Fabric Origami Ornament (Tutorial)

This is my favorite fabric ornament to make. It is very easy to sew and is sewn all by hand - perfect if you want to get out of your sewing space for a while:) And for a very inexpensive item, it sure looks fancy (i.e. it makes a great gift).

Materials needed:

• 3 fabric* squares (one for center, two for front/back) - 5" squares are easy, 4" squares make dainty ornaments
• 2 buttons/beads for embellishing center
• String/yarn for hanging loop
• Needle, thread, scissors

*Fabric should be "creasable", not fray too easily and not be too thick. Most quilting cottons work well. I haven't tried it, but spray starching the squares might be useful if using thinner fabric.

USEFUL TIPS:

• Finger press all folds in all steps.
• Fold and tack in place on side at a time for all steps (then you don't have to pin anything)
• Cut you thread long enough to last for the whole piece

Step 1: Fold square in half and finger press crease, open up and repeat in other direction to make a creased cross in the center.

Step 2: Fold two opposing sides in towards center and tack in place at center.

Step 3: Fold the other two long sides in towards center and tack in place.

Step 4: Place a finger in one of the "ears" and flatten into a square. Tack in place. Repeat for the other three sides.

Step 5: Fold the sides of one of the little squares in to make a point and tack together. Sew all the way around, tacking in place on the sides of the "arrows" and where the folds meet.

For center square: You are now finished. Just fasten the thread and cut it off. The back side should look like this - don't worry, all the stitches and raw edges will be covered:

For front/back squares: Continue with step 6.

Step 6: Fold one corner towards the center of the back and tack in place. Repeat for the other three sides. Fasten the thread and cut it off.

Okay - almost there!

If you have made all your three squares you should have something that looks like this:

Step 7: Make a sandwich of your pieces (you should be able to use your crease lines from step 1 to see where the front/back points should meet) and tack together at all corners of the front/back.

Step 8: Sew your embellishments to the center front and back (sew through the sandwich) and sew a string through one of the points of the center (green) square to make a hanging loop. Congratulations, you are finished!

Front view:

Back view:

And it will look something like this hanging on your tree:

Alternative 1: Make it classic! (Gold fabric is a very thin laminate)

Alternative 2: Make it neon! How cool would a tree filled with these look?

So, this is my first tutorial ever written. I hope it makes sense! If you make one of these, send me a pic or link to a blogpost - I would love to see what color combinations you come up with.

-Marit