How to Make Cute Needle Felted Christmas Ornaments 

The holiday season is upon us, which means that it’s time to start crafting those handmade Christmas decorations! Some of my most beloved holiday decorations are those that were handmade by a family member and passed down. Holidays around here may not necessarily look like Better Homes and Gardens, but most everything has been lovingly crafted. Handmade Christmas tree decorations add that cozy, homey touch which is what I feel is part of that true Christmas magic (aside from the birth of our Savior, of course). 

A really fun way to dive into your seasonal creativity and create handmade Christmas ornaments is through the art of needle felting! It is such a fun hobby and I have definitely fallen in love with this highly addictive craft. Whether you are a beginner needle felter who has wanted to take the needle felting plunge or a seasoned needle-felter, now is the perfect time to enjoy this cozy craft.  Just follow these step-by-step projects and you will have a few sweet ornaments to add to your tree this year!

Here are a few materials you will need:

• Felting wool in your color choices ( I make suggestions in each project)
• Felting needles (be careful when using these. They are sharp needles!)
• Wool balls
• Felting mat
• OR one of these complete needle felting kits

In this article, we will learn how to make two different kinds of needle felted ornaments. With these two basic tutorials, you can make an endless variety of absolutely adorable Christmas crafts!

Wool Ball Ornaments 

The first kind of ornament we are going to make is a traditional, round Christmas ball made entirely from wool. It is very simple and an excellent first project to practice your hand-eye coordination! We are basically going to use our wool roving to “paint” our design onto the wool balls. Just think of your wool as your paintbrush or pencil and sketch your design by laying out roving and needling it.

I’m going to do a simple green, botanical design with an initial “G” for an example. I’m carefully placing green wool in the basic shapes that I want my leaves to be, and I’m needle felting them in place. The design will be two dimensional like the design on a glass Christmas ball.  Continue your design until it reaches across the entire diameter of the wool ball. When you’ve finished your design, attach a yarn loop by needling it in place atop the Christmas ball. You could even attach metal ornament caps if you’d like!

Wool Sculpture Ornaments 

The next type of needle felted ornament we are going to make is a wool sculpture ornament. Sculptures are my favorite things to make with wool. They are definitely more challenging than making the wool ball ornaments, but they will help you hone your skills in felting. For Christmas, you could sculpt so many fun, festive characters. I’m making a gingerbread man for my little one. Christmas mice, snowmen, angels, Nordic gnomes, winter woodland animals, or even nativity characters would be really great options as well!  

You are going to follow the usual steps of forming a needle felted sculpture: make a pipe cleaner armature, needle felt the basic shapes for the character’s silhouette, felt the “skin”, attach skin, and add details. We will finish off the ornament by felting a ribbon or loop at the top for the ornament to hang on OR you can simply sit the characters on your tree. If you want to know more about the basics of making a needle felted wool sculpture, read all about that HERE. The neat thing is that once you follow step-by-step tutorials like this one, you’ll be able to make anything!

I hope these projects inspire you this holiday season! Don’t be afraid to try something new like felting. It is a great way to get in the holiday spirit and craft something cozy and fun. Who knows- these whimsical, quirky projects may become your favorite diy holiday decor to bring out year after year!  If not, maybe they’ll bring a good laugh! Let yourself be the curious beginner and worry less about the decorating part of things.Just enjoy the creative process and see what happens.