English Paper Pieced Star Ornament

Making ornaments is a fun and festive way to use up your fabric scraps. This project allows you to feature up to six different fabrics as you piece together a six-pointed star.

Image contains a paper pieced 6-pointed star ornament made from scrap red and teal fabrics.

Table of Contents + show

How to Make an English Paper Pieced Star Ornament

English Paper Piecing is a variation of patchwork that originated in England in the 1770s. It involves wrapping fabric around paper shapes, then hand sewing the shapes together to create a design. It’s a great project for anyone who enjoys hand stitching, and is a wonderful way to turn small scraps of fabric into something beautiful. Let’s get started by gathering the materials below.

Materials

fabric scraps
1-1/2” diamond EPP papers
glue stick
scissors
needle and thread
felt
ribbon or twine
button (optional)
wooden bead (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: Wrap six paper diamonds with your choice of fabrics.

Cut your fabric scrap so that it’s slightly larger than the paper diamond on all sides. Use your glue stick to apply glue to the edge of the paper shape, then wrap your excess fabric around and press it down into the glue. Continue around the shape, pressing down the edges. At the top and bottom of the diamond, push the excess fabric to one side, forming “dog ears.”

Image is a collage of four photos showing the process of wrapping fabric around a paper diamond and gluing the edges down.

Step 2: Place two diamonds right sides together and hand stitch along one edge.

You’ll want to make tiny stitches, grabbing just a few threads of each fabric at a time. When you finish, open up the pieces, and they’ll be joined together as shown below.

Image is a collage of two photos illustrating step 2: stitching two EPP diamonds together.

Step 3: Place a third diamond on top of the second one, right sides together, and sew along the edge.

This will create half of your six-pointed star.

Image is a collage of photos showing the process of sewing a third diamond to the previous two.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3 so that you have two star halves. Then, place the halves right sides together and sew.

Image is a collage of two photos showing the process of sewing the two halves of the start together.

Once your star is sewn together, gently tuck the dog ears down behind each point and tack them in place with a few stitches to form clean points.

Image contains Amy’s hand holding a six-pointed fabric star made of EPP diamonds.

Step 5: Cut a piece of felt slightly larger than the star. Sew around the fabric star, as close to the edges as possible, to hold it in place.

Pro tip: Often in paper pieced projects, at this point you would carefully remove the paper shapes, leaving just the fabric to work with. However, I found that for this project, I like keeping the papers in because they add stability and make the star more sturdy.

Image contains a six-pointed star ornament made of red, white, and teal fabrics.

Step 6: Add finishing details.

I added a button to the center of my star, which is not only decorative and fun, but covers up any spots where your points may not have aligned perfectly. Also, this is the time to add a hanger made of ribbon or twine. You can stitch or glue this to the back of the ornament. I added a wooden button to mine for extra flair.

Image contains an EPP Star ornament made of red, white, and teal fabrics laying on faux mistletoe.

Now your English Paper Pieced Star Ornament is ready to display or give away!

Crafting Tips

English Paper Piecing can be done with a variety of different shapes, including diamonds, teardrops, triangles, and hexagons.
Using thread that coordinates with the colors of your fabrics will help make your stitches invisible.
Every combination of fabrics you use will give you a totally unique star! Try using all kinds of scraps to see what you can create.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you get the paper shapes?

You can find EPP shapes in many craft and hobby stores as well as online. My diamonds are actually from the Missouri Star EPP Beginner Kit, which includes a variety of shapes as well as other tools you need for this hobby.

What else can you make with EPP?

Anything you can imagine! Here is a very simple keychain project and a sunflower coaster to get you started. You can also use EPP to make pillows, decorative apparel, and quilts!

What fabric did you use?

I used the Sugarberry collection by Andover Fabrics.

More Sewing Projects

If you enjoyed this ornament, here are some more sewing projects you might like to try!

If you try making an English Paper Pieced Star Ornament, or any other project, I’d love to see photos – come join the Amy Latta and Friends Facebook Group and show off your latest creations. See you there!