How to Make Gift Box Ornaments

DIY Gift Box Ornament Tutorial

Materials needed to make a gift box ornament

• 2″ x 2-1/2″ rectangle of heavy-duty double-sided interfacing like Timtex or Peltex
• 2-1/2″ x 3″ rectangle of fabric for the front of the ornament
• 2-1/2″ x 3″ rectangle of fabric for the back of the ornament
• 16-inches of ribbon, I used 1/4-inch polyester satin ribbon
• Thread that matches the ribbon for top stitching
• Thread to finish the edge of the ornament

NOTES:

I used a white fabric for the back of my ornaments. I give ornaments to friends and family each holiday. I write a note and put the year on the back. You can make the back the same fabric as the front if you’d like.

Make sure your ribbon can be ironed. The first set of ornaments I made I did a final press and the ribbon melted.

Tools needed to make a gift box ornament

• Fabric scissors
• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Pressing station, a wool mat would work well since this is a small project
• Parchment paper or Teflon sheet to protect your iron and pressing surface
• Painters tape

Cut out your interfacing and fabric

I chose to make my ornaments fairly small. You can make them any size you’d like! Make sure that your fabric for the front and back are slightly larger than your interfacing.

Here I’m placing the interfacing on the fabric to cut out the fabric for the front of the ornament.

Using a piece of parchment paper or a Teflon sheet, fuse the fabric to one side of the fusible interfacing following the manufacturers directions.

Sew the ribbon onto the gift box

Center one of the ribbon pieces on the front of the ornament. Using your edge stitch foot, top stitch the ribbon in place.

Turn and sew the other side of the ribbon in place.

Now it is time to make the hanging loop for your gift box ornament. Fold the ribbon over to form a loop. Place about 1/2-inch of the ribbon end to the back of the ornament, facing the interfacing. From the right side of the ornament, top stitch the loop in place.

Next, take your fabric for the ornament back and place the fusible side of the ornament with the ribbon on the WRONG side of the fabric for the back. Fuse according to manufacturers directions.

Trim away the excess backing fabric.

Next, it is time to finish the edges of the ornament. I used some lovely metallic gold thread to give the gift box a festive look! And, I used a zig-zag stitch. You can use any color thread to match or contrast the ornament. And, maybe try some of the fancy stitches on your sewing machine!

I started right at the outside edge of the ribbon loop.

Sew all around the edge of the gift box, finished right before the hanging loop.

Add a bow on your gift!

I tried to tie it on and it kept slipping. I didn’t have anyone at home at the time to help and I wanted to get these finished! Painter’s tape to the rescue!

I taped the top of the loop and the bottom of the gift box to my work table. Now it wasn’t slipping around as I made a bow at the base of the ornament!

Slip your second piece of ribbon under the loop and tie a pretty bow. Here is the finished ornament!

Take off the painter’s tape and the ornament is ready to be hung on the tree!

Give the ornaments one last press. Here are several finished gift box ornaments.

And, here is what not to do. Don’t use a ribbon that can’t be pressed. And, don’t use a ribbon that doesn’t tie a nice bow. This velvet ribbon was too thick to tie a bow. I tried several different ways and then decided to use a 1/4-inch polyester satin ribbon. I loved the look of the velvet, but it didn’t work.

If you look closely, you’ll see the velvet ribbon melted in places with the final press. 🙁