Guest Post: How to Make a Jingle Bell Christmas Tree by Emily Lyon


Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this post, free of charge, from Home Depot, for blog posting purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post it.

christmas reindeer scary


And now a fun last minute project that you can make in an afternoon,
and is perfect for last minute decorating AND for using up all those fabric scraps you have!

It would also be a fun gift idea for the crafter/quilter! 

And great for some mother-daughter crafting time!

jingle bell christmas tree banner

Decorating for the holidays is something I fully enjoy and look forward to every year. I love the process of creating and styling, and just seeing the holiday decorations each day brings a smile to my face.

When November and December roll around, I think that gift giving and decorating can go hand-in-hand. I personally love receiving holiday decorations as gifts! There are a few close friends and neighbors that I like to give something homemade to. Sometimes it will be jams, jellies and syrups, but other times I like to give something they can use over and over again. When you can create a cute holiday gift by hand, the sentiment is even more meaningful. That's where my Jingle Bell Christmas Tree comes in.

In this article, I'll show you, step-by-step, how to make a jingle bell Christmas tree using stuffed fabric triangles and bells. These unique jingle-bell trees make a great wall hanging or gift. If you happen to have a box window, then these could freely hang there and jingle away.

To get started, you will need the following items:
 1/4 yard of six companionable Christmas prints (five for the triangles and one for the base). Alternatively, you can change it up and use only one color, or two contrasting colors, plus a base color.

 20 small bells, and one larger bell for top 

 Baker's twine or ribbon

 Poly Fiberfill stuffing

 Quilters thread for sturdier assembling

 Ribbon and buttons for embellishing

jingle bell christmas tree supplies

 1. Purchase a variety of Christmas print fabrics - at least five assorted companionable prints, plus a different color for your tree base.

jingle bell christmas tree  cut triangles

2. Square up your fabric edges, and cut off selvage edges using a rotary cutter or scissors. Then proceed to cut out triangles. Cut out 4.5" triangles using either a pre-cut template made from card stock, or section off a 4.5" triangle with masking tape on a plastic drafting triangle. This makes using a rotary cutter easy. You should have six triangles of each piece of fabric for a total of 30 triangles. Once you have assembled your triangles, you'll have 15 completed triangles.

jingle bell christmas tree  base

4. Cut out a tree base. Mine is 8.5" at bottom and 4.5" tall. Then, use the triangle template to ensure you use the same angle as the tree triangles, and to determine the size of the top edge, which should be about 6.5".

jingle bell christmas tree  embellished triangle

5. If using ribbon for embellishing, now is the time to sew your ribbon onto to the right side of the triangle.

jingle bell christmas tree  stitched triangle

6. With right sides together, stitch your triangles together, leaving a 1" opening at the bottom for turning right side out. Use a slight .25" seam allowance.

7. Trim corners and turn triangles right side out.

8. Lightly stuff your triangles with fiberfill.

jingle bell christmas tree closing slip stitch

9. Close the openings with a slip-stitch and attach your embellishing buttons, stitching front to back. Make sure to have your knot on the top side so it will be hidden by the button.

jingle bell christmas tree  attaching triangles

10. Now for assembling the triangles into a tree form: using a double stranded thread, make a knot at the bottom of your thread, then run the needle front to back of the two triangles you're attaching. 

jingle bell christmas tree  attaching bells

The knot will be hidden once you attach the bell. Coming back up to the front, run the thread through the bell's loop, then stitch again to the underside of the corners. Now knot it off on the underside. Continue attaching all the corners of the triangles, until fully assembled. Some of your triangles will have three thicknesses of corners.

jingle bell christmas tree  adding twine

11. Using Baker's Twine and a large eyed needle, make a loop at the very tip of the top triangle. This will form the loop for hanging your tree. Knot the end of the twine, the run your needle from the underside of the top corner to the front side. Then create your loop of about 2-3" and slip on the bell before stitch back to the underside. Run the needle back to the underside of the corner. Now you can knot off and secure your loop by separating the two strands of twine, and tying a square knot.

jingle bell christmas tree  attaching base

12. To attach the base of the tree, use Baker's twine. Make a knot at the end of the twine, and stitch from the underside of the top corner of the base. Leaving about 1" of twine between the base and the bottom of the triangle, stitch through the top side of triangle to the underside and then back down to the underside of the base. Knot the twine at the underside of the base. Repeat on the opposite corner of the top of the base.

13. Another option if you don't want to use Baker's twine is to use ribbon. Just attach a loop of  ribbon to the underside of the top triangle, and stitch a bell to the front of the tip of the top triangle.

14. Stitch one end of a 1" strand of ribbon to the upper corner of the base, then stitch the opposite end of the ribbon to the underside of the bottom edge of the triangle assembly. Repeat on the opposite corner of the top of the base.

hanging jingle bell christmas tree

You're done! Now hang it where it can jingle.

Isn't it too cute!
Now get to crafting!

*****

About the Author:

Emily Lyon is a single mother of four who somehow finds the time to write for both The Home Depot and her own site cleverhousewife.com. Emily provides tutorials and gives advice on a  wide variety of topics from Holiday how-tos to tips on parenting. Visit homedepot.com to find more ornaments to spiff up your Christmas decor.

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