I love handmade ornaments and I’ve waited a whole year to share these little firs. It started with an email from my mom last fall after she returned from a local gardening shop she and her husband frequent. The link was to a darling multicolored felt stack Christmas tree pair, something for the mantel, cute as all get out. I don’t have the link anymore (a year is a long time!) so you’ll have to take my word for it – they were darling. Of course, I had to make them. With a few tweaks.
For my version, instead of mantel-size, I condensed their shape into ornament size and fiddled with the measurements until it looked just right. When completed, they stand 4.5″ tall and at their widest are 2.5″. While I am an equal-opportunity color lover, a white, cream and oatmeal color worked best for my decor, with a little gold topper to finish them off.
The final product is soft and cozy and perfect for to hang anywhere. Here’s how to make them:
Supplies:
-felt, colors are up to you
-a strip of felt, 1/2 inch wide by 2 1/2 inches long
–printable size guide
-embroidery thread (or regular thread)
-needle
-glue gun
-gold paint (to paint tree top square ‘star’)
First, cut all the felt squares, the amount and size according to the printable guide.
Then start stacking them up. Begin with the bottom (4 – 1 3/4″) and stack through to the top (6 – 1/2″). I arranged my colors so none of the same were next to each other but again, that part is up to you. Run a needle and thread through the center of each of the stacks until all are strung.
Add a dot of glue to the brown piece of felt and wrap it around the thread and itself, adding another dot of glue to keep the strip in place.
To finish up, add a dot of glue to one of the two star squares and sandwich them together, making sure to secure the end of the thread in between the pieces. This step not only holds the stack in place but is where the hanging loop is created. Then arrange the felt pieces, off setting the pieces from each other.
Then hang them and smile at their adorableness.
Grazie per questo bellissimo tutorial!! Paola – Italy
Thank you for your inspiration … perfect last second xmas present for my twins teachers … and really easy and ever so quick
These are very sweet…and grandbaby proof too!
I love this felt xmas tree ornament. I am going to be making and hope I am successful – they are adorable !
Merry Christmas!!
I love the felt tree. I want to make a few for little gifts in my bag of mixed hand made items. I plan to start tomorrow and then check on some other ideas you have. My friends love my hand made gifts.
I must be doing something wrong because when I open the size guide, all I get are thousands of numbers and letters. Can anyone give me the sizes to cut out, I would love to make some.
Thanks i advance,
Judy
From top to bottom:
2 squares – 1/2 inch (for the star)
6 squares – 1/2 inch
6 squares – 3/4 inch
6 squares – 1 inch
6 squares – 1 1/4 inches
6 squares – 1 1/2 inches
6 squares – 1 3/4 inches
6 squares – 2 inches
4 squares – 1 3/4 inches
Thank you so much, can’t wait to start!
From top to bottom:
2 squares – 1/2 inch (for the star)
6 squares – 1/2 inch, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 3/4 inch, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 1 inch, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 1 1/4 inches, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 1 1/2 inches, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 1 3/4 inches, 2 of ea color
6 squares – 2 inches, 2 of ea color
4 squares – 1 3/4 inches
Love this…so simple and I can play with the colours. Thank you x
Have fun!
So cute! I am definitely going to try these! On the directions, I see the picture with the needle and thread, but I don’t see anything written about that picture. Which direction do you thread? How thick do you make the thread? Do you knot one end?
Hey Kristy – I added a little more information to the directions. The direction you send the needle through the felt doesn’t matter, you just need to make sure you have extra thread at the top and bottom. As it says in the directions, you can use whatever thread you’d like. I used embossing thread because it’s a bit thicker. I didn’t use any knots when I did it and instead relied on the felt ‘trunk’ to hold the bottom and the gold ‘star’ to hold the top. Hope that helps!
I cut out the templates and will be cutting the felt while riding in the car for 6 hours! can’t wait. I just have one question, what is the approximate size of the felt for the trunk?
It’s really up to you, deb. Mine are 1/2 inch wide. And good thinking for a great car project!!
I sure like this and going to try it. My only concern is that it’s not mentioned what the gold paint is for.
I used it on the square ‘star’ at the top of the tree. :)
Amy I love these little trees! I made my first one with red light green and dark green. I sprayed the squares with white glitter, it looks amaze. I’m going to do the next one with white and blue felt. Thank you for the post this is one of the best little Christmas craft ideas I’ve seen.
Great tutorial! I just have one question – did you really use just 4 squares for the bottom, or is that a typo? You seem to have 6 squares cut out in the picture where it’s all laid out.
I do believe I used only 4 on the bottom but using 6 will not ruin anything so do whatever works!!
I love these. I’m going to turn them upside down and hang them as pinecones on my tree.
I just made three of these in shades of white, like yours–they are great! I used a bead at the top for the “star” and I like how it came out. Now I plan to make some more in shades of green. Thanks for a wonderful project!
