Featured fabric: Henry Glass Fabrics Down Tinsel Lane by Anni Downs

Pattern design by: Lindsay Conner

Sewn by: Lindsay Conner

Three cheers for Christmas! These shabby chic Christmas trees make great accent pillows for a chair. You can also dress your mantel with this easy homemade holiday décor! The free printable pattern will allow you to make as many trees as you’d like -- for yourself or a friend. This beginner-friendly sewing pattern will allow you to decorate your trees with decorative trims, buttons, or anything you’d like! Let’s get started!

Skills Learned: Machine sewing, hand sewing

Skill Level: Beginner

Finished Size: 16” x 10-1/2” (40.64cm x 26.67cm)

Fabric Requirements:

1/2 yard (.46m) of 3 different prints. I used:

• 3214-17 Cross Lines Dk. Blue
• 3218-60 Wreaths Lt. Green
• 3212-44 Berry Stalks Cream

Materials:

Downloadable Christmas Tree Pattern, printed at 100%

Sewing machine

Binding clips or pins

Scissors, rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat

Hand-sewing needle, sewing thread

Fiberfill stuffing

Ribbon, lace, Boho fringe cotton tassel, and buttons or the embellishments of your choice

Glue gun (optional, for buttons)

Make the Trees

1. Download the Christmas Tree Pillows pattern and print it out at 100% scale. Cut out the pattern from both pages and overlap them, using the words as your guide. Tape together the tree pattern.

Place the straight side of the pattern along the fold of your fabric print. Cut 2 pieces along the fold for the front and back. (Repeat with additional fabrics.)

2. Take one fabric tree piece and decorate the right side of the fabric with lace ribbon (or the embellishment of your choice). Start near the top of the tree, letting the raw edge of the ribbon extend past the edge of the fabric. Zig-zag the ribbon across the tree shape and pin it in place. Let the tail end of the ribbon fall off the tree. Keep in mind that any ribbon placed within the ¼” around the perimeter will be hidden in the seam allowance.

3. Stitch the ribbon to the fabric tree using a matching thread. Stitch securely along both edges of the ribbon and along the folds. Trim off the extra lace ribbon.

4. With right sides facing, stack both fabric trees together and pin or clip in place.

Starting at the base of the tree, sew a seam ¼” around the perimeter. Leave a 4” gap along the bottom for turning, and make sure to backstitch at both ends.

5. Carefully snip into the seam allowance where each of the tree’s points appear. Make sure not to clip past the seam allowance. This will help make the tree easier to turn right side out.

6. Use the 4” gap to carefully turn the tree right side out. Use a sewing pin to carefully tug out each of the points.

7. Fill the tree with several handfuls of fiberfill stuffing and gently poke them into every point until it is evenly filled. Use a hand-sewing needle and thread to sew the bottom closed, using a series of very small stitches in a thread color that matches your fabric.

Finally, use a glue gun to add a few buttons to your tree!

Design Options

8. To make the fringe-striped tree pillow, cut three strips of boho cotton tassel fringe. Place three horizontal stripes on the right side of one tree panel, centering each one within a section of the tree.

Use a rotary cutter to trim off the edges that extend beyond the tree.

9. Before sewing the two panels together, fold the loose bottom fringe pieces toward the center of the tree (to avoid getting them trapped in the seam allowance).

Place the second tree on top of the first, right sides facing. Pin in place and stitch ¼” from the perimeter leaving a 4” turning gap.

After turning the pillow right side out, flip the loose bottom of each fringe strip and carefully trim off the bottom “ties” to reveal the fringe!

10. Here’s the fringe tree before filling with stuffing.

11. To make the variation with crisscrossed ribbon, follow the directions in step 2 and stitch the first zig-zagged ribbon in place on top of the tree cutout. Next, zig-zag a second piece of ribbon on top in the opposite direction. Stitch in place. For this tree, I stitched through the center of each ribbon, rather than on the edges, to give it a more textured look. (The lace ribbon is stitched to look completely flat.) Finish this tree pillow as you finished the others.

Ta-da! Sewing this Christmas décor is easy and fun. You can even get the kids to help you make these stuffed holiday trees, and you’ll have fun pulling them out year after year to make your home extra cozy for Christmas. Happy sewing!

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL HERE!

Fabric Details:

To view the complete Henry Glass Fabrics Down Tinsel Lane by Anni Downs click here.

To find a retailer near you click here.

Learn more about Lindsay here.