How to make a quilted “Snow Globe” ornament

Lots of people have asked me how to make the variation of quilted ornaments that feature a picture or image centered on each side (I like to call them “Snow Globe Ornaments”), so for the last week I’ve been working an a brand new tutorial. It’s finally done!

The awesome thing about these ornaments is that you