Love these! I just made one in shades of green, sewing a gold button on top as a star. I took 1/4″ sheer ribbon and strung little beads on them, winding around the tree as tinsel. The little beads spells the last name of the recipient. Very cute!
Very sweet, Tenny! <3 Thanks for sharing!!!
Just found these on Pinterest and they are adorable!
Great way to use left over quilt batting!
So cute! Thank you so much for the template. :D
These are so beautiful. I am researching handmade gift ideas for Christmas next year ( I like to get a head start) and I just may have to give these a go.
I love these. I have some scraps of my mom’s clothes from years ago when I made a quilt for my Dad after she died. This will be perfect gifts for the rest of the family. Thank you so much!
Love these little trees! Several years ago I started making hand made Christmas tree ornaments. I wanted to have a tree, decorated totally with hand made ornaments . Mine too are mostly felt, love using the felt. I add beads, sequins, pearls, what ever! Two years now I have a tree full of hand made ornaments. Thanks for the inspiration!
So glad you like them! Your tree sounds wonderfully handmade. :)
This is adorable! I can’t tell from the pictures what you have used for the “trunk”. What is it? I want to make sets of these for my family for Christmas. Thanks.
Just saw this 05/14/15 on Pinterest feed.
Does anyone know a way to batch cut squares to sizes needed? I’m proposing this as a craft project for Vacation Bible School (VBS) this summer.
That means hundreds of pre-cut squares – for about 60 kids who will be grouped by grades from pre-school to 5th grade.
We would assemble kits of pre-cut squares and (maybe) threaded needles to make smaller trees/cones, say 2 1/2.” Smaller objects would be faster to make. Provide topper options in baskets, i.e., bells, balls, bows, winter animals, cardinals, glitter, pre cut ribbon & twine lengths for hanging.
I welcome ideas on how to make this a VBS kid friendly project. Ages pre-school to 5th grade.
– No needles for little ones. Maybe just glue for everyone?
– Elmer’s or Mod Podge? Definitely no glue guns for kids.
– No tree base; kid writes VBS 2015 + own name on bottom / top square.
– Is this too complex a project for this age? Session is appx 20 minutes.
– I’m going to make some samples and time the assembly; I’m not crafty.
– Other advice?
Cut lots of strips in each width using a rotary cutter, then cut each strip into the squares. I would try using a hole punch in the center of each square then have the kids stack the felt on a dowel cut to whatever length. Use a brown bead glued to bottom of dowel and a gold or r e d bead on top.
Using that technique myself soon, Carol! Great minds think alike. :)
These are so cute! Have you ever tried making them with really long triangles of felt, folded back and forth so that the folded edges form the boughs of the tree? It would have to be one color (probably) but I’m gonna try!! Then twist the folds into place around the tree. Just a variation on this great idea. Thanks for the directions!
Yes, hold those sweet babies in your arms all you can! They grow up far too fast. (my youngest is 26!!)
Blessings!
I’m going to have to try the folded triangle tree. Sounds neat! Thanks for sharing.
Terrific! I make many craft items with upcycled wool that I felt in my washer and dryer, so this is a perfect item to add to the mix! I keep my “felt” stash sorted by color in plastic storage tubs and right now there seems to a LOT of green, so I’m thinking Green Christmas trees. THANKS!
I made two of these for my tree and I love them! You mentioned mantel size of these trees – do you have a pattern or dimensions of those? I’d really love to make bigger ones for decoration!
I hope to post it this holiday season, Jenny!
Hello! Excited to try the mantle size ones did you post it by chance?
Wow!! Bellissimo risultato. Proverò a rifarli :*
Mariangela & Elena di ME creativeinside <3
It’s lovely, thank You for sharing :)
These are gorgeous – thank you! I have linked to this post on my latest blog post: http://abusylittlebird.com/10-holiday-crafts-you-can-make/
Thank you so much for this idea. I made a set of 6 for our tree this year!
just love this wonderful Christmas tree diy idea
THANKS FOR WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TREE IDEA. WILL GIVE THIS A TRY AT CHRISTMAS!
I opted out of using felt, (.98 cents per sheet), used rubber drawer liners! I purchased a big roll at Lowes! There are many textures and colors to choose from. I added dangly, shiny bead for the bottom and top. This is a great project!
Good morning! Thanks for sharing the tutorial for making these. Did you use 6 of each square of all three colors? Or did you use 2 of each size square of each color? I am getting ready to make them and I thought I would check first! Thanks.
Hi, I love these but I don’t have a glue gun and wondering if you have ideas on other ways to hold it together. Thanks!
the small square on top of tree (star)
I have several sets of felt squares cut out and ready to thread. I love your little trees! I know I will enjoy making them. I am using two shades of green, white, cream with brown trunk. Simply elegant. Thank you!