No Sew Folded Fabric Ornaments

May 29, 2025

Cait and I really went crazy for these ornaments the past several years - they are addicting to make and are just perfect for our dog-and-toddler-friendly holiday decorations! Endlessly variable and perfectly portable, these ornaments are a wonderful project for on-the-go. Even better, at about an hour or so per ornament, they are great for keeping hands busy on the go or relaxing at home.

(If you prefer a printer-friendly version of all the information below, we have one available for a small fee in the Pattern Shop: Folded Fabric Ornament Printable.)

Shatterproof fabric ornament (set of 4) - black and white

Shatterproof fabric ornament (set of 4) - green, blue, and gold

Fabric Requirements:

Each ornament takes the fabric equivalent of a fat quarter of fabric. If you're only making one and want more than one color, it's perfect for leftover fabric scraps. Find the needed pieces in the Cutting Instructions below.

Making more than one ornament? Get one fat quarter per ornament you are planning to make in the coordinating set. (Example - set of six ornaments takes six fat quarters.)

A single color ornament looks great too - the folds provide beautiful visual texture. Check out these all-white versions Cait made:

Shatterproof fabric ornament (set of 4) - white on white

Other supplies:

Double sided fusible web - we recommend Pellon 805 Wonder Under
Ornament hook
Small eye hook - we use a 10 x 5mm size
3" foam ball
200 flat-head pins - applique or dressmaker pins work great
Hot glue gun
Iron

Cutting Instructions:

CENTER fabric - eight 2 1/2" squares
MIDDLE fabric - sixteen 2 1/2" squares
OUTSIDE fabric - sixteen 2 1/2" squares + one 12" x 1 3/4" rectangle
Fusible: web one 12" x 3/4" rectangle

Prep:

Lay the fuse down in the middle of the 12" x 1 3/4" rectangle of OUTSIDE fabric. If you're using Wonder Under, press with a dry iron for 10-20 seconds. Let cool completely, then peel the paper off.

Fold the long edges of the fabric in towards the fuse, meeting in the middle. Press for 20-30 seconds with steam. Set aside - we'll now refer to this as the fabric ribbon.

Fold each square of fabric in half, wrong sides together, and press. Without unfolding, fold it once more in half and press. This marks the middle of the square with crossed lines.

Sort your folded squares by center, middle, and outside fabrics.

Find and mark the "North Pole" and "South Pole" of your foam ball, if you will. (If it’s not obvious, use a fabric tape wrapped around the ball and mark at approximately 0 and 5 inches.)

Assembly:

Pick a “pole” to start with, place a pin through the middle of a square of CENTER fabric, and push the pin through the mark on your foam ball.

Fold the square in half so the pin head is hidden in the middle, then fold one corner to the middle and pin it down.

Fold the other corner to the middle and pin it down, then finish by pinning the tails down on either side.

Repeat the same folding process, placing the next square of fabric directly across from the first. Fold and pin the corners in, then the tails.

Repeat again with two more squares of fabric, shifting where you pin your corners after you fold them so you don't have foam showing in between. This is the fussiest part of the entire ornament, so take your time.

Switch to the other "pole" of the foam ball and repeat with the remaining CENTER fabric squares. For best results, make sure the midlines of the triangles are roughly centered with each other when you look at the ornament sideways.

To start the MIDDLE fabric, start approximately 1/2" from the point of a center fabric triangle and repeat the pinning process. Don't be skimpy on the 1/2" here! If anything, be a little generous.

Tip!! Make little hashmarks on your finger or fingernail 1/2" apart and use them to guide your pin placement.

Pin the first layer of four MIDDLE fabrics.

Start another layer of MIDDLE fabric, setting your pin 1/2” from the center point just as before, but between the pieces of MIDDLE fabric you already pinned in place.

Continue pinning until you have all eight squares in place, forming the star pattern. Repeat on the other side of your ornament.

Lastly, you're going to repeat the entire process again with the OUTSIDE fabric - but first - place one square on each side of the ornament and check the distance in between. You want your fabric ribbon to comfortably cover your pins on this layer. If they are too wide, adjust your pinning distance.

For example - I had to go to a 5/8" pinning distance for this layer on my ornament in order to cover my pins on a test fit.

After a test fit, go ahead and pin all the way around both sides with all sixteen squares of OUTSIDE fabric, just like you did for the MIDDLE fabric.

Before moving on, test fit your fabric ribbon all around one last time and make sure it covers your pin heads. Make any final adjustments now! When everything looks good, plug in your hot glue gun!

Poke a small hole in the foam with the eye hook. Remove it, add a drop of hot glue, and push it back into place.

Fold under about 1/2" of your fabric ribbon, securing it with a small drop of glue.

Place the folded edge right at the base of your eye hook and begin gluing your fabric ribbon down all the way around. Stop about 2” from the end.

Test fit the ribbon, without glue, to the base of the eye hook. Fold the excess over backwards and finger press a crease to mark the length you need. Trim the tail to 1/2”.