Last week I ran a workshop with C.O.W (Creative Open Workshops) making embroidered baubles and I thought I would share a tutorial for these here. It was lovely to see how everyone took the basic design and made it their own, so please feel free to adapt these ideas.

Materials

felt

ric-rac-braid or other braid/trimmimg (this could be in a contrasting or similar colour)

ribbon for tie (I chose colours to match the braid)

embroidery threads (again I chose colours to match the braid)

sewing thread

scissors, needles and pins

stuffing

paper for pattern

Patterns and cutting

there is no limit to the shapes you could make but I think simple shapes work best such as circles, hearts and stars

here you can download a heart pattern, small heart, star, small star, moon, small moon and bird pattern

place two pieces of felt together, pin on the pattern and cut out (you will get two of each shape)

to work out how much braid you need pin the braid onto the shape in it’s final position, then cut

Sewing

(I added braid and embroidery to just one side of the bauble but you could decorate both sides)

first attach the braid using a running stitch, make the stitches as small as you can on the side you can see, stitches can be bigger on the reverse side

then embroider your pattern

once you have completed the design put the two pieces together and blanket stitch around the edge to join them, leaving a small gap through which to add the stuffing

you can either add the ribbon tie before you blanket stitch around the bauble by sewing it to the inside or add it after by sewing it to the reverse of the bauble

insert the stuffing, don’t over stuff the baubles they work best if they are still a bit soft rather than solid

close the gap left for inserting the stuffing with blanket stitch

(click on images to enlarge)

Please credit meeni with these designs