DIY Handmade Christmas Heart Ornaments

If you read my Christmas Decor Trends and Predictions post from last week, then you’ll know that handmade Christmas ornaments are very popular this year. And it’s easy to see why. They’re sweet and comforting to look at and crafting is a great way to relieve stress AND save money on decor. These DIY handmade Christmas heart ornaments are easy to make and require only a few items you likely already have at home. These make a great Christmas gift, but there’s no shame in making them and keeping them all for yourself!

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Supplies and Tools

Note- One yard or meter of fabric would make dozens of ornaments. This is a great project to use up those fabric scraps!

• Printer and one sheet cardstock to make pattern
• 4″ by 8″ piece of fabric (for each heart)
• Scissors
• Pen or fabric marker
• Measuring tape or ruler
• 8″ long piece of twine or yarn (for each heart)
• Pins
• Sewing machine and thread that coordinates with your fabric
• Small amount of polyester batting
• Chopstick to help with stuffing
• Good-quality pinking shears (optional)

Instructions for the DIY handmade Christmas heart ornaments

The finished hearts measure 3.25″ wide and 5″ tall including the twine loop.

Preparation

• Print the pattern found here. Note that the pattern has the seam allowance included. You can print it onto cardstock so that it is durable enough to make several ornaments. For a long-lasting pattern, you can transfer the heart pattern onto medium-weight mylar.
• Fold your fabric in half, wrong sides together, and trace the heart onto your fabric with a pen or fabric marker.
• Cut through both layers of fabric to cut out the heart pattern.
• Cut an 8″ piece of twine and stick it into the top of the heart, making sure it is centered and that about 3/4″ of both ends of the twine is hidden within the heart. Pin all the way around the heart, adding a different-coloured pin to mark the spot where you will pivot at the top of the heart.
• Using your sewing machine, you will start sewing at the bottom of the heart.

Sewing

• Using a 5/16″ seam allowance (3/8″ would also be fine), sew around the heart, leaving a 1″ to 1.5″ opening along the straight edge of the heart before the starting point. Make sure to backstitch on either side of the opening to ensure the stitches don’t unravel during stuffing.
• Stuff the heart with the batting until it is medium-firm. I find that overstuffing produces a less attractive finished product, so resist the urge. A chopstick can be used to assist with the stuffing. It’s prefeable to stuff small pieces rather than one big wad of stuffing.
• Use your sewing machine to stitch up the opening, using the same seam allowance as before.

Finishing

• Using pinking shears, cut all the way around the heart, being careful not to cut through your stitching or through the twine at the top.
• If you don’t have good-quality pinking shears that can cut through two layers of fabric, then you can either leave your heart as it is in the left image below, or you can pull on the threads to give the heart a rustic, slightly frayed look.

Fabric options for the DIY handmade Christmas heart ornaments

I made a large batch in the black and white ticking stripe and in a natural beige linen fabric. These fabrics work beautifully in a farmhouse, French country, or Scandinavian-style home. The completed heart ornaments in these fabric are available here in my Etsy shop.

Then I decided to make more of the DIY handmade Christmas heart ornaments in some cute Christmas bough fabric I found. The Christmas bough ornaments come in two different colourways in my Etsy shop– white/green and cranberry/white.

I think these hearts would be lovely in solid coloured linen or velvet, or a small-scale plaid or buffalo check.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my DIY handmade Christmas heart ornaments. What kind of fabric would you choose?