This post includes a free tutorial for making Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings for fall, Thanksgiving, winter, or Christmas. Designed by T&C Crafters, this project was made in collaboration with the Craft Yarn Council and Warm Up America as part of Yarnsgiving 2024.
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While crocheting is my number one favorite craft, like most makers, I dabble in lots of other crafts too! One of my favorite activities that I think is a great supplementary craft for crocheters is embroidery. If you make a lot of stuffed toys, you probably have some good experience embroidering features on the faces of your makes. In this tutorial, I am going to show you how you can embroider on felt with yarn to create adorable seasonal mini wall hangings.
What is Yarnsgiving?
Yarnsgiving is a fun event held by the Craft Yarn Council. According to their website, Yarnsgiving is “a collaborative effort among its members and market key partners to promote the joy of crafting and giving with yarn.” Yarnsgiving takes place from October 12th (I Love Yarn Day) to December 3rd (Giving Tuesday). The goal of Yarnsgiving is “to inspire consumers to create holiday-themed projects with yarn that they can give to others or donate to “Warm Up America!” during the festive season.”
If you are looking for some awesome holiday patterns, be sure to check out the Yarnsgiving website, including all the bonus projects just like this!
Why Should I Make Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings?
These cute little wall hangings make perfect gifts for the holiday season. You can easily make one in one evening or several over a weekend for last-minute gifts or add-ons to bigger gifts. They are great for gifting to co-workers to give them a way to decorate their work space or add some small decorations to their home.
You can also use these wall hangings as place setting decorations for holiday meals. They fit perfectly on top of a dinner plate and can add a great handmade touch to your next festive meal. Whether you decide to make a set of matching ones for each guest or create a variety of them, they will be a perfect festive addition to your holiday meal.
What Supplies Do I Need to Make Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings?
To make Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings, you will need:
- Felt – You need pieces that are at least 5 inches wide by 12 inches long.
- Yarn – You need yarn that is worsted weight or lighter. I recommend some of these types:
- Yarn Needles with Sharp Tip
- Banner Template – Free Download Below!
- Scissors – These Fiskars scissors are my absolute favorite!
- Stick N Stitch Self Adhesive Wash Away Stabilizer
- Inkjet Printer – This is the one that I use!
- Holiday Embroidery Templates – Free Download Below!
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- 1/4 inch by 6 inch Wooden Dowel Rod
What Size are the Finished Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings?
The finished Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings measure 5 inches wide by just under 6 inches long. The hanger adds an additional 4 inches to the height, so when hanging, the finished piece takes up about 5 inches by 10 inches of wall space.
What Designs are Included in the Embroidery Templates?
The free printable embroidery templates include 18 different fall and winter holiday designs. You can pick one or make them all! Keep reading to find the free download for all 18 templates.
Fall Designs for Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings
The fall templates include the following designs:
- Pumpkin
- Jack-O-Lantern
- Sycamore Leaf
- Beech Leaf
- Pumpkin Pie Slice
- Turkey
Winter Designs for Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hangings
The winter templates include the following designs:
- Snowflake
- Penguin
- Winter Hat
- Hot Cocoa Mug
- Snowman
- Candy Cane
- Bell
- Santa Hat
- Stocking
- Christmas Tree
- Holly Leaves
- Christmas Ball
How Do I Make a Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hanging?
Step One: Cut the Felt
You will want to start by printing the banner template on a piece of card stock or paper. When you cut it out, you will want to cut around the outside of the black lines to make sure you are getting the full size of the banner.
You can download the free template for the banner below!
Fold your piece of felt in half so the short ends are touching (hamburger-style, lol). Then, place the template on top and cut around it on three sides, making sure the top of the banner template is on the fold. When you open it up, the piece should be 12 inches long.
Tip: I used a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and quilting rulers to cut all of my felt out since I prepped 18 banners. If you are just making a small number of banners or don’t have those tools available, scissors will work just fine!
Step Two: Print the Templates
If you haven’t used it before, you definitely need to try Stick N Stitch Self Adhesive Wash Away Stabilizer for embroidery! You can print right on it and then put it directly onto your fabric. You will want to be careful before printing on your stabilizer to make sure your sheets feed through your printer the correct way. I recommend printing a test sheet first before actually printing on the stabilizer.
The templates are sorted by season. There is one sheet for fall and two for winter. Pick which sheet you want to print and print it out.
You can download the free templates by clicking below!
Once you have printed out your template sheet, cut around the outside of the template. You want to leave some white space around all the sides like you can see in my pictures below.
Once you have trimmed around your template, you will want to peel off the backing and stick it onto your felt piece. I recommend folding your felt piece in half like it will hang so you can center it appropriately. I placed mine slightly closer to the bottom since I know the dowel rod hanger will take up a tiny bit of extra space at the top.
Step Three: Embroider the Design
After you have attached your template, it is time to start embroidering. You can use an embroidery hoop to hold your project still if you would like, but I didn’t want to run the risk of pulling too much on the felt and just left it off the hoop. Felt can stretch a bit, so if you do decide to use an embroidery hoop, just be cautious you don’t pull too hard.
This project is a really entry-level embroidery project. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to embroider around the templates. I used a combination of back stitches, split stitches, and satin stitches for my designs. If you aren’t familiar with these stitch types, I would recommend checking out this guide to some basic embroidery stitches to give you some inspiration.
When I originally tried out this project, I used regular yarn needles. I quickly realized that it was way too difficult to push the blunt end of the yarn needle through the felt, so I bought some sharp-tipped yarn needles instead. They really made a huge difference!
I used a variety of different types of yarn for the different designs on my banners. I found that any weight larger than worsted weight was too difficult to use. The thinner the yarn, the easier it is to embroider with for these projects.
Once you have finished embroidering your design, you will want to wash away the stabilizer. I have found that warm water makes it wash away fastest. I dipped my design into warm water and carefully rubbed away the stabilizer from around the design. Be careful not to rub too hard or it will cause the yarn to pull apart and fray.
You will then need to lay your banner to dry thoroughly before adding the finishing touches. I laid mine flat near a window with sunlight and let them dry all day.
Step Four: Add the Finishing Touches
To finish your banner, fold it in half over the wooden dowel rod. You will want your dowel rod to be approximately 1/4 inches in diameter and about 6 inches long. Once it is folded over, carefully apply hot glue around the edges between the two layers. Make sure to not make the glue too thick that it causes it to cause bumps. As an alternative, you could also sew around the edges of the banner instead of gluing.
To add a hanger, tie a double knot around the dowel rod with a complementing color of yarn. Leaving approximately 10 inches of yarn, tie the other end of the yarn securely around the opposite end of the dowel. You can then add optional tassels to the ends. I made my tassels approximately 3 inches long.
Ta-da! You’re all finished!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will try your hand at some embroidering on felt! I think this is such a cute holiday project and would make wonderful gifts!
If you decide to make your own Mini Holiday Embroidered Wall Hanging, I would love to see your finished work! Please comment below or tag me on social media! Be sure to use #yarnsgiving when you post to share with everyone else celebrating Yarnsgiving this season!
Happy Embroidering,
Candace
