scrappy ornaments

This holiday season we are doing two things that are completely new for our family. Due to an extremely persuasive argument from Smootch ("pleeeeaaasssssssseeeeeeeeeee!!!!"), we have for the very first time a Christmas tree that needs decorating. Second, we are spending exactly zero dollars on decorations and gifts (that's right, no money spent for christmas - very much fun. You can read about it if you are interested over on The Man's blog.)

To decorate our tree, Smootch and I decided that we needed to use something colourful, something shiny, and something we already have in abundance. We had to look no farther than the mess I refer to as my sewing room.

Using odds and ends of fabric scraps and bits of stray and broken notions zambonied from the sewing room floor, along with a bit of thread and craft wire, Smootch and I put together these little ornaments:



This project is excellent for little ones just learning to use a needle, and a nice way to use the fabric bits too small even for patchwork.


To make your own, cut a variety of fabric scraps into 1/2" squares.


Load up a needle with thread. We used a thick top stitching thread. For Smootch I knotted together both ends of the thread to avoid frustrating her by accidently pulling the needle off the thread.

Begin by piercing the middle of the fabric squares with the needle and pulling down to the end knot to make a fabric stack on the thread.

Smootch worked on her stacks slowly over several days. I kept her supplies avaliable whenever she wanted and I found that she would go find her supplies and a comfy corner of the house and work whenever she was feeling a need for quiet and calm.


When your stack is big enough (and only you can decide) you can leave it to dangle free or tie it up into a wreath by tying the knotted end to the top of your stack.

Crafting wire comes in a variety of gauzes (sizes). I used a thicker gauge for the tree hook and a thinner gauge for the attaching the notions. It's also handy to have a few tools on hand for cutting and bending the wire. If you do not have any wire at home, try using thread, pipecleaners or twist ties to hang from the tree.

To make hooks to hang on the tree, simply bend some craft wire into the appropriate shape, with a little loop on the end to hook the thread with. (No, Smootch did not do the bending on the pic below, I did. Yes, my wire bending skills leave something to be desired. Yes, I should probably just stick to sewing.)

For shiny, dangly, jingly items, I used metal notions that were damaged, had lost a partner, or recycled reconned clothing.

To attach the shinies, lace them onto a length of craft wire. Bend the end of the wire into a hook shape to attach to the thread. (See pic below where The Man smoothed out my hook for me?)

When you believe you have enough shiny, you are done. Have fun crafting with the wee ones :)