How to Make a Folded Star Christmas Ornament

Co-authored by Lois Wade

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 Approved

Do you love a country Christmas, with homemade Christmas ornaments and your own decorations? If so, here's a beautiful and relatively low-cost craft project that will take you around an hour to complete.

Steps

1
Obtain the needed materials.
- 3 fat quarters, or a quarter yard each of light weight fabrics in complimentary colors
- Scissors and/or rotary cutter with cutting board
- 350 pins
- A 3 inch (7.5 cm) Styrofoam ball
- 12 inches (30 cm) of inch (2.5 cm) wide lace (covers raw edges)
- 18 inches (45 cm) of 1/8th inch (3 mm) ribbon (hanging loop)
- Approximate cost to make 4 ornaments is US/CAD$10, 6 pounds (UK)
2
Cut the fabric into 2 inch (5 cm) by 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) rectangles. For smaller or larger Styrofoam balls, you can measure the circumference of the ball and divide by 8, then add half an inch (or centimeter) for the height and width.
Place a square or rectangle of fabric on the ball and pin it in place by its corners.
4
Poke a pin through the center of the starting square and then into the ball. This will mark a starting point.
Use one for each end of the raw cloth edges.
10
Repeat this pin and fold action many more times, for a total of three rows per hemisphere as follows:
- 4 points touching the pole.
- 8 points in the next row, spacing the tips of the points approximately half an inch (1.27cm) below the pole, and lining the points up with the points above and the folded edges and lines with the row above. Check your measurement to see if three rows will reach the center meridian or not. Widen the distance between rows if necessary.
- 8 points in the third row should bring your raw edges to the equator.
- After three rows, if you have not reached the equator of the ball with the raw edges of your folded points, you will need to unpin and repin the rows with more or less spacing to compensate.
11
Find the "South Pole" of the ball.
- Mark the center point of the "South Pole".
12
Repeat the process of making rows of points from the "South Pole".
The poles will appear as a "country star".
Pin and/or glue the ribbon or lace around the equator to cover up the raw edges.
Pin and/or glue a loop of ribbon to allow you to attach the ornament to your Christmas tree.
Graciously accept your friends' compliments and show them how you did it!

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Community Q&A

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Question

Can you tell me where I can find a pattern for a folded ribbon ornament?

Community Answer

I think your best bet is at A.C. Moore. They carry patterned construction paper. If you don't find anything there, check Amazon.

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Tips

Use tightly woven fabrics to prevent the pin heads sliding between the threads and the points coming loose..

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Use a thimble to prevent sore finger tips.

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Row spacing is tricky sometimes. You may want to test spacing before placing an entire row. 8 points x 5 pins apiece is a lot of poking!

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Things You'll Need

3 fat quarters, or a quarter yard each of light weight fabrics in complimentary colors
Scissors and/or rotary cutter with cutting board
350 pins
A 3 inch (7.5 cm) Styrofoam ball
12 inches (30 cm) of inch (2.5 cm) wide lace (covers raw edges)
18 inches (45 cm) of 1/8th inch (3 mm) ribbon (hanging loop)
Approximate cost to make 4 ornaments is US/AUD/CAD$10, 6 pounds (UK)