Festive fabric Christmas baubles

As a child, I always admired my aunt's velvet Christmas baubles. 

They stood out as something very special next to the regular glass ones and always fascinated me. In this post I'll show you how to make a version of these baubles, with your own printed fabric using the Brother PrintModa Studio fabric printer. 

I think it’s very exciting to be able to print one’s own fabrics and always have new pattern combinations available. Red and white match our Christmas decorations very well and I'm glad I found these colours under the holiday patterns in the Artspira app.  

The technique I used for my baubles is called Kimekomi and it originated in Japan. There it has been used to make traditional dolls since the 18th century. Pieces of fabric were tucked into carved wood fibre figures until the doll's body was completely decorated.  

For my fabric Christmas baubles I didn't use wood, but Styrofoam, however the technique is similar to that used for the dolls. Even though this project requires a bit of patience (if you want to make a lot of baubles, like me ;-)), it's definitely worth it and a lot of fun!

Materials needed 

• PrintModa Studio Fabric Roll
• PrintModa Studio Laminate Sheet
• Styrofoam balls: 8 and 6cm in diameter (smaller ones not recommended) 
• String (longer than half the circumference of the bauble, approximately 20cm) 
• Satin ribbon (for hanging the baubles) 
• A piece of paper or cardboard with a 60° angle cut out (use a set square for this) 
• Craft glue (optional) 

Equipment needed 

• Brother PrintModa Studio fabric printer
• Artspira app on your phone/tablet*
• Tape measure 
• Pencil 
• Scissors 
• Regular pins and decorative pins (with a heart or ball head)
• Fine liner pen
• Scalpel
• Small slotted screwdriver – I used the one that came with my sewing machine  
• A tool with a flat, thin tip (I used the shaping tool from a pack of modelling clay tools) 

How to

Step 1

Step 2 

Step 3 

Step 4 - for a bauble with eight segments 

Step 5 - for a bauble with eight segments 

Step 6 - for a bauble with eight segments 

Mark the centre of each quarter on the equator line. Holding the string from pole to pole through the mark on the equator, draw four more lines between the pole points so that the ball now has eight equal segments. The segment lines should all intersect through a single point at each of the two poles.

Step 7 - for a bauble with six segments 

Mark the equator line as well as the zero point and half of the circumference. 

Step 8 - for a bauble with six segments 

Place your 60° triangle on the line with the point exactly on the cross mark and mark the angle to the right of the zero point.  

Flip the triangle over and draw the angle to the left of the zero point. Repeat on the opposite side of the line. This is the one pole.  

Repeat at the opposite side of the ball to form the second pole. Using the string as before, draw the lines between the marks at the two poles to divide the ball into six segments.

Step 9

Measure the height and width of one of the segments and add approximately 3cm to the height and 2cm to the width: approximately 5 x 15cm for the 8cm ball and 5 x 10.5cm for the 6cm bauble.  

Step 10 

Cut the pieces of fabric from the printed sheets to size. To do this, mark the calculated dimensions on the back of the sheet on the backing film with a pen, then cut out the pieces of fabric with scissors and only then remove the backing film from the fabric. 

Step 11 

For an eight-segment fabric bauble you need four pieces from each of the two fabric patterns, and for a six-segment bauble you need three pieces from each of the two patterns. 

Step 12 

Using the scalpel, carefully cut along the vertical lines you made on each Styrofoam Christmas bauble, starting at one pole and finishing at the opposite pole. Repeat on all the lines. The cuts have to be nice and deep, so push the scalpel’s blade completely into the ball. 

Step 13

Centre a piece of fabric on a bauble segment and secure it with pins. Make sure it covers all the edges of the segment.  

Tip: you can use a bit of glue to help hold the fabric in place. 

Step 14 

Using the screwdriver, push the edges of the fabric into the slits on the left and right of the bauble segment. Push it in as far as possible and gradually work from the equator to the poles.

Step 15

Remove the pins. Then carefully cut away the excess fabric, as close to the ball as possible.

Step 16

Repeat steps 14 and 15 on the remaining segments.  

Use the flat tool to tuck the edges of the fabric into the slits until the fabric edges are no longer visible.

Step 17

Cut a piece of satin ribbon, overlap the ends by 1cm and use a decorative pin to fasten the ribbon to the Christmas bauble, forming a hanging loop.

Step 18

Add decorations! You can get creative with finishing your baubles. Here are some ideas:

• Tie a bow and then secure it to the top of the fabric bauble with a pin. 
• Insert a decorative pin at the bottom of the Christmas bauble. 
• Place a sequin or a bead and then a pin through the hole to keep it in place. 
• Your first fabric Christmas bauble is now ready

Have fun selecting and combining designs, printing them out and decorating baubles with them. 

I can’t wait to see what you make! Remember to tag in Brother on Instagram and Facebook, and myself too! You can also find Brother on Pinterest and YouTube for even more inspiration.