Four festive table decorations

The festive season is so special, and a great time to show your creativity by decorating your table. 

Since it is often a very busy time of the year, I’ve come up with four quick and easy projects that you can sew up in next to no time! 

Project 1: decorative stitching on felt 

Materials needed

• Felt - choose felt that is a little thicker and has some hold so it does not buckle when you sew onto it 
• Contrasting decorative sewing thread 
• Ribbon 
• Needle – size 80 

Equipment needed 

• Sewing machine – I used the Brother NV1800Q sewing and quilting machine 

How to

Step 1

Cut out the felt shapes of your choice – I used leaves. Decide which decorative stitching design you would like and select the corresponding stitch.

Step 2

Sew the decorative stitches and admire the result. You can really have fun with the felt shapes and thread colours, and even choose metallics! 

Tip: to be sure of the best results, do some test stitching beforehand. You made need to swap for a thicker for thinner thread to make the decorative stitching more visible. 

Project 2: Machine stitched Christmas card 

Materials needed 

• Card stock: 250 to 300gsm, or precut postcards 
• Decorative thread in three shades of green 
• Pencil 
• Eraser  
• Felt tip pens 
• Machine needle size 80

Equipment needed

• Sewing machine – I used the Brother NV1800Q sewing and quilting machine

How to 

Step 1

Cut a 9 x 13cm card from the card stock, or use a precut postcard. 

Step 2 

Draw a Christmas tree template on the card in very light pencil, leaving a 3cm space at the bottom to write some wording. 

Step 3

Sew randomly using a 2.5mm straight stitch and the first of the three green shades. Make sure you stop at the edges of the tree.

Step 4

Project 3: cutlery holder 

Materials needed

• Thick felt (3mm) 
• Fabric scraps 
• Ribbon 
• String 
• Glue 
• Polyester thread 

Equipment needed 

• Sewing machine – I used the Brother NV1800Q sewing and quilting machine 

How to 

Step 1 

Cut a rectangle our of the felt measuring 9.5 x 13.5cm and another measuring 9.5 x 25cm. Check your cutlery will fit in these measurements!

Step 2

Cut rectangles from the fabric scraps, from largest to smallest, to represent gifts. Pin in place. Sew each outline with a straight or zigzag stitch onto the smaller piece of felt. Make sure they are centred. See the image below for inspiration. 

Step 3

Glue on the ribbons/string.

Step 4

Assemble the pouch by placing the smaller, decorated felt rectangle onto the larger rectangle and sew three sides (bottom and two sides, leave the top open for your cutlery). Use a 3mm stitch length since the fabric is thick. 

Add cutlery and voila! 

Project 4: garland 

Materials needed 

• Felt
• Imitation leather 
• Polyester thread 

Equipment needed 

• Sewing machine – I used the Brother NV1800Q sewing and quilting machine 

How to

Step 1 

Cut out 3cm circles. Now’s the time to get your children involved to make it go faster ;) 

The number of circles depends on the length of garland you want.

Step 2

Once all circles are cut, sew them together with a straight stitch right down the middle, overlapping each circle by a few millimeters. Each circle is placed under the previous one so that it is well fed along by the machine. Use a stitch length of 2mm.

And that’s it! So easy!