Ribbon Candy Felt Ornaments
With its looping curves and bright sugary colors, ribbon candy is a thing of beauty. I love its old-time Christmas feeling too. What I don’t love is eating it! If we’re talking holiday candy, I’d much rather go for a peppermint candy cane or a chocolaty piece of Hanukkah gelt. Ribbon candy is awkward to break apart, dangerously sharp and a little bland on the taste buds. Plus, it’s too pretty to eat!
These Ribbon Candy Felt Ornaments deliver the charm of this traditional treat without getting you sticky! They are made from our Wool Felt Pieces in a rainbow of cheerful colors, accented by equally spirited machine-sewn zigzags.
Small ornaments like this are, for me, the perfect kind of holiday sewing, They are quick but considered, colorful yet classic, cute but unfussy. Maybe it’s their old fashioned motif or the fact that they are sewn in an assembly line style reminiscent of Santa’s workshop, but these sweet little baubles really scratch that yuletide itch… and best of all you don’t have to eat them! -Molly
Materials
These instructions are to make 14 ornaments but you will have enough felt to make many more!
- 8 Wool Felt Pieces. We used colors (from top to bottom): Tomato 6, Dark Orange 5, Bright Pink 27, Pacific 52, Grass 44, Lime 42, Yellow 02 and Ecru 91.
- A small spool of thread to match each felt color. We used Gutermann color numbers 1040 (ecru), 7532 (turquoise), 7850 (Kelly green), 4915 (red), 1640 (yellow), and 1720 (orange), as well as Metler Neon in Sour Apple 5940 (light green) and Crysanthamum1940 (neon pink)
- DMC Pearl Cotton in Ecru
- A fabric marker
Size
Finished Measurements: Each ornament measures 2 ½ inches tall by 1 inch deep by 1 inch wide.
Pattern
Cutting
Cut one 18-inch by 1-inch strip from each colored piece of felt, for seven total colored felt strips.
Cut seven 18-inch by 1-inch strips from the ecru felt.
Sewing
On the colored strips: Using the ecru sewing thread (color 1040), sew a row of zigzag stitching 3/8-inch from either long side of the strips, down the entire length of the strip.
On the ecru strips: Using a different color of the colored sewing thread for each of the seven strips, sew two rows of zigzag stitching down each ecru strip, as described above.
Starting at the bottom of the strip and using the fabric marker, make a mark every inch along the center of the strip for 16 inches.
Thread a hand sewing needle with a 20-inch length of the Pearl Cotton and tie a knot at the end.
Push the needle through from the unmarked side of the strip to the marked side at the bottom marking.
Reinsert the needle right next to the same mark (this will hide the knot on the inside of the ornament) and then exit at the next mark.
Enter at the next mark, exiting at the next, and keep sewing up the strip in this manner, like a very large running stitch in and out of the marked points. Pucker the strip up along the thread as you go.
Once you’ve gone through all 16 marks, adjust the folds of the strip so they are pleasantly curly, not too tight and not too loose. Tie a small knot at the top of the ornament to secure the folds.
Pull the needle back through the center of the ornament and out the bottom leaving a 2-inch loop at the top.
Snip off the thread at the bottom, just at the exit point to hide the end.
Tie a simple overhand knot at the top to secure the loop.
Snip off the ends of the strip so that they match the edge of the folds and you’re all done!
Repeat for all of the strips.
These are so adorable!
love these!
These are absolutely darling! I can't wait to give this a shot.
These are just adorable! Could you also let us know where the beautiful white tree was purchased…it is the perfect backdrop for the yummy wool confections!
Are there directions for the round candies that are shown hanging on the tree in photo # 4?
How absolutely lovely…old fashioned…and simple enough to create at the last minute to create a special holiday memory…thank you, Molly..
julie
I can't get over how perfect these are! I LOVE them so much and I can't wait to make some for my tree.
Hi Lisa-
The tree can be purchased here: http://www.feathertrees.com/
Thank you!
Molly
Hi Doreen-
Yes! Whitney's Crocheted Candy Ornaments can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/the-purl-bee/2013/12/3/whits-knits-crochet-candy-ornaments.html
Thank you!
Molly
These are great, love the zig zag detail and a great way to use those scraps of felt I keep saving from other projects!
These are such a good idea. I love ribbon candy and can't wait to make these!
i love this idea! you've had thee best ornament tutorials!
Absolutely the cutest, so colorful. Now I want a white tree!
Can't wait to start these. So cut and easy to do. Thanks
These are wonderfully easy. I made some from smaller cuts of felt that I had on hand and they came out wonderfully. They make great gift toppers. Thank you
Love these. How thick is the felt you used for this project?
Hi Nicola-
Thanks! The felt is 1mm thick.
Best-
Molly
I made one today to see if I can make it as cute as yours…Success! I can’t wait to make more with different colors this weekend! Thank you for the tutorial!
These are lovely and bring back such great memories.
Perfet for last minute gifts!
Thanks for another fun project! I’ve been having fun using a different color for the bobbin thread, so the 2 sides are different.
🙂
Hello, Lily!
What a fun idea using contrasting threads! Thank you so much for writing in!
Happy crafting!
Kumeko
Any tricks for getting the knot in the right place at the top? Mine always end up further away than they should be.
Hi Erin-
You can take a tiny little stitch at the top, just right at the exit point, and tie the knot there. I hope this helps!
Best-
Molly
Love these! But have to disagree with you on the eating of this delicious candy. My daughters know to get me a box as soon as they see it! I’m mostly unable to leave my house or my bed most of the time. It can be very depressing but they know they’ll get a smile when they hand a box of these to me!
These are so neat and beautiful, thanks for sharing!
“Sew” easy and colorful idea. Beginner sewer/embroidery would have no trouble making them. Great project for all ages.
My granddaughter loves ribbon candy so I’ll make her some of the ribbon candy ornaments for her Hope Chest.
Hello –
I’m not clear on which stitch to come back through when trying to hide the beginning knot. Can you explain a bit more?
Thank you!
Hi Kim,
Thanks for writing in! I’d be happy to help clarify this section. When you first come up from the bottom of the felt with your needle, I’d recommend entering slightly to the right of the dot made with your fabric marker. Then, you can insert your needle back down through the felt, slightly to the left of the dot. This is the only time you’ll double up like this and it’ll make the thread more secure on each side of the fabric. The knot won’t be as noticeable because the first inch of the fabric will eventually fold up as you cinch them all together.
I hope that helps! Please let us know if you still have any questions about that.
All the best,
Zha Zha
do you use any fraycheck or something to prevent any undoing of the zigzag stitching?? is any needed??
Hi Crystal,
Thank you for reaching out! I think the zigzag stitching is quite secure so a product like Fray Check won’t be necessary for this project in particular, but if you would like to try it out please feel free! If that’s the case, then I would recommend testing it out on a small sample of felt to see how you like the results. I hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat