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How to Sew Christmas Tree Diamond Decorations - Free Pattern
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Mar 21, 2024
In this video you will learn how to make your own Fabric Christmas Tree Decorations shaped like diamonds. They are lovely to sew and use English Paper Piecing. You will learn everything you need in the video. DIY fabric ornaments are always so special. The links mentioned in the video are: How to make a tassel video - https://youtu.be/fjbb5DGmK9E Free printable templates - https://christines-crafts.com/how-to-sew-christmas-tree-diamond-decorations-free-pattern/ Supplies: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Fabric - https://amzn.to/3Q7YcE2 Free Printable Template - https://christines-crafts.com/how-to-sew-christmas-tree-diamond-decorations-free-pattern/ Tassel - https://amzn.to/3M9a7Al Thread - https://amzn.to/3M8Qjgy If you enjoy crafting my blog is full of great ideas and tutorials. Plus if you subscribe you gain access to my free resource library, which includes a home crafts e-book, planners and much more, and get to hear about my latest projects first. Take a look at https://christines-crafts.com/ Enjoy watching and sewing your own fabric Christmas tree decorations. Please leave me a 'thumbs up' if you enjoyed this video and subscribe so that you get to see all my videos as they are posted. You can also find me across social media. To see all my information and ideas find me at https://linktr.ee/Christines_Crafts.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hi, in this video I'm going to show you exactly how to make your own fabric Christmas tree decorations
0:05
just like this one using English paper piecing. So the first thing you're going to need is some fabric. This is a great project for using up scraps
0:13
I recommend two different fabrics with small prints on them, but it's entirely up to you
0:18
You're then going to want something to stuff them with. This is toy filling, but you could use scraps of fabric
0:22
or anything you've got, to be honest. And you're going to need needle and thread to sew with
0:29
So they just need to match your fabric. Now you'll see here I've got some card and some embroidery thread and that's to make a tassel
0:37
And on the screen and in the description below is a link to a video showing you how to make your own tassel
0:42
Or you can simply buy one, but you're going to need a tassel to hang off the bottom if you want one
0:47
You're going to want some pins and you're going to want these templates
0:51
They're available for free to download off my website. There's a link on the screen and a link in the description below
0:57
And you'll see there are two sheets and you do need both. So one is for paper and one is for fabric pieces
1:03
So print them both off. And let's get started. So the first thing you're going to do is cut out your templates
1:11
So you're going to need all those small triangles because you're going to use all eight of them
1:17
When it comes to the larger triangles, I gave you all eight so that you can cut out your fabric however you like
1:24
But strictly you only need one because all your triangles are going to be the same size
1:29
So you can just reuse the same little pattern piece. So the first thing to do is to cut out your pattern pieces on your fabric
1:38
So if you're using two different fabrics, you want four of each one
1:43
Now I'm just going to double my fabric over so that I only have to do two and I'll still end up with four
1:49
What I would say is if you've got a pattern on your fabric and you're bothered about which way up it ends up
1:54
or you want to end up with, for example, a reindeer on the middle of each triangle
1:59
you'd have to take a bit more care with your placement. But that's where you can get creative
2:05
All that I'm going to say to you is you need a total of eight triangles
2:10
And if you're wanting to do one like mine that's split into two different fabrics, you want four of each fabric
2:18
So you could be using your rotary cutter on your mat or you can use your scissors
2:23
I'm using the scissors because I think then everybody's got a pair of scissors, haven't they
2:27
So they can all follow me. Okay, so I've cut out my four green ones
2:34
And then you just need to do the same with your other fabric
2:38
So for me, that's four red ones. And there we go
2:48
So once you've got all eight and eight little paper triangles, it's going to be time to start sewing
2:55
So take one of your fabric triangles and one of your paper triangles
3:00
Place the paper on the middle, fold one side over and tack it in place
3:07
And by that, I mean just use a couple of big stitches and then do the same on the next side
3:13
So at the corner, you're going to have that point sticking up. That's fine. Leave it sticking up. You want it up there out of the way
