Are you a Nightmare Before Christmas fan? I am! And with the holidays coming up, it’s always fun to make Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments.
This Nightmare Before Christmas Sally Felt Ornament is my favorite one yet! It is really easy to make and only requires felt, scissors, glue, needle and thread.
I will show you how to make a felt doll Sally in just a few simple steps, without a sewing machine.
Learn to sew your own DIY Sally Felt Ornament with our video tutorial or written instructions below and our free downloadable PDF pattern printable.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Characters
Jack Skellington
Also known as the “Pumpkin King”, Jack is the main protagonist of the movie. (Check out our Jack Skellington ornament pattern here)
Halloween Town
The world where Jack and his friends live.
Oogie Boogie
The main protagonist of the movie, Oogie Boogie, is basically the Boogeyman. He is made of a burlap sack filled with bugs and lives in an underground lair.
Sally
The female lead character and also Jack Skellington’s love interest.
She’s a rag doll created by Dr. Finklestein with stitches on her face and dead leaves for stuffing.
When she wants to leave the lab to explore, she poisons him with nightshade so she can escape.
Dr. Finkelstein
The evil scientist of Halloween Town, Dr. Finkelstein created Sally as a companion and keeps her under lock and key.
Sandy Claws
What Jack calls Santa Clause.
Zero
Zero is Jack Skellington’s loyal ghost dog. (Get the free pattern here)
Lock, Shock, and Barrel
Lock Shock and Barrel are Oogie Boogie’s three troublemakers. They love pulling pranks and playing tricks on the residents of Halloween Town.
Do you have other Nightmare Before Christmas Felt Patterns?
Yes, I do!
What do I need to make Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments?
This DIY felt ornament measures approximately 4″ tall and 3″ wide. Everything is cut from crafting felt and sewn together by hand.
The arms are attached using hot glue, but you could sew these on too if you prefer.
You can even make this a no-sew project by simply using glue for everything instead of sewing!
To make your felt Sally ornament, here’s what you’ll need:
- Crafting felt
- A pair of sharp scissors
- Some sort of stuffing (see below)
- Ribbon
- Craft or fabric glue (or a hot glue gun)
- Needle and thread
In addition to these supplies, you will need to download and print my free pattern.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and print this file. (Don’t worry, it’s free!)
How do I use the free pattern template?
Just print the free pattern template on card stock paper and cut out each piece.
Use these pieces as templates to trace outlines onto your felt.
I recommend using disappearing fabric pens because they disappear with heat or after 24 hours, like magic!
For the best results, use sharp scissors that are made for fabric use when cutting out your Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments pattern pieces.
Can I change the size of the pattern?
Yes, feel free to make this any size you like!
To make your Sally pattern bigger or smaller, all you have to do is scale the pattern in Adobe or in your print dialog window before printing.
You can also just use a copy machine to scale the pattern pieces after printing too.
What kind of crating felt should I use?
For children, my favorite felt is one I buy off Amazon (see the bottom of the post for my product recommendation links).
It is inexpensive and easy to use.
Can I use fabric instead of felt?
Yes, you can use any kind of fabric you have available for your DIY Sally ornament.
You can even mix and match fabrics, like make the dress patchwork from various fabrics and keep everything else felt.
How do you stuff a felt ornament?
There really isn’t a right or wrong way to stuff a felt ornament.
Start off by using your hands to push the poly-fil in the space you want stuffed.
Projects that have smaller spaces to fill (like arms), you can use a tool (like a pencil or chopstick) to help push it where you want it to go.
What can I use for doll stuffing?
Poly-fil is most commonly used, but there are lots of alternative materials you can use for stuffing if you don’t have that around.
- Pulled apart and fluffed cotton balls
- Use old pillow stuffing
- Cut up scrap fabric pieces
- Use those old t-shirts or towels
Tip for beginners
You can tack down smaller pieces with a very small amount of craft glue if you find they move around on your while trying to sew.
Place a small dot right in the center avoiding the spots you want to actually sew so that it doesn’t interfere with your needle.
Can children make this by themselves?
Yes! Children as young as preschoolers can help with this Sally ornament craft with just a simple modification.
