Christmas Tree Ornament: Felt Plum Pudding

A DIY pattern to create a felt pudding ornament for Christmas tree decoration.

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What you need

Felt
Embroidery thread
Needle
Small amount of toy filling or wadding.
Ribbon
Pins
RedButtons or red felt

Instructions

These little felt Christmas puddings are lovely for using up scraps of felt and adding something handmade to the tree. With snowy white icing, green holly leaves and bright red berries, they have that cheerful, old-fashioned Christmas look. You can also tie one onto a wrapped present as a decoration the recipient can keep.

1. Print and Cut Out the Pattern – felt-christmas-pudding-10cm-a4-pattern

Print the felt pudding pattern and cut out the paper shapes.

If you are using our new 10 cm A4 template, select 100% or Actual Size in your printer settings rather than “Fit to Page”. Measure the printed check square before cutting your felt.

The pudding body template measures 10 cm across. The finished ornament may be slightly smaller once it is stitched and stuffed.

2. Cut Your Felt Pieces

Pin the paper templates onto your felt, keeping the pins within the shapes so they do not get in the way of your scissors.

For each Christmas pudding ornament, cut:

• Two brown pudding shapes for the front and back.
• One white icing shape.
• Two green holly leaves.
• Three small red felt circles, if using felt berries instead of buttons or 3 red buttons.

Cut directly around the templates without adding a seam allowance. Felt does not fray, so the edges can remain exposed.

3. Stitch the Icing onto the Front

Place the white icing over the upper part of one brown pudding piece, matching the curved top edges. The dripping icing should point down towards the middle of the pudding.

Pin it in place, then use white embroidery thread to sew along the lower, wavy edge with small running stitches or a neat whip stitch.

Work through the icing and the brown front piece only. Leave the second brown piece aside until the decoration is complete.

4. Add the Holly and Berries

Arrange the two green holly leaves near the top of the icing, overlapping their lower ends slightly. Sew them securely in place with green thread.

For an extra handmade detail, add a few straight stitches down the centre of each leaf to suggest veins.

Sew the red buttons or felt circles over the overlapping leaf ends to form the berries. Secure all thread ends on the back of the decorated front piece, where they will be hidden inside the ornament.

5. Sew the Front and Back Together

Place the decorated front over the plain brown back, with the right sides facing out. Match the edges and pin the layers together.

Using embroidery thread, blanket stitch around the outside edge. Keep your stitches evenly spaced and pull the thread just firmly enough to hold the layers together without puckering the felt.

To make a blanket stitch, pass the needle through both layers near the edge. Before pulling the thread tight, bring the needle through the thread loop. Gently tighten it so the loop rests along the felt edge.

Leave an opening of approximately 3–4 cm near the top for stuffing. Keep your needle threaded.

6. Lightly Stuff the Pudding

Add small tufts of toy filling or wadding through the opening.

Spread the filling gently with your fingers to create a softly padded shape. Avoid packing it tightly, as too much filling can distort the pudding and pull the stitches apart.

7. Attach the Hanging Loop

Cut approximately 15–18 cm of narrow ribbon and fold it in half.

Tuck both cut ends inside the opening at the top, leaving the loop outside. Stitch through the felt and ribbon ends several times to secure them firmly.

Continue your blanket stitch across the remaining opening. Knot the thread securely, then pass the needle into the ornament and out a short distance away. Trim the thread close to the felt to hide the tail inside.

Your felt Christmas pudding is ready to hang on the tree!

More Christmas Pudding Crafts to Try

Fancy making a little collection of festive puddings? Try our knitted Christmas pudding decoration for another handmade ornament.

For small gifts and table favours, these crochet Christmas pudding chocolate covers turn wrapped chocolates into cheerful festive treats.

You could also pair your felt ornament with a Christmas pudding cross-stitch gift tag, or explore our Christmas pudding craft collection for more seasonal ideas.