Wool Felt Santa Banner

• Tracing paper
• Scissors
• Adhesive tape
• National NonWovens' WoolFelt: 12x18-inch piece of Evergreen, 12x18-inch piece of Rustic Crimson (red), 12x18-inch piece of Loden Green, 6x8-inch scrap of Reets Relish (olive), 6x8 inch scrap of Old Gold, 3-inch square of Wheatfields (ecru)
• 6x8-inch Warm & Natural quilt batting
• Glue stick
• Crewel needle
• DMC No. 8 perle cotton thread: Christmas red (498), Christmas gold (783), blue-green (503), blush (945), coffee brown (938), hunter green (3347)
• Embroidery needle
• Ecru sewing thread
• Cotton swab
• Powder blush
• Chalk pencil
• 2 tiny jingle bells
• 9-13 small black beads for coat buttons
• Twig or 1/2-inch-diameter dowel rod

Download the free pattern.

Note: Use caution when ironing wrinkles from the wool felt; too much pressure will smooth out the textured look of the wool. Set your iron to the steam setting and hold it over the felt; remove the iron, and gently pat and smooth out wrinkles with your hand.

1. Download the free patterns, print, and trace onto tracing paper; cut out. Use tape to hold them to the felt.
2. From evergreen felt, cut out an 8x13-inch background, the top tabs, and the hanging loops. From red, cut out the coat, sleeves, and hat. From green, cut out the mittens and bottom tabs (set the remaining felt aside). From olive, cut out the hatband and holly leaves. From gold, cut out all the stars. From ecru, cut out the nose and one 1-3/4-inch square for the face. From the batting, cut out the beard, mustache, and all cuffs.
3. Use a glue stick to temporarily hold felt pieces in place. Place the coat on the background 3-3/4 inches from the top edge. Work red blanket stitches along the long sides. Blanket-stitch the sleeves in place, leaving the cuff edges unstitched.
4. Sew the large stars together with gold running stitches. Place the star between the arms. Place the mittens over the star; stitch in place with blue-green running stitches. Attach sleeve and hem cuffs with red running stitches.
5. Set the ecru face square behind the beard; position the beard over the top of the coat; work blush running stitches around the face. Whipstitch around the nose with ecru thread. Give the cheeks a rosy color with a cotton swab and powder blush. Finish attaching the beard with blush backstitches.
6. Attach the mustache to the face with blush straight stitches. Add brown French-knot eyes. With red thread doubled, add French-knot mouth. Add blush straight-stitch brows.
7. Attach the hat with red blanket stitches and hatband with hunter green running stitches. Draw the hat strings on the felt background with a chalk pencil. Work gold backstitches for the hat strings, adding bells at the ends and two gold lazy-daisy stitches at the top.
8. Using a double strand of brown and black stitches, divide the coat from hem cuff to star. Add beads for buttons. Stitch holly leaves along hem cuff with Hunter green backstitches. Using the red thread doubled, add French-knot berries.
9. Attach small stars to the evergreen tabs with gold straight stitches; attach these tabs to the larger loden green tabs with blue-green running stitches. Blanket-stitch around the hanging loops with blue-green.
10. Center the Santa front atop the remaining loden green felt; baste long sides and top. Trim long sides and top 1/4 inch larger than the front; trim bottom edge flush.
11. Tuck star tabs between the front and backing at bottom of the banner; baste.
12. With blanket-stitch side down, tuck hanging loops between front and backing at bottom of the banner. Work blue-green blanket stitches around all sides of the evergreen front.
13. Fold the hanging tabs to the front; attach with blue-green star stitches. Hang banner on a twig or dowel.