Transform your old Christmas baubles by giving them a makeover with fabric scraps

When Christmas time comes around it’s time to get that box of baubles out of the attic. But what do you do if you’ve got an incomplete set, or perhaps you’ve moved house and they no longer match your colour scheme, or maybe you just feel like something different?

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Well, with this simple crafty tutorial by Rebecca Reid you can give them a colourful makeover using any old fabric scraps you have to hand. By using fabric it also helps to give them a softer appearance, perfect if you find shiny baubles a bit distracting.

You will need

• Fabric scraps to decorate bauble
• Fabric for hanging: 2x50cm (3/4x20in)
• Plastic bauble
• PVA glue
• Ribbon
• Basic sewing kit

How to make Christmas baubles

Step 1

Cut your fabric into small pieces. They can be all different shapes and sizes but not bigger than 2-3cm (¾ to 1¼in). 

You can use a mixture of different patterns and and colours to get a multi coloured effect or use the same print throughout if you prefer a simpler look.

Step 2

If the metal cap of the bauble can be removed then take this out before you start but if not, then don’t worry as you can just stick the fabric pieces up to the edge of it. 

Put a wooden skewer or the end of a paintbrush inside the bauble so you can hold this whilst you glue the fabric into place.

Step 3

Place one piece of fabric on your bauble, starting wherever you like and brush glue lightly on top – just enough to hold it in place. The glue will dry clear so don’t worry that it looks white and cloudy at this stage.

Step 4

Take another scrap of fabric and overlap it slightly on top of the first and brush glue over it. Repeat this by overlapping the fabric scraps and brushing over until your whole bauble is covered. You can add more scraps until you’re happy with the way it looks.

Step 5

Put the skewer into a mug or jar so the sticky bauble doesn’t touch anything then leave it to dry overnight. Push the metal cap back in if you took it off at the start.

Step 6

You can just loop a length of ribbon through your bauble or, for a matching look, make one from a strip of one of the fabrics you used to cover the bauble. To make your own, fold a strip of fabric in half lengthways with right sides (RS) together.

Step 7

Now stitch the strip together down the length using a 5mm (¼in) seam allowance. Turn the strip RS out and press.

Step 8

Thread the strip through the top of the bauble then overlap the two short ends and slip stitch together or just knot for a simpler look.

Ta da! Your bauble is ready to hang to add a merry and bright touch to this year’s Christmas decorations!

Get creative this Christmas

The holidays can be an expensive season, but crafting your own decorations can help save you money and often be more environmentally friendly (plus it’s a lot more fun than buying them). Find a huge range of inspiring projects in our list of over 400 DIY Christmas decorations to fill your home with craft.

Rebecca Reid

Rebecca is founder of Amber Makes and has previously worked as Senior Technical Editor of Love Embroidery and Simply Sewing magazines. She works with sewing TV channels including Sewing Street, Yarn Lane and Sewing Quarter. She been stitching since she was a child and has worked on many craft magazines as well as running her own curtain-making business. She is known by her colleagues as a sewing oracle – you name it, she can sew it. She’s hugely knowledgeable about sewing techniques, fabrics and tools and is full of helpful advice for her fellow sewists, from the best place to buy curtain-making materials to which books and websites are handy for that sewing problem you’re stuck on.

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