Penny Rug Christmas Ornament

Penny rug ornaments will brighten any Christmas tree, wreath or gift!

Penny rugs are a vintage style of  Americana craft.  Although referred to as penny rugs, originally they were not rugs but actual table covers used as decorative and colorful mats to brighten up the home. 

In colonial times (and even today), it was an eco-friendly, economical project that only required a pair of scissors, a pile of felt or wool scraps, a sharp needle and a spool of thread. 

Learn the history of penny rugs, how they were made and where they originated on our penny rugs page.  It also has free penny rug patterns.

After discovering the origin and history of vintage penny rugs, I became inspired by this style/time period of work.  I love primitive/farmhouse style decor so this type of craft is right up my alley.

Traditionally the penny rug layout consisted entirely of circles which were sewn together or onto a background fabric.  The tradition has evolved to include a variety of shapes and patterns.  For more free penny rug patterns, scroll to the end of this post.

This article and tutorial will show you a modern farmhouse twist to the penny rug - a free Christmas ornament pattern with penny circles. Perfect to hang on the tree, wreath, window or gift.   

Below you will find a free penny rug pattern photo tutorial with step-by-step written instructions on how to make a penny rug Christmas ornament.  In addition,  we also have a video tutorial you can follow by simply clicking on the link below to go to a YouTube video tutorial.

How to make a Penny Rug Christmas Ornament

to make the penny rug Christmas ornament you will NEED:

• Felt or felted wool (scraps are great)
• Holiday fabric (again scraps work)
• Embroidery floss or Pearl cotton thread
• Embroidery needle
• Scissors
• Pin
• Twine
• Bell

INSTRUCTIONS for making Christmas ornament

STEP 1:  Gather supplies

Gather the necessary supplies and sewing tools mentioned above.

Before heading out to the store, raid your crafting stash for supplies you may have on hand. 

These adorable Christmas ornaments cost me absolutely NOTHING!  I used leftover felt and holiday fabric from other projects along with bells from my crafting supplies stash. 

STEP 2: Prepare circles

The first step after gathering the supplies is to make felt circles for the penny rug Christmas ornament. 

In this tutorial, I am not going to explain or show how to make penny rug circles (which are sometimes referred to as coins or pennies) since we already have a tutorial on how to cut penny rug circles using freezer paper. Check out our tutorial.

For one Penny Rug Christmas Ornament, you will need 4 penny rug circles.  Cut the following:
2 – 2 ½” circles
1 – 1 ½” circle
1 – 1” circle

Step 3: how to stitch Penny rug Stack

To begin blanket stitching the penny rug stack together, thread a needle with three strands of embroidery floss or one strand of perle cotton and knot the end. We will start with the smaller circles.  Remove the paper backing from the 1” and 1 ½” penny rug circles.  Center the smaller circle on top of the medium circle and pin to hold the pieces in place while stitching.

Now blanket stitch the two pieces together. To begin blanket stitching bring the needle up from the back of the felt right against the edge of the top smaller felt circle.

Carefully pull the floss all the way through until the knot catches against the back of the felt. Make sure the floss only goes through the larger felt circle and not the smaller one.

Next, insert the needle a short distance down from the edge of the smaller circle (about 1/8” – 1/4”) and pull the floss all the way through to the back of the work.

This will form a vertical bar.

Avoiding the knot on the back, poke the tip of the needle from the back of the felt up through the initial hole forming the vertical bar. The needle should only be coming through the bottom layer of felt and not the top one. 

Next, slide the needle under the top of the vertical bar.  If you blanket stitch counterclockwise around the circle, slide the needle from right to left.  If you will blanket stitch clockwise, slide the needle from left to right.

The first stitch is finished.

Now use the blanket stitch to work your way around the entire smaller circle securing it to the medium-sized circle.To make the next stitch, insert the tip of the needle about 1/4” away from the first stitch into the smaller circle and come out at the edge of the smaller circle.

Before pulling the needle with the floss all the way through, make sure the embroidery floss is under the needle.  Then, carefully pull the needle and floss through until it is taut. 

The second blanket stitch completed.

Repeat this process around the entire circle trying to keep the stitches the same length and equal distance apart.

To end the blanket stitch,  after completing the last stitch,

slide the needle under the top of the first stitch.

Pull the floss through.

To secure, make a knot by sliding the needle again under the top of the first stitch but this time make a knot by placing the point of the needle through the loop twice and pull tightly.

Hide the end of the floss by inserting the needle between the two felt pieces allowing the point of the needle to come out in the middle of the front and cut with a scissor.  Above is how the completed circles should look.

After securing the two circles with blanket stitches, center it in the middle of the larger circle (the 2 1/2" felt penny) with a pin to hold it while stitching. 

Blanket stitch together in the same manner as before.

At this point, you have blanket stitched the edges of the small and medium circles.

STEP 4: Attach hanger

For a rustic farmhouse style use twine for the hanger.  However, you can use whatever you have on hand.

Use a scissor to cut a 12-inch length of twine and tie the two ends together with an overhand knot.

Turn the penny rug stack over to the backside, place the knotted end of the twine in the center and with a needle and thread make a few small stitches in the back to hold it in place. 

Important: Make sure these stitches are not showing on the front of the penny rug ornament.

STEP 5:  Attach backing

To give the ornament a professional finish, let's add a backing by blanket stitching it in place.

Grab the last penny rug circle; the 2 1/2" circle.  Remove the paper backing from the second large felt penny and place it against the back of the 3-layered circles.

Thread an embroidery needle with three stands of embroidery floss and knot the end.

The blanket stitch will be started a little differently than previously because we want to hide the knot.  The knot will be sandwiched between the circles. With the right side of the ornament facing up, bring the point of the needle up through the front circle only a short distance from the edge of the felt so the knot is hidden between the two layers.  Pull the floss all the way through.

Above photo shows the knot hidden between the felt layers.

Next, poke the point of the needle up from the back going through the same hole initially made on the front of the piece,

and pull the embroidery floss all the way through to the front forming a vertical bar.  This is the first stitch.

As done previously, insert the needle under the stitch going sideways at the top edge of the vertical bar.

Then, insert the tip of the needle a 1/4" away from the vertical bar, from front to back, making sure the floss is under the needle.

Pull the needle with the floss taut.  Second blanket stitch.

Continue blanket stitching around the outside of the felt ornament.

STEP 6: Attach bell

With a needle and thread attach the bell to the bottom of the ornament.

STEP 7:  Add fabric

The finishing step is to attach the holiday fabric around the hanger at the top of the penny rug stack.

From the holiday fabric, cut a piece ½” wide by 6” long.  Wrap it around the hanger and tie it with a single knot.

The Penny Rug Christmas Ornament is done and time to enjoy.

an Optional idea

Another option for making a penny rug Christmas ornament is to sew a button in place of the smaller circle.

It's also really cute.

free penny rug patterns you may like

• Felt Flower Bookmark by Needlepointers.com
• Penny Rug Table Topper Pattern by Accuquilt
• Christmas Tree Penny Rug by Patch Pieces
• Mini Pumpkin Penny Rug by All People Quilt