Mini Christmas Tree Quilt Ornament Tutoial

Can you believe it’s the week of Christmas? Nope? Me either. A few weeks ago I shared this simple little quilted Christmas Tree ornament/gift-tag tutorial over at UCreate. I thought I’d share it again here, just in case you’re bored (hah) or you’re looking for a quick-finish gift or a fun, last-minute Christmas project.

This is a great little project for using up extra fabric scraps and is a fun way to play with a variety of prints and colors.

Fabric requirements for each ornament:

• 2 green rectangles 1 1/2” x 2 1/2”
• 4 white squares 1 1/2” x 1 1/2”
• 2 white rectangles 1 1/4” x 1 1/2”
• 1 brown rectangle 1” x  1 1/2”
• 4 red rectangles 1” x 3 1/2”
• Batting 3 1/2” x 4 1/4”
• Back 3 1/2” x 4 1/2”
• Jute Twine 7”

On the back of the four 1 1/2” x 1 1/2” squares, draw a single diagonal line.

Place one square on the right side of a green 1 1/2” x 2 1/2” rectangle. Sew seam directly on drawn line. Trim corner 1/4” away from the seam open up the white triangle and press seam toward the white. Place a second white square on left side of green triangle, overlapping with first white triangle. Sew seam directly on the line. Trim corner 1/4” away from seam, fold white triangle open and press seam toward the triangle. Repeat with second set of white squares and green triangle.

Using 1/4” seam allowance on the remaining seams, sew one green triangle block on top of the other triangle block to create tree. Sew 1 3/4” x 1 1/2” rectangles to either side of brown 1” x 1 1/2” rectangle. Press seams toward the brown. Sew this unit to the bottom of the ‘tree’ triangles to create trunk. Press seam toward the green.

Sew two 1” x 3 1/2” strips on either side of the tree block (continue to use 1/4” seam allowance). Press seams toward the red strips.

 Sew remaining strips to the top and bottom of the tree block. Press seams toward the bottom strips.

 Press block well to give it a nice, crisp appearance.

To add batting and backing, layer the batting on the bottom, the tree quilt block (with the top edges lined up – there will be 1/4” less batting at the bottom), the piece of heavy twine in an upside down ‘U’ with the ends about 3/4” in from each side and with about 1” of ends sticking out from the top. Then place backing piece wrong-side-up on top of everything and pin layers together.

Sew layers together using a 1/4” seam allowance. Start 1” from the side at the bottom edge, back stitching first, and sew all the way around, finishing about 1” from the other side on the bottom edge, backstitching again when you finish. This will leave a 1 1/2” opening at the bottom for turning right sides out. Be sure to sew back and forth a few times over the twine to secure it in place.

Clip ends of twine and clip corners before turning right sides out.

Tuck bottoms ends inside and using a blind stitch, whip stitch the bottom edges together.

You can leave the ornament/tag as is at this point, if you like. I like to add a little bit of hand-quilted stitches outlining the tree to give the ornament just a little bit of texture.

Here is how the ornament looks quilted and not-quilted, just to show the difference that little bit of stitching makes. You can do whatever suits you best!

And that’s it! A simple mini-quilt ornament. Perfect for a quick little personalized project or just for using up some favorite scraps.

Here’s a few more ideas for last-minute Handmade gifts, in case you’re looking for a few more ideas! Happy gifting!