Like most people this time of year, I’m on a tight budget this Christmas. I wanted to redecorate my tree with a more modern theme. Instead of buying new ornaments, I decided to give my old ones a fabric face-lift. Fabric ornaments, welcome to my tree!
My fabrics were Riley Blake’s Simply Sweet Dots in green, red, and aqua; they matched my new modern theme perfectly!
1. Start by cutting three fabrics into 4″ strips (by width of fabric) with a 6 x 24″ ruler. Then cut each of the strips into 1″ strips.
2. Grab one strip of each color to begin. Fold them in half and stack them. Sew near the edge to secure them together.
3. Using a helper to hold the end, braid the three strips of fabric together. Keep the strips folded as you go. Stop braiding when you reach about 4″ from the end. Secure the end with a wonder clip if you have one.
4. Begin hot gluing the braid at the top of the old ornament.
5. Continue to glue and press, making sure the fabric is pushed flat against the ornament as you go along.
6. Stop gluing when you reach about 4″ from the bottom of the braid. Sew a new green to the end of the green, aqua to aqua, and red to red (or whatever your colors are). Continue to wrap/sew on additional strips as needed until the entire ornament is covered and there is a nickle sized space left at the bottom.
7. Cut the tail off the braid to where two inches of braid remain. Fill the space with hot glue and wrap the braid into the space.
8. Hang and enjoy your pretty new ornament!
I thought these ornaments were just perfect for a fabric hoarder lover like myself. Each one takes about an hour to make. They would make a great gift for your ornament exchanges in your crafty online groups.
What a neat idea!
I’m confused. If you follow step 2 (2. Grab one strip of each color to begin. Fold them in half and stack them. Sew near the edge to secure them together.), how do you braid them together? Should the strips be sewn individually instead of securing them together? If you’ve sewn the 3 strips together, do you braid 3 sets of 3 strips together? Thanks for any help. I would really like to make these.
I’m thinking that you just sew the short end together so that you can then begin the braiding. Most braids need the sections secured somehow to each other at the ONE end. That way it won’t unravel when you start to glue the braid to the ornament. Hope this helps!