Felt Star Pendant + Tree Topper

Twinkling lights on park trees and glass balls hung in shop windows,  little by little it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New York City! I know some people can be a bit Grinch-y about the commercialism of the holiday season, but it’s hard to resist the special feeling of Christmas in the city. It’s contagious!

Inspired by this burgeoning holiday cheer, we’re starting to feather our holiday nests with these lovely felt ornaments. Laura designed an elegant 3-dimensional Felt Star that will look equally beautiful hung from a doorway or perched atop a tree. And Molly designed a set of graceful Felt Snow Ball Ornaments that will add a playful Christmas feeling to your tree or mantle.

Felt is our favorite ornament-making material because it’s soft, natural, and so easy. Ecru is especially lovely because it’s peaceful, classic, and reminiscent of a fresh blanket of snow.  And to add a little holiday sparkle we accented our ornaments with the beautiful new DMC’s Silver Metallic Embroidery Floss. -Laura

PS: The how-to’s for Molly’s Snow Ball Ornaments are right here. And Merry Christmas!

Designed by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.

Materials

To make one 8-inch, one 10 1/2-inch and one 13-inch Felt Star Pendant or just one 18-inch Felt Star Pendant:

• 4 18-inch squares of Wollfilz’s 1mm Precut Wool Felt in the color Ecru
• 2 hanks of DMC’s Silver Metallic Embroidery Floss
• 100% Cotton Thread to match the felt, I used Gutermann 1040
• You will also need some pins and a pencil

Pattern

Cut

This star can be made in 4 sizes: Small (8-inches across), Medium (10 2/2-inches across), Large (13-inches across), and X-Large (18-inches across). Cut the felt according to the size you want to make:

• Small: Cut two 6-inch squares and two 5 1/2-inch squares.
• Medium: Cut two 8-inch squares and two 7 1/2-inch squares.
• Large: Cut two 10-inch squares and two 9 1/4-inch squares.
• X-Large: Cut two 14-inch squares and two 13-inch squares.

Place the smaller of your two pairs of squares to the side for now.

Mark

Using a pencil, on one of the larger squares of felt, mark a dot half way from the middle of each edge to the center of the square.

If you are making the Small Star this would be 1 1/2-inches from the middle of each edge, for the Medium it would be 2-inches, for the Large it would be 2 1/2-inches and for the X-Large Star, it would be 3 1/2-inches.

Repeat for the second of the larger squares.

Fold and Pin

Fold and pin the marked squares in half so that their marked marked sides are facing out.

Using the cotton thread, sew along the folded edge with a whip stitch, from pencil mark to pencil mark. This will create a ridge. Repeat for the second square.

Fold the two larger squares in half again, this time in the opposite direction, perpendicular to the previously sewn ridge.

Once again, using the cotton thread, sew along the folded edge of each square with a whip stitch, from pencil mark to pencil mark. This will create a second ridge.

Flip the squares over so that the ridges you just created are facing down. Fold the squares in half diagonally, aligning the corners, finger press the fold and pin.

Using 3 of the 6 plys of the the metallic embroidery floss, sew along the folded edge using a whip stitch. Start approximately 1/4-inch from the point and stop approximately 1/4-inch from the opposite point.

Fold the squares in the opposite diagonal direction, finger press the fold and pin. Once again, using the metallic embroidery floss, sew along the fold with a whip stitch. Start 1/4-inch from one end of the fold and stop 1/4-inch shy of the other end. These are the Front Star Pieces

Cut the Star Shapes

Flip the felt over so the marked side is facing up. Cut the felt from each pencil mark to the adjacent corners.

Now, on the pair of smaller squares, use a pencil to draw a line down the center of both squares in both directions.

Make a mark 1 3/4-inches for the Small, 2 1/2-inches for the Medium, 3-inches for the Large and 4 1/2-inches for the X-Large, from each edge along the drawn centerlines.

Cut the felt from each pencil mark to the adjacent corners. These are the Back Star Pieces.

Sew Together

Align the corners and pin one of the Back Star Pieces to the a Front Star Piece at all four corners. Repeat for the other set of Back and Front pieces.

Using 1 strand of the metallic thread and starting in a corner, sew along all 8 sizes of one of these pinned together pieces with a whip stitch thus sewing the back piece to the front piece. Do this with Front Star Piece facing you.

Repeat for the other pinned together set of Back and Front pieces.

Orient the two sewn pieces together with flat sides facing one another, so that all eight points of the two pieces are evenly spaced at 45-degree angles from one another. Using the cotton thread, take a few stitches at each of the 8 corners to sew the two pieces together.

If you’d like to hang your Felt Star, using the cotton thread, metallic thread or invisible thread and a needle, pull a strand through one of the points of your star. Cut and tie it off at your desired length to hang your star on a tree or in a doorway or over your dinner table!

Or, to use this Star as a tree topper, simply leave the Star without a string and place it on top of your tree, gently sliding the top branch between two of the sewn points connecting the two star halves.