Every Friday for the twenty-four weeks leading up to December 1st, we will be making a handmade Christmas ornament. Follow along and make them all or pick and chose your favorites.

I’ll admit it this week’s ornament is pretty much a knock-off of one currently at Ikea, but it is super cute and coming up with twenty-four new ornaments every year is tricky! Here is my version.

And here is Ikea’s.

I did make a few changes to the original. I used a wooden bead for the head instead of a fabric ball, I think painting a face on wood is much crisper. I used a store-bought pom-pom on my hat instead of a yarn one, because when I tried to make a yarn one that small it was a mess. Finally, I made the boots grey instead of the flesh tone.

Felt Elf Ornament

Supplies:

• red felt
• felt for hands and boots in colors of your choice
• scissors, I found small embroidery scissors were best for cutting the small felt pieces
• straight pins
• glue stick (optional)
• tacky glue
• white embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• 1/2″ wooden ball or bead
• red fingering weight yarn
• size 1 double-pointed knitting needles
• small white pom-pom
• pencil
• acrylic paint in black and red
• small paintbrush or toothpick

1. Cut out felt pieces – Print out the Felt Elf Ornament Template. Cut out the paper pattern pieces. Fold the red felt in half and place the body piece so the top is on the fold. I pinned the felt together and then used glue stick to hold the pattern in place. Cut through both laters, but not through the fold.

Cut two boots and two hands.

2. If you want to embroider a design on the front of the body piece, do so now. I used three strands of floss and did a simple snowflake/star design.

(You could also cut out a felt decoration like a white heart or sew a small decorative button on if embroidery isn’t your thing.)

3. Glue the hands and feet to the wrong side of the body. It doesn’t matter if you glue them to the front or back.

4. Glue the wooden ball or bead to the center right side of the body piece. If you are using a bead like I did, make sure the hole is facing up and down. Let dry completely.

5. Fold the body in half. Whip stitch under the arms and down the sides with two strands of embroidery floss.

Glue the bottom of the body together.

6. Knit the hat – (If you are not a knitter, you could make a felt cone for a hat instead.)

I used fingering yarn on size one needles, my gauge was about 10 stitches per inch.

Cast on 24 stitches and divide between three needles. Join together to knit in the round placing a stitch marker between the first and last stitch to mark rows.
Work in knit2, purl2 ribbing until hat measures about 1″.
Decrease row 1: (k2, purl 2 together)6x (18 stitches)
Decrease row 2: (knit 2 together, p1)6x (12 stitches)
Cut the yarn leaving about a 10″ tail. Weave the tail through the stitches on the needles. Take the stitches off the needles and pull tight. Bring the end of the tail inside through the top, but leave a loop of the yarn off the top of the hat to use as a hanging loop. Tie the tail of the yarn in a knit inside. I tied it to the back of a stitch to keep it in place.

Weave in cast on tail.
Glue or sew the pom-pom to the top of the hat. Let dry.

7. Add hair – Figure out where the hat will sit of the bead at the front of the elf. Make a little mark with a pencil where the bottom hit. Put a line of glue across that mark and glue small pieces (but longer than you wanted the finished hair) of embroidery floss along it. Basically, you’ll want the hat to cover the top of the strands and you’ll trim the bottom later. Use a straight pin to help separate the strands. Let dry.

8. Glue the hat on to the head.

9. Trim the hair to the length you would like.

10. Paint on the face – I draw it on first with a pencil and then use a toothpick to paint it on.