I hold gift-wrapping in high esteem, and I love to make the trimmings feel as much a part of the present as the gift itself. This attention to packaging all started when I was eight years old, the first year my aunt hired me to wrap her Christmas presents. Fifty cents for big boxes and a quarter for anything small. I remember working so hard to make each gift festive and pretty (it was my job after all!).

This year, for some extra-special holiday cheer, I whipped up these super cute (and quick!) Felt Ornament Gift Tags. Made in 100% wool felt, these soft Tags are a true cinch to sew, just trace, cut and stitch. And each one has a gold hanging loop for later use as an ornament and a little pocket for notes (you can write your own, or use one of ours included on the template)!

I think for old time’s sake I’m going to sew up a few extra to slip in the mail for my aunt! Happy holidays! -Corinne

Materials

• 1 Purl Soho Felt Bundle. I used the color Mushroom.
• Gutermann’s Cotton Thread in coordinating colors. I used colors 1040, 1685, 1600 and 3756.
• Your preferred fabric-marking tool for transferring the letter templates onto the felt. I used Fons and Porter’s Chalk Pencils. For a detailed guide to a variety of marking tools, please visit our Fabric Markers Tutorial.
• 1 bag of Fairfield’s Poly-fil
• Ribbon for hanging. I used Carta Inc.’s Metallic Braided Ribbon in Gold.
• A free Felt Ornament Gift Tags Template printed and cut out.

These are enough materials to make dozens of Ornaments in both sizes.

Sizes

The small Ornaments are around 2 1/4 inches tall.
The large Ornaments are around 3 inches tall.

Pattern Note

In the photos below we used a contrasting thread color to clearly show the stitches, but you may want to use a thread in a color that matches the felt.

Pattern

Cut

Using the Ornament Gift Tags Templates and your preferred fabric-marking tool, trace the shapes onto the felt pieces. For each Ornament you will need two identical Ornament shapes and one corresponding Pocket shape.

Cut the shapes out along the marked lines.

For each small Ornament, cut a 6 ½-inch piece of the Ribbon. For each large Ornament, cut a 7 ½-inch piece of the Ribbon. Fold the Ribbon in half and tie the ends together in a simple overhand knot to create a loop.

Sew and Stuff

Stack two identical Ornament pieces on top of each other and then place the corresponding Pocket piece on top of them both, lining up the bottom edges.

Thread a length of cotton thread onto a needle and tie a small knot at the end.

Starting just above the Pocket piece on one side, pull the needle from between the two Ornament pieces to the outside, exiting about 1/8 inch from the edge and leaving the knot sandwiched between the two layers.

Working along the bottom edge first, sew around the perimeter of the Ornament with a whip stitch. Here’s how . . .

Push the needle from the bottom up through all layers of felt, about 1/16 to 1/8 inch from the first stitch and approximately 1/8 inch from the edge. The thread will wrap around the side of the stack.

Continue to whip stitch around the perimeter until you reach the center top, where you will attach the hanging loop.

Insert the knotted end of the Ribbon loop between the two felt layers. Push the knot down until you can no longer see it.

When you take the whip stitch at the point where the Ribbon is inserted, carefully pass the needle through both layers of the Ribbon.

Continue to whip stitch around the perimeter until you are ¾ inch from the point where you began stitching.

Stuff the Ornament through the gap with the Poly-Fil so that it is full but not too firm.

Whip stitch until you have made it all the way around the back to the starting point, closing the gap and enclosing all of the stuffing.

Stitch in place 3 or 4 times to secure the thread. Pull the needle through the body of the Ornament and snip the thread at the exit point to hide the end.

Repeat with the remaining shapes.

Cut out the notes on the template, or write your own, and slip them in the pockets and your Ornament Gift Tags are ready to give!