3:20
And then sew along that second side. These are literally tacking stitches
3:27
We're going to take them out. And this is what English paper piecing is all about
3:32
You use little pieces of paper to keep your shape so that everything works beautifully
3:37
You can use it a lot in quilting. And then once you're happy with it, just finish off your thread, cut it off and repeat
3:47
So you need all eight of them done. I recommend you do all eight at the beginning and then you're ready to go
3:53
So repeat. And once you've got all eight, which you will have
4:00
then you're going to get sewing, start building your diamond. So if you're using two different colours, you want one of each
4:08
And you want to place them together, right sides facing. And we're just going to sew along one side
4:15
And we're going to use a whip stitch, which goes over and over and over
4:20
So just start at one end and make sure you get right to the end of your paper
4:24
and push through your layers of fabric. Now, ideally, you're just missing the paper
4:29
So you are literally going through the edges of the fabric. If you find you've gone through the paper a little bit, it's not the end of the world
4:36
Don't worry about it. But you are trying to avoid the edge of the paper
4:41
Just go through the very edge of your fabric and work your way all the way along
4:46
And you're forming little tiny whip stitches. Just make sure you don't move along too fast
4:52
You want to keep your stitches close together and then you'll get a really nice tidy finish
4:59
So get yourself right the way along to the other end. And then I recommend finishing off your thread but not cutting it off
5:08
So when you get to the end, do a stitch and then put your needle through the loop
5:13
so that it finishes it off and makes it all secure. And you'll see you do sometimes have trouble with your thread going round those points at the end
5:21
Just take your time and release them. And once that's secure, it should look like that
5:29
And well done. You know what you're doing. You're going to just keep going
5:34
So now, especially if you're using different fabrics, make sure you alternate
5:40
So now I'm going to put a green one against that red one
5:44
And if I open it up, you can see it's going red, green, red
5:48
Or even green, red, green. And you just start again. So take your thread, carry on from where you finished off
5:58
which means you don't have to cut your thread off unless you've run out of thread
6:02
And get yourself in the right place. And you're going to go again
6:09
A nice, simple whip stitch all the way along. It's exactly the same as you did the other one
6:17
But as you can see, you might have a little bit more trouble with those points simply because you've got more of them in the way
6:22
So just work your way along, keeping it neat and tidy. And again, finish off
6:28
And keep going until you've got six of these all in a row
6:33
So if you think back to your template at the start, you'll remember that you did have this row of six in the middle
6:43
Just keep checking and keep making sure you're alternating colours. Then once you've got all six together
6:54
it's time to think about the other two because you need to make sure they go in the right place
6:59
So if we bring back that template, you can see that you have all six and then one on either end
7:07
So you can see for me, I'm going to add a red one up there and a green one down there
7:13
So you're going to do it in exactly the same way as you did before, but you're just not carrying on in a straight line
7:19
So just whip stitch your way along and then swap to the other end
7:25
and add the one on the other end. So just take your time to check that it looks exactly like mine
7:35
and then you know it's going to make up into a diamond properly
7:40
So remember, we've got all those points that we kept getting in the way
7:45
Well, now is the time to deal with them. What we're going to do is trim the bulk of the fabric off
7:50
Now, before you start cutting, just a little word of caution. Don't get too close to your triangles
7:56
You do want some still there. You just don't need all that sticking up there
8:00
So just trim the very tops off just to tidy it up and get rid of some bulk
8:05
And then we'll think about building. So you're going to need a hanger
8:09
Now I'm just using embroidery thread and putting a knot in one end. You might want to use ribbon. It's up to you
8:15
But make sure you've got a knot or something of some substance
8:19
that's going to hold it in place and keep it secure. So because we're going to sew like that
8:26
and we've got the outside on the inside, if you like, we're going to put a hanging loop inside that diamond
8:33
so it's on the right side of the fabric. And the knot is coming out and we can see it on the outside
8:40
