DIY Wool Felt Christmas Tree Garland

In this post: How to make this adorable star Christmas tree garland from wool felt and wool felt balls. All sources and instructions are included!

ivory wool felt star garland with felt balls

Welcome to the first crafting session of the season! I’m joining the Seasonal Simplicity crew, hosted by Krista from The Happy Housie, and we’re sharing easy holiday DIY and craft projects that anyone can do. Make sure to take a look at all the cute creations at the end of the post. 

When it comes to Christmas tree ornaments, I love everything. Over the years, we’ve had trees using every combination of ornaments possible. Lately though, I’ve wanted a simpler look. The perfect way to get that is with handmade ornaments. This wool felt Christmas tree garland takes a bit of time, but it’s such an accomplishment when it’s finished. Spread the sewing out over a few evenings in front of the TV, and in no time, you will have a handmade treasure that, if stored properly, will last for years. Read on for the easy tutorial. 

*Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement. 

Christmas Tree Garland Supplies

What you need for 16 stars:

ivory wool felt star Christmas garland supplies

About Wool Felt

The wool felt linked to above comes in lengths that measure 18 in. x 36 in. When you order two, you are sent one piece that measures 36 in. x 36 in. The felt balls come in packages of 30. The white balls perfectly match the fresh linen felt. 

Wool felt can be used as is, or it can be “felted.” Felting wool brings out the texture and makes it a bit fluffier. All you do is fill your kitchen sink with lukewarm water. Dunk the piece of felt until it has absorbed as much water as possible. Remove it and, very gently, wring out the water. Use more of a squeezing motion and not a wringing motion. Throw it in your dryer along with a large, dry towel and a dryer sheet. Remove it when it’s still slightly damp and lay it flat to dry, smoothing out any wrinkles with your hands. That’s it!

*I felted my wool before I began cutting out stars. This is a totally optional step.

table top christmas tree with felt star garland

DIY Christmas Tree Garland

  • Make a star template. I recommend using a sturdy piece of cardboard. It is much easier to trace around than paper. Click {HERE} for the template.
  • Trace 32 stars on the wool felt and cut them out.
  • Place two stars together and, using a blanket stitch, sew them together with the embroidery floss. When you get to the last point, stop and stuff the star with a tiny bit of polyfil or two cotton balls. Continue with the blanket stitch around the last point. Repeat this process until you have 16 stars.
  • Click {HERE} to see how to make a blanket stitch.
  • Cut a piece of embroidery floss or cotton yarn about 8 feet long and place your needle on one end. Beginning with a felt ball, string eight stars and balls onto the yarn in an alternating pattern. Space them about 5 inches apart. This will give you a garland that’s approximately 6 feet long and has 8 stars.
  • (To string the stars so they hang correctly, make a small stitch in the back of each star, near the tip of a point.)
  • Repeat the process for the remaining 8 stars.
  • When finished, you will have two garlands that measure approximately 6 feet long with ample yarn for tying off on the ends. 

wool felt christmas tree garland blanket stitch

You can, of course, use any kind of fabric you want for this project. You can also simply make ornaments and not a garland. When you get to the last point, just attach a tiny hanger. Narrow ribbon works perfectly for this. If you don’t enjoy hand-stitching, a sewing machine works great. When I had my handmade shop, I made little stars and hearts from grain sack fabric and used a machine stitch. They sold like hotcakes! It involves sewing around four points, removing the star from the machine, stuffing the star, and then sewing around the last point. Using the assembly line method makes the whole process go quickly. 

To see how to make hearts and stars with a sewing machine, click {HERE.}

Storing Wool Felt Ornaments & Garlands

To store your wool felt ornaments and garlands, place them in resealable bags. This will protect them from dust, and help prevent the musty smell that stored fabric sometimes gets. It’s also helpful to add a dryer sheet to the bag before sealing. 

grain sack fabric christmas star ornaments

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29 Comments

  1. The wool felt link doesn’t seem to. work. Is there another place we can get it?

    1. Ann Drake says:

      I found the fresh linen wool felt in another Etsy shop. I’ve updated the link. Thank you for letting me know!

  2. I love these stars and felt balls. I don’t see where you tell the size of the felt balls to order, though. Could you please tell me how big the ones you have used are? Thanks.

    1. Ann Drake says:

      My apologies for the delay in answering. I missed some comments and am trying to catch up! I included a link in the post to the exact balls I used. They are 2 cm, or about 3/4 inch. Merry Christmas!

  3. Absolutely love these! The stars and wool balls are perfect.

  4. Barbara Harilaou says:

    Ann this year I decided to decorate the house with white and gold and your star garland is perfect and yet so simple. Thank you for sharing.

  5. Hi Ann, can’t wait to try these out! I’ve ordered the wool felt, but had to get white- Linen is sold out. I was wondering if I added a bit of fresh brewed tea to the rinse when ‘felting’ if that would achieve the linen color? What do you think?
    Thank you for sharing!!

    1. Ann Drake says:

      Hi Jackie! I think that’s a great idea. I have used tea or coffee dyes many times. I would suggest that you try it with a very small piece first just to make sure it doesn’t do something wacky! Let me know how it comes out…and happy holidays!

      1. Thank you, Ann! I’ll keep you posted😊. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving !
        Jackie

  6. Caitlin | Lion & Lantern says:

    What a sweet little garland, I love the fabric! I’m going for simplicity this Christmas and loving all things natural and classic. Thanks for the inspiration!

  7. Kristin salazar says:

    I adore these, love it mixed with the pom poms!

  8. Christy James says:

    I just adore this whimsical garland! And I love the tip to use cotton balls if you don’t have any polyfil on hand….never would have thought of that! XO

  9. Jaime Costiglio says:

    Ann these are gorgeous and such a nice evening project while catching up on shows. I love hand sewing and this is just perfection.

  10. Darling Ann,
    Way back when I was 21 and our first Christmas I made felt stuffed things to hang onnour first Christmas tree. I used cookie cutters to trace out patterns. Long been replaced but the love we had made them so special.

  11. Beautiful garland. And a great tutorial!

  12. I love this, Ann. So simple and pretty!!
    Hugs, Jamie

  13. Jennifer Lifford says:

    So pretty! I always wondered how you felt wool! I love the grain sack version of the stars too.

  14. Love the gain sack fabric stars !!!! Wish I had known about you and your great style then. Keep the wonderful post coming.

  15. Susan Dupuis says:

    So simple and cute! I made lots of felt ornaments when my children were small. I stick a bounce sheet in with them when I store them.

    1. Ann Drake says:

      This is a great tip Susan…I am going to add it to the post! Thank you and happy holidays!

  16. Jennifer Hadfield says:

    That garland is so pretty! I am doing a scandinavian type christmas this year and LOVE that! Pinned :)

    xoxo

  17. Wow,did this bring back memories.As a newlywed 45 years ago,I made felt ornaments for our 1st Christmas tree exactly the same as you with additional shapes.I also connected yards of pom poms for a garland.Love how your little tree came out’s cute.

  18. Lindsay @ Lemon Thistle says:

    Love love! How ever so cute and it def makes the tree just perfect

  19. Penny Thomas says:

    Ann, I love your white star and pom-pom garland (just have to try making that!) and your cinnamon and applesauce ornaments. Where do you purchase the red and white twine? It is much prettier than any I have seen at our local craft stores! Thanks for all of your amazing ideas.

  20. You are so very talented. The white star garland would be just the thing to drape on one of my kitchen shelves. Guess I better get to work.

  21. I love how you make simple look best Ann!

    1. You are so correct. Couldn’t have said it better.

    2. Thank you for the dropper tip. It was like magic!