I found some time during my end of year staycation to make an embroidered ornament! Making Christmas ornaments is one of my favorite things to do during November and December, and yet it’s also one of those things that seems to get put off every year (like writing holiday cards!). My small tree has a number of handmade ornaments I made using Bucilla kits when I was in high school, but I’ve only started making ornaments again in recent years. This Twinkling Joy Ornament took me no time at all!
Materials Used
I keep a stash of Christmas embroidery threads and ribbons (for all the embroidered Christmas things I keep telling myself I’ll make at some point), and only needed to pick up the blue and purple floss as well as the #5 pearl cotton I used for finishing. Everything else I used was from stash, which was great! I can imagine this would also look lovely using white floss for all the lights.
I used DMC floss in colors:
- 890 (green wire)
- 702 (green lights)
- 321 (red lights)
- 728 (yellow lights)
- 517 (blue lights)
- 3837 (purple lights)
- #5 pearl cotton 319 (hanging loop, finishing)
Method
I used CozyBlue’s “Twinkling Joy” freebie pattern, and printed it on a sheet of Sulky’s Fabri-Solvy. This is the standard way I transfer embroidery patterns from pdf files. I cut out the design and applied it to a piece of natural linen before stitching it out in a hoop. After completing the main design I tried adding clear beads for each bulb but my fiancé didn’t like the look so I pulled them out. It would have looked better if the bulbs had matching colored beads. I traced a circle around it using a small bowl as a template, and used the pearl cotton to backstitch the circle to prepare for finishing.
For finishing, I used the great instructions found at Needle ‘N Thread. I also applied a bit of fusible batting to both the front and back pieces before whip stitching the edges together. Quick and easy!
Do you enjoy making your own Christmas ornaments? What techniques do you like to use? I hope you found some time this month to make something that sparks joy for you! If you’re looking for a quick project, I can recommend making your own Twinkling Joy ornament!