on the side that's got the paper on it. And then you want to do a few stitches at that top point
8:46
that makes sure it secures that hanger. Whatever you're using, you want it nice and secure
8:55
And then set off with your whip stitch down the side there, down the two that aren't joined yet
9:03
So you can see my hanger was right. It's always worth that quick check
9:08
So then you go all the way down the side and you will have formed the top of your diamond
9:14
And then you can start working your way round to form the bottom part of the diamond
9:20
So just take your time at the corners. Make sure they're nice and secure and they match up nicely
9:26
And then you're going to carry on using whip stitch all the way round
9:31
So you're basically going round the middle of your diamond. Keep checking. You can see it looks OK
9:38
And go again. Now if you're enjoying this video, please give me a thumbs up below so it spreads to more people
9:45
And subscribe if you want to see more. I have quite a few Christmas decorations on my channel
9:50
so please feel free to explore and have a look around. So as you can see, just carrying on
10:01
So we've got one more to go. And you can see the sun keeps coming out
10:07
just to make the light interesting. And then you'll be left with just one side not sewn up
10:14
Just one length. So now's the time to remove the paper. So just carefully cut those tacking stitches that you did
10:24
Take your threads out and release the paper. And just repeat that for all your triangles
10:32
Because you don't want any paper left in there. When we turn it through in a moment
10:37
if it is still in there, it'll be trapped. So that's the English paper piecing completed there
10:43
once you've removed the paper. And then it's time to turn your diamond out
10:48
so you can see exactly what you've made. So you can get your hanger
10:55
Pull and then poke those corners out. Now take your time to get your corners poked out
11:01
You might want to use a chopstick or something. Or just rub them between your fingers
11:06
But get them so that they're how you want them to look
11:10
If that's very crisp corners, then you persevere. And then it's time to fill
11:16
So put as much filling in as you want. But I do recommend quite a bit
11:21
Because it needs to be quite firm. Otherwise it'll just flop and look untidy
11:28
Keep checking that you can still sew it up nicely. And you can feel it, you can see what you think
11:33
I'm just going to add a bit more. And then it's time to sew it up
11:38
But first of all, think about your tassel. Just like we did the hanger
11:43
we need to place the tassel in and make sure you've got a knot inside
11:47
so that it doesn't pull through. And then pin it in place
11:51
Now it's a little bit fiddly getting those edges in and making sure you've got no raw edges poking out
11:56
But it is worth doing. So just take your time there. And pin this final seam
12:04
And then once you're happy with how it looks and you think your tassel's the right length
12:09
it's time to sew it. Now this time you're going to have to use a different stitch
12:13
You're going to have to use something that's called ladder stitch. Or slip stitch, depending where you are
12:18
So make sure your thread's secure. And then you simply take a little bit of thread
12:25
A little bit of fabric from each side. From each bit of fabric you've got left
12:34
And just secure. So you run a little running stitch, basically, on one side
12:42
And then a little running stitch on the other side. And then you just keep going all the way along
12:50
And what this means is your stitches will be invisible. And that's what you're aiming for all the time
12:56
And then just secure your thread at the end. And going through the loop as normal
13:03
And you've completed your Christmas tree decoration. But what I'm going to show you is some that I've made
13:11
and some different variations. So you can see what you like. You'll notice I haven't just cut the thread off
13:19
I've poked it into the decoration so that it just comes out somewhere else
13:23
And it just leaves a length of thread so it's less likely to pull undone
13:27
It's a handy trick with anything you're sewing that's got a bit of depth to it
13:33
Some dimensions. And there we go. It's all complete and ready to hang on your Christmas tree
13:39
So I've also made some without tassels. And I've made some that are all in one colour
13:44
So I was going to show you those before we sign off. So here's one that's made all in one fabric
13:49
Which I've got to say I actually rather like. I think the red on the tassel brings out the red on the pattern
13:54
Here's one with no tassel. I'm not a fan. But you decide what you want to make
14:00
So thank you for watching. And enjoy making yours. Whatever size tassel you use
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