Make Yourself Some Merry Sustainable Christmas Decorations

I'm back with part 2 of our Sustainable Christmas blogs & this week I've got some suggestions for Christmas decorations. Last week we looked at getting prepared for Christmas with Advent calendars, stockings etc. These projects are great scrap busters, reusable & should become heirloom pieces too.

Christmas Tree Decorations

There's lots of ideas on YouTube & Pinterest for making your own Christmas tree ornaments from simple felt. Debs Days has a few tutorials here or we have some little kits from the Make Arcade, with all the bits & pieces that you need to make a Christmas jumper ornament or a Stan Snowman. All that's needed is scissors, pins, tea & cake! Buying a ready made kit cuts down on having to buy a whole bag of toy stuffing & a shed load of felt just for one small project but should you need toy stuffing, we have some made from recycled plastic bottles!

Christmas Wreath

This is a great scrapbuster for all those bright coloured leftovers of fabric or some Christmassy fat quarters - you will just need a frame to tie your scraps to, like the one below. You can either upcycle one or most craft stores & garden centres will have them.

Simply cut your fabric into 1" x 6" strips & tie onto the wire rings - no sewing required! Add extra embellishments if you like, such as pine cones, dried oranges & cinnamon.

Alternatively, you could simply wrap a wreath with a wide festive themed ribbon & go for simple embellishments or go mad & make one out of pom-poms! Or the ultimate upcycling project for all your leftover reels - simply wrap fabric or ribbon around empty thread reels, arrange artfully & finish with a wide red ribbon.

If you want a smaller wreath to hang on the tree, we have a mini kit from Make Arcade with all the felt & mini pom-pom trims provided to make a cute decoration.

Serviettes/Napkins

Cut down on your disposables at Christmas & sew your own serviettes/napkins. Choose from our lovely range of festive themed fabrics here - a metre will make 4 decent sized ones & simply double hem them. For a more subtle take on the festivities take a look at our Dashwood Spice collection. These can be used for any winter occasion but are still suitably festive for your Christmas dinner & would make a lovely gift too!

Table Runner & Placemats

If you're feeling a little bit more ambitious you could make a matching table runner & placemats to go with your serviettes above. These can be as simple as you like but could be a good time to practice some free motion embroidery & applique.

Christmas Tree Skirt

Whether you opt for a real Christmas tree or an artificial one, a handmade skirt will catch all the pine needles & make the stand look a little bit more decorative, providing a lovely backdrop for your gifts & maybe creating a heirloom piece that you will bring out year after year. You can make these as simple or as fancy as you like. Ellie & Mac have a free pattern for a quick & easy skirt, which simply ties together & can be made in fun festive prints or something a little bit more luxurious such as velvet, satin or faux suede.

Or if you fancy having a bash with some of our fat quarter bundles, here's a lovely star shaped skirt from Gathered using patchwork braids to form an 8 pointed star. There's a handy table to adapt the skirt to fit whatever tree that you have & you could even make it from old clothes & bedding to make it more sustainable!