I had planned to spend today sharing some of the more basic ornaments and giving an in depth look at the tree, but it is pouring rain down here in San Diego and so it is not a day for picture taking.
Instead I’ll jump ahead on my calendar and show you how I made this monogrammed ornament.
I figured that a Family Traditions tree would never be complete without a monogram, but at the same time I didn’t want anything overly formal, so I thought that a little handstitched initial would be enough of a nod to tradition without clashing with my oh so modern house.
I’ve made versions of this ornament before in different sizes and shapes. It’s really so simple and is an easy way of getting those workhorse ornaments I’m so fond of.
Embroider your design on your fabric, and cut the shape out with your design centered. For this one I obviously used a diamond, but in the past I’ve done stars and circle shapes by tracing an old scrapbooking template.
Layer two shapes right sides together, with your hanger in between the layers. Poke both ends of the hanger out of the shape so they’ll be sewn in place in the next step.
Then just sew around leaving an inch or so open, just like when you sew a pillow.
Push the hanger through the hole you’ve left open and pull right side out. Push all the points out as far as you can.
Stuff the little pillow full of fiberfill and close the hole up with a little fabric glue. My favorite is the standard Fabric-Tac, but just remember that a little of it will go a very long way.
With that same fabric glue, trace a line all along the seam and glue some trim down. Join the edges at one of the points and try to blend them together a little. For this portion especially, use very little glue. Like just a whisper. A suggestion of glue. But make sure that your trim is good and pushed down into it.
I really didn’t stress too much about making these things pristine or even overly neat. They’re just ornaments, you know? You’ll rarely see each one close enough to notice that you used glue instead of tiny intricate stitches. I worried much more about making them easy to crank out in bulk. I think by the time I’m done with these I’ll have somewhere between 36 – 46 ornaments (you know how I like my trees just stuffed silly), and that is just too many to be concerned with stitching trim down by hand.
