Looking for a great way to use up some of your fabric scraps? I'm always on the hunt for a good fabric scrap buster project. My bin of scrap fabric seems to grow so fast! If you are anything like me it is so hard to toss out any scrap pieces of fabric knowing that there is probably some sort of project you could incorporate it into.
Recently after organizing my scrap bin (I keep my scraps in a plastic tote grouped by color), and assessing my inventory I began scouring Pinterest for a quick quilting project to use up some of my scrap fabrics. Since it was close to Christmas I of course found a lot of great holiday themed projects. I love making holiday themed projects but I was also looking for a pattern that could be used anytime with an assortment of colors and fabric.
I decided on a simple quilted patchwork tree block that I modified to fit the size fabric scraps I had and I decided that instead of a quilt I was going to turn my patchwork Christmas tree quilt blocks into hanging quilted ornaments to give as gifts to my sisters this year.
Would you like to make these with me? Ok, go get your scrap fabric pieces and start pairing up pieces that contrast yet still look great together. Since these were going to be ornaments for Christmas I stuck with fabrics that had green, gold, red and brown colors in them.
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Easy Quilted Christmas Tree Ornament
Supplies - Here is what you will need to make 2 quilted tree ornament blocks
- 2 contrasting pieces of scrap fabric 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
- 2 of the same contrasting pieces of fabric cut into a rectangle 4 1/2" x 1" (border base pieces)
- 2 squares of brown fabric cut into 1" x 1"
- 2 pieces of scrap felt or batting larger than your sewn block (about 4 1/2" square)
- 2 pieces of backing fabric - could match the front of the block or another contrasting fabric (4 1/2" x 4 1/2" in size)
- 2 pieces of thin ribbon approximately 6-8" long
- rotary cutter
- self healing cutting mat
- sewing machine & notions
- iron & ironing board
*looking for the tools I used in this tutorial? scroll to the bottom of the post for a list of tools and where to find them.
Patchwork Quilted Christmas Tree Ornament Tutorial
1. CUTTING THE TREES: Cut a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square from each piece of contrasting fabric. The fastest way to do this is to place one fabric on top of the other with right sides facing up and cut them at the same time. Leave the cut fabric squares together. (since my two fabric pieces are stacked on top of each other you only see one of the fabrics in the picture)
Now you will need to make a diagonal cut along the right side of the square fabric. See my example in the picture below.
Next, make a diagonal cut from the left side of the fabric to the top creating your tree shaped triangle. Again see my picture below showing this cut.
After these two cuts here is what you should have when the two fabrics are separated:
2. MATCHING UP FABRIC: Lay your cut fabric pieces out just like the picture above and then take the two triangle shaped pieces and swap them so that the triangle piece does not match the fabric of the two outside pieces. Make sense? This will allow for your fabric tree to contrast against the border fabric.
3. SEWING THE TREE: Now it is time to start sewing these pieces together to make the tree quilt blocks. When we are all done you will have made two separate quilt blocks. Got it? Good, let's get sewing.
Let's start with right sides of all pieces of fabric face up. Now flip the triangle shapes onto the left side border piece. Follow the picture below. Then with a 1/4" seam sew down the triangle attaching it to the border piece. Press it open after you are done sewing.
3. SEWING THE SIDES: With the triangle and the left side fabric pieces sewn together it is now time to attach the right side fabric piece. Line up the edges (right sides facing) of the triangle and the right border fabric together. Sew them together with a 1/4" seam then press open. See the picture below for more detail.
After you press open the tree block it is time to square it up! With a straight edge quilting ruler (or regular ruler/straight edge if you don't have one) use your rotary cutter and square up the tree block.
4. TRUNK & BORDER: The next step is to create the tree trunk and bottom border. Get your 2 pieces of rectangular shaped border fabric (4 1/2"x1") and the two small brown square (1"x 1") pieces.
