FREE mini Christmas ornament embroidery patterns
These free mini Christmas ornament embroidery patterns are the perfect way to decorate your tree!
I love finding ways to add little embroidery designs to places where I can see and appreciate them. Previously, I’ve decorated a backpack and made embroidered key chains. With the holidays approaching, it seemed like the perfect time to make some mini Christmas ornament embroidery patterns to make some adorable decorations for my tree.
These make a great last-minute handmade present and they will be the perfect thing to bring for my family ornament exchange in a few weeks.
What you’ll need
Fabric
First, you will need some fabric to embroider on. I used a plain white cotton muslin. This is a great project to use up any fabric scraps you may have. You can get quite a few ornaments out of one square foot of fabric!
Embroidery Floss
To make all of these fun designs you will want an assortment of embroidery floss colors to work with. I will show you what kind of colors I used, but these are all completely customizable to what you have and what colors you like best.
Embroidery Needles
I used a size 9 embroidery needle for these patterns, but use whatever works best for you. You can tell an embroidery needle by the extra large eye to accommodate multiple strands of floss.
Embroidery Hoops
You will need a regular-size embroidery hoop to do the actual embroidering. I used a 7″ hoop.
To make the ornaments, you will want some decorative 1” embroidery hoops like these.
A few more things
You will also need some glue to assemble the ornaments and ribbon to hang them. I also used a pair of scissors, a soluble ink pen, and a small pair of pliers.
Christmas Embroidery Patterns
These patterns are fun to make and because they are so small they are easy to finish in an hour or two. You only need to know a few basic embroidery stitches to make them, but feel free to adapt them however you want!
Before you get out the embroidery floss, transfer the patterns onto your fabric. There are different ways you can achieve this. I kept things simple and traced the patterns from a printout of the patterns onto the fabric with a water-soluble pen. To make the pattern super easy to trace I used my phone as a backlight.
At this point, with the patterns on my fabric and my fabric in an embroidery hoop, I was ready to go!
Note: I almost exclusively used three strands of embroidery floss for everything. The only exceptions are the black line work on the snowman and the hot chocolate.
Poinsettia
Colors used
- Red
- Dark Red
- Golden Yellow
Stitches used
- Stem Stitch
- Satin Stitch
- Straight Stitch
- French Knot
The poinsettia design was made by outlining the inner leaves with red embroidery floss using a stem stitch. Then the leaves were filled with a satin stitch in the same color. I used a darker red to form the central veins with a straight stitch, then form the back leaves in the same manner as the front. The poinsettia was completed by a bunch of yellow French knots in the center.
Snowflake
Colors used
- Silver-blue
Stitches used
- Split Stitch
- Detached Chain Stitch
- French Knot
The entire snowflake was embroidered with a blue-grey embroidery floss. First, the central spokes of the snowflake were made with a split stitch. At the end of each spoke is a trio of detached chain stitches, like a half lazy daisy. At the midpoint of each spoke is a straight stitch topped with a French knot. Finally, a French knot is added between the base of each spoke.
Snowman
Colors used
- Black
- Orange
- Off-White
Stitches used
- Stem Stitch
- Backstitch
- French Knot
- Straight Stitch
The snowman outline was made by two strands of black embroidery floss with a stem stitch. Then two French knots make the eyes, and tiny straight stitches form the mouth. The carrot nose is made with a few straight stitches. The brown arms were made with a backstitch. Finally, scattered French knots make falling snow, and a quick stem stitch outlines the snow on the ground.
Holly
Colors used
- Dark Green
- Dark Red
Stitches used
- Stem Stitch
- Satin Stitch
- French Knot
To form the holly, an outline of green embroidery floss in stem stitch is filled with satin stitch for each leaf. The final touch is the red berries made with a cluster of French knots.
Wreath
Colors used
- Multiple shades of Green
- Dark Red
Stitches used
- Satin Stitch
- Split Stitch
- Straight Stitch
This wreath ended up being my favorite design! I started with the red bow of the wreath. It is made with an unlined satin stitch. Then, I formed the base of the wreath shape with a variety of shades of green using a split stitch to give a nice texture. Scattered straight stitches fill out the shape and give it that evergreen feel.
Stripes and Spots
Colors used
- Silver
- Three Shades of Blue
Stitches used
- Satin Stitch
- Stem Stitch
- Backstitch
To make this decorative Christmas bauble you can use a variety of stitches. Because it is a more freeform design, you can really play around with it.
I used Satin stitch for the silver stripe, the light blue zigzag, and the thick dark blue stripe. Then, I outlined the thick blue stripe with a backstitch. To form the dots, the thin dark blue stripes, and the grey top and bottom I used a stem stitch.
Hot Chocolate
Colors used
- Bright Red
- Chocolate Brown
- Black
- Off-White
Stitches used
- Stem Stitch
- Satin Stitch
- French Knot
To make the red mug, outline the shape with a stem stitch, then fill it in with a satin stitch. Fill in the chocolate with a stem stitch in a spiral pattern. Stem stitch is also used to form the steam lines. The finishing touch is French knot marshmallows.
Assembling the mini Christmas ornaments
With the embroidery done it is time to bring these mini Christmas ornaments to life!
If you are making a lot of these ornaments, you can make a little assembly line and complete each step for all of your ornaments at once to speed things up.
Note: if you are using quick dry glue, assemble one ornament at a time
- Cut out each of the embroidery patterns, leaving room around the edge to glue down.
- Glue the smaller wood circle to the back of the embroidery.
- Glue the edge of the fabric down to the back of the wood circle.
- Depending on the type of glue you are using, you may need to stop here and let things dry for a while.
- When your glue is dry, place the outer rim of the mini embroidery hoop around the design.
- Secure the top of the hoop with the screw and nut. I used a small pair of pliers to help tighten the nut.
- Glue the larger wood circle to the back of the embroidery hoop.
- Tie a loop of ribbon or string around the screw so your ornament can hang.
Deck the Halls!
I love how these ornaments turned out! With how detailed the designs were I wasn’t sure I could get it all made with thread. To my surprise, I was able to get so much detail into such a tiny space!
I hope you give these patterns a try and I hope you have happy holidays, whatever you celebrate!
If you want to see more embroidery projects, click here.
What are your favorite holiday decorations? Let me know in the comments below!
These are adorable!