For young children who don’t have sewing skills yet, you can make this an easy no-sew project simply by gluing all the pieces together instead.
You can cut the pieces out for them or they can use child safety scissors to help develop fine motor skills.
I would recommend skipping the stuffing and just glue everything together flat! It will still turn out super adorable.
As a hand sewing project, anyone aged 8 or older should be able to do this craft.
However, you know your child’s crafting skills best so you can determine how much help they will need.
Video Sew-Along
If you prefer, we also have a sew-along video for this felt Sally ornament. You can watch it on YouTube here.
How to Make a Nightmare Before Christmas Sally Felt Ornament
Nightmare Before Christmas has become a cult classic since its release.
The film is now considered as one of the greatest animated movies ever made, ranking up there as some Disney’s best works like Toy Story or Brave.
Even if The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t your cup of tea, this Sally felt ornament makes a great handmade gift for any Tim Burton or Nightmare movie fan in your life.
CRAFT SUPPLIES NEEDED
- Crafting felt
- Matching embroidery floss
- Ribbon
- Stuffing
- Embroidery needle
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
STITCHES USED
Running Stitch (on layering pieces)
Blanket Stitch (used around the outside edge for joining two pieces together)
DIRECTIONS
DOWNLOAD the free pattern and then cut the appropriate pieces from felt.
Start by sewing eyes and mouth to one head piece. Use black thread to make stitch accents and eyelashes as shown.
Layer second head piece on top of back hair piece and place completed face with bangs piece on top.
Sew all 4 pieces together using a blanket stitch.
For now, just sew along the top half of the head (basically only around the top bangs piece).
*Pause at the top of the head to insert ribbon loop.
Insert a loop of ribbon then continue sewing until end of top bang piece. Stuff the head.
Continue closing the head using a blanket stitch, but now you will only sew through the blue head pieces. Be careful not to sew through the back hair piece.
*Pause where you would like to insert the neck/dress and set aside.
Sew one arm together using a blanket stitch. Leave a gap to stuff and then finish off. Repeat with other arm.
Place one arm in between sleeve pieces and sew around outer edge of sleeves with blanket stitch.
Repeat with other arm and sleeve. Set aside.
Cut small scrap pieces of felt or fabric from a variety of colors and patterns.
Arrange and sew them onto one dress piece using perpendicular running stitches.
Sew the completed front dress piece to the back dress piece with a blanket stitch, leaving a gap to stuff then close and finish off.
Insert neck of dress into head. Continuing sewing to close and finish off.
Use a hot glue gun to attach the arms. You could also sew them in place.
All done! I hope you enjoyed this Nightmare Before Christmas ornament sewing project. Happy Halloween!
Inspired by Jim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas. No copyright infringement intended. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
DIY Nightmare Before Christmas Sally Felt Ornament (Free Pattern!)
If you're looking for a fun craft to do with the kids, this DIY Felt Sally Ornament project is perfect. It's so easy and the kids can make their own.
Materials
- Pattern
- Craft felt
- Ribbon (optional)
- Thread
- Stuffing
Tools
- Needle
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
- Use the pattern to cut the appropriate pieces from felt.
- Start by sewing eyes and mouth to one head piece.
- Use black thread to make stitch accents as shown.
- Attach bangs to head.
- Layer second head piece on top of back hair piece and place completed face with bangs piece on top.
- Sew all 3 together, sewing only along the top half of the head (the bangs piece).
- *Insert loop of ribbon at the top if you’d like to make this an ornament.
- Stuff the head.
- Continue closing the head (only sew through the head pieces and not the back hair) but stop where you would like to insert the neck/dress. Set aside.
- Sew one arm together. Leave a gap to stuff and then finish off. Repeat with other arm.
- Place one arm in between sleeve pieces and sew. Repeat with other arm and sleeve. Set aside.
- Cut small scrap pieces from a variety of colors. Arrange and sew onto one dress piece.
- Sew completed front dress piece to the back dress piece, leaving a gap to stuff then close and finish off.
- Insert neck of dress into head. Continuing sewing to close and finish off.
- Use hot glue gun to attach arms.
Notes
For younger children, you can make this a no-sew project by just gluing all the pieces and skipping the stuffing.
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