Take the two rectangular border pieces you cut for your bases (they should be 4 1/2" x 1") cut both pieces in half. With right sides together place one brown square on top of the border colored fabric sew the 1" side of the tree block fabric to the 1" side of the small brown square of fabric then press open. Repeat this step sewing the brown square to the other half of the cut rectangle and press open. You will do this step for both blocks. This is what you should have when you are done.
5. ATTACHING THE BASE: For this next step we will be attaching the base of the tree to the top. I like to center the brown trunk piece fairly close to the center of the tree. Once I am happy with the placement I flip the base onto the top with right sides facing together and sew a 1/4" line across the base to connect them. Press open after sewing them together and then square up the base of the tree cutting off any extra over hanging edges so it is even with the top of the tree.
6. BATTING & QUILTING: Place the two finished tree quilt blocks face up on top of the felt batting pieces. The batting should be a little larger than your finished tree block. I free-hand quilted swirls and lines over my tree block since I wanted to give it an "outdoor" feel of swirling snow and wind. Choose whatever quilting pattern you like and quilt both blocks onto the felt batting. Since these blocks will become ornaments and won't need to be washed I used felt for the batting because it is what I had handy. If you use a different kind of batting that is OK, just quilt it like I did with the felt. After you complete your quilting trim the batting so it is square with your tree block.
7. RIBBON HANGER & BACKING: Since these quilted tree blocks are going to become ornaments they need some ribbon hangers attached. I used some holiday colored ribbon as the hanger. You could use whatever you have on hand like yarn, hemp twine or anything you can sew through. To attach the ribbon hanger you will need to baste the ribbon onto your block along the top edge with a few stitches. Trim off extra ribbon after you baste it to the tree. Here is how to lay out the ribbon along the top:
After you are done basting the ribbon hanger on it is time to attach the backing fabric to the block. From your supply list you should have two squares of fabric left in your pile each measuring 4 1/2" x 4 1/2". I like to use backing fabric that is a bit larger than my completed block so that I have plenty of wiggle room when sewing it onto the block.
With the backing fabric laying face up position your block face down in the center of the backing fabric (right sides facing right sides). Make sure your ribbon hanger is not caught along the edges - you may have to tuck the ribbon in a bit so it doesn't get stitched to the edge when you sew the backing fabric to the tree quilt block. I'm not a fan of pinning but if you prefer to this is the time to pin along a few edges so that your block doesn't shift when you sew it to the backing fabric. Normally when I'm working with something larger I will pin but this is a small little piece and easy to handle.
Using your block as a guide measure down the side of the block so you start sewing about an inch above the bottom corner. Make sure to back stitch so when you turn the block inside out the stitches don't come apart. Sew all the way around the block stopping about 1" away from your starting place. You will need to leave this 1" opening so you can turn the block inside out. Trim away excess fabric around the block and clip the corners to remove extra bulk when you turn the block inside out.
8. TURN & PRESS: Carefully turn the quilt block inside out pulling it through the 1" opening you left un-sewn. You may have to use a dull pencil or chopstick to push the corners out - just be careful not to push the pencil or chopstick tip through the corner. Press the quilted tree ornament with a hot iron making sure to fold the 1" opening under so that it matches up with the sewn edge of the side. I like to top stitch all the way around my ornament however if you don't want to do this then you can hand stitch the 1" opening closed. This is your preference!
Guess what? We are all done! You should now have two fully completed quilted tree block ornaments. What a great way to use up some scrap fabrics right!! My sisters were pleasantly surprised with their ornaments and couldn't wait to hang them on their Christmas trees.
If you wanted to make a door hanger or even a wall hanging using this block all you need to do is increase the size of the fabric squares to meet your needs. I think this tree block would even make a lovely whimsical nature themed nursery quilt. The possibilities are endless.
I'd love to see your finished projects - please share or leave a comment telling me about your finished quilted tree blocks! Don't forget to Pin this post for later so you can come back to if when you are ready to make more tree blocks.
Useful Tools & Supplies:
Here are some tools and supplies I recommend using for this project:
