorations You Can Actually Finish
4 min read Beginner
Baubles, puddings, robins, stars and garlands — ornaments built from the two or three shapes you already know, sized so a set gets done before December.
Felted ornaments have two advantages over anything you can buy: they do not shatter, and a set of twelve costs about the same as one glass bauble. They also pack flat-ish, survive being sat on by a cat, and get better with age as the wool softens.
Everything here is built from shapes covered elsewhere on this site — mostly balls and flat pieces — so this is a list of what to make rather than a single tutorial.
Plan the set, not the ornament
The mistake is making one elaborate decoration in November and running out of time. A tree needs a dozen ornaments to look intentional, so pick designs that take twenty to forty minutes each and repeat them in colour variations.
A workable set: four baubles in three colours, three puddings, two robins, three stars. That reads as a coordinated tree and is perhaps eight hours of work spread across a few evenings.
Beginner ornaments
1. Plain baubles
A firm felted ball with a hanging loop. That is the whole design, and a cluster of them in three or four toning colours looks far better on a tree than the effort suggests. Make them in two sizes for variety.
2. Striped and spotted baubles
The same ball, with thin wisps of contrasting wool felted onto the surface. Spots are easier than stripes; stripes need the line laid carefully before you stab or they wander.
3. Christmas puddings
A brown or dark ball, with a white flat piece felted over the top so it drapes down one side like icing. A tiny red berry and two green leaves finish it. Consistently the most popular ornament with anyone who sees it.
4. Stars
Flat shapes made on the mat: lay the wool in a rough star, felt it, flip, fold the edges in and felt them sharp. Points are the hard part — fold rather than cut, and work each point to a firm tip.
5. Candy canes
A white sausage with a red strip spiralled around it, felted in, then bent into a hook and worked at the curve to hold the shape. A pipe cleaner inside makes it permanent.
6. Snowmen
Two or three graduated balls joined, with a scrap of fabric scarf and a tiny felted hat. Face detail should stay minimal — two dots and a carrot nose.
Intermediate ornaments
7. Robins
An egg-shaped body, a smaller head blended in, a red-orange breast panel felted onto the front, a small felted beak and a flat tail. The classic British Christmas ornament, and a good exercise in joining and blending.
8. Gingerbread people
A flat shape with felted white piping. Cheerful, quick, and the icing lines are good practice for controlled surface work with a fine needle.
9. Woodland animals
Foxes, deer heads, hedgehogs and owls. Heads alone, mounted on a loop, are far quicker than whole animals and hang better.
10. Holly and mistletoe sprigs
Flat leaves with a firm midrib, plus small berries. The same technique as felted flowers, in a seasonal palette.
Beyond the tree
11. Felt ball garland
Twenty to thirty wet felted balls threaded on cord. Wet felting is the right method here — needle felting thirty balls individually is a joyless way to spend a weekend, while wet felting produces them in batches.
12. Advent garland
Twenty-four small ornaments, numbered, pegged to a length of twine. An enormous project if attempted in December and a lovely one if started in September.
Hanging loops: do it properly
A loop that pulls out on Boxing Day is the standard failure. Two reliable methods:
- Felted-in loop: take a doubled length of embroidery thread or fine cord, lay the two loose ends across the top of the ornament, and felt a wisp of wool over them. The wool traps the thread. Far stronger than it looks.
- Sewn through: push a long needle right through the ornament with the cord, and knot underneath. Best for heavier pieces.
Never glue a loop to the surface. Wool is fibrous and the glue takes a small patch of surface with it when it fails.
Making them last
Store ornaments in a box with tissue rather than compressed in a bag — felt takes a permanent crease under pressure. Keep moths in mind: a sealed box with a cedar block, checked once a year, is enough.
They will fluff up over time. A quick pass with a fine needle each year restores the surface.
If you are selling them
Felted ornaments are among the better-selling handmade items at Christmas markets, and the numbers work out only if you batch: make twelve bodies, then twelve sets of detail, rather than one complete ornament at a time. Working in batches roughly halves the time per piece.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a felted Christmas ornament take to make?
Twenty to forty minutes each for a bauble, pudding or star once the technique is familiar. A coordinated set of twelve is around eight hours, which is a few evenings rather than a project.
What is the easiest felted Christmas ornament for a beginner?
A plain bauble, which is a firm felted ball with a hanging loop. Spots and stripes are the same ball with wisps of contrast wool felted onto the surface, so an entire beginner set is one technique repeated in different colours.
How do you attach a hanging loop so it does not pull out?
Lay the two loose ends of a doubled cord across the top of the ornament and felt a wisp of wool over them, so the wool traps the thread. Never glue a loop on: when the glue fails it takes a patch of the surface with it.
How should felted ornaments be stored?
In a box with tissue rather than compressed into a bag, because felt takes a permanent crease under pressure. Add a cedar block against moths and look through the box once a year.
