Can you believe it!? Christmas is almost here! We’re getting our decorations ready to create a festive filled house. But before you say it’s too early to decorate, it’s never too early to start making the decorations. Although this garland is quick and easy to make, planning and preparation are always key to a successful event (and Christmas is the biggest event) so start making now and you’ll reap the rewards later.

The thing I love most about making your own holiday decorations is the ability to create a theme. I’d really love our decor this year to be made of natural materials with minimal colours or detail. A very log cabin kind of vibe. But last year we had brightly coloured tassel garlands and cherry lights with tinsel thrown on the tree and home made snowflakes all over the walls.

That’s the beauty of DIY. It’s easy to change your mind. You can adapt and customise your pieces to whatever your ideal Christmas decorations look like in your imagination.

Materials you’ll need for this Christmas banner:

Felt fabricCotton threadStar templateSewing PinSewing NeedleYarnScissors

Instructions to craft the Christmas Felt Stars:

1. Print out your Star Template and cut around all of the edges.

2. Using a dressmakers pin, tack the template through the middle onto a corner of your felt fabric. To make the most of your fabric try to keep the template as close to the edge, but be careful not to go over.

3. Cut carefully around your template keeping the corners sharp and pointed the create clean, crisp lines.

Continue to cut out the stars until you have enough to complete the banner. Depending on your spacing I would say you’ll need around 5/6 a metre.

4. Cut a length of cotton and thread onto your needle. Take your first star and sew the top, outward facing points onto the cord 2/3 times around 1cm away from the point. Tie the threads at the back securely and snip off the extra thread. Do the same on the opposite side.

5. Continue to sew all of your stars onto the cord until you have the desired length. Use washi tape to hang against a wall or wrap around your tree for an alternative to tinsel. Make the stars bigger or smaller for contrasting definition or use neon felt for something really bold. The choice is yours!