Making Sashiko ornaments is a great way to see what the slow-stitch movement is all about. It’s slow stitch, to be sure, but the projects are so small you can complete them in short order.

If you love it, you can take on more and/or larger slow-stitch projects. But if it’s not your thing, you will still have pretty ornaments to decorate your own home or to give as sweet gifts.

If you are new to Sashiko, check out our Step-by-Step Guide to Sashiko Stitching or if you are looking for a comprehensive reference try The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook by Susan Briscoe. You’ll be ready to tackle these ornaments and much more!

To make ornaments just like ours, download our FREE Sashiko Ornament pattern, Create Whimsy’s gift to you – we want you to try this! We’ve designed four (4) easy-to-stitch ornament patterns that will give you an idea of what Sashiko stitching is all about. All you need is a small piece of fabric, needle, embroidery floss or thread and a little stuffing for the ornament.

Download free sashiko ornament patterns

If you fall in love with hand stitching, our etsy store has more embroidery patterns.

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One (1) ornament

How to Make Sashiko Ornaments

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner

Handmade Sashiko ornaments are a quick and easy project perfect for someone who wants to learn about Sashiko stitching.

Materials

Sashiko fabric cut into one 4-inch square and one 6-inch square
Size 8 perle cotton or Sashiko thread
6-inches narrow ribbon
A bit of polyester fiberfill

Tools

Sashiko needle
Scissors
Thread snips
Favorite marking tool
OPTIONAL: Sewing machine. These ornaments can be easily hand sewn.

Instructions

Choose your design from our downloadable designs. Our patterns make ornaments that are about 3-1/2-inches square.

Cut one 6-inch square and one 4-inch square of Sashiko fabric. You will stitch on the large piece and trim to size after stitching. The 4-inch square will be the back of the ornament.
Transfer the pattern you choose to the larger square using your favorite method. Check out our article on ways to transfer embroidery designs to fabric.

Since this is a small project, I decided to just tape it to a window using painters tape and trace with a Frixion pen. Always test your marking tool on a small bit of fabric before using. I've found that on some fabrics the Frixion pen leaves a trail.
Thread your needle and stitch the marked lines. For more about how to Sashiko stitch, check our our article How to Sashiko Stitch.

The Sashiko stitch is a basic running stitch.
Here is my finished stitching for the ornament.

Remove your marked lines, if needed, according to product instructions. Since I used a Frixion pen, Just a little heat from the iron took the marked lines off my design.
Fold a piece of ribbon in half and place at the center of the top of your ornament, raw edges together.
I decided to make this ornament round instead of square. If you were making it square, I'd trim the fabric for the backing to the stitched piece, centering your stitching, and trim the larger piece. This will make it easier to sew.

Since I decided to sew this ornament as a circle, it does not to be trimmed. I just lined up the edge stitch foot with the outline of the circle I hand stitched and move my needle to the far right. Pin front and back pieces, right sides together.

Stitch with 1/4-inch seam, leaving an opening for turning. I like to leave the opening on the bottom.
Trim as needed before turning.
Turn right-side out, ease the corners (if yuou stitched a square) and the edges with a corner turner or bodkin.
Stuff with fiberfill.
Whip stitch the opening closed.
Now the new stitched ornament is ready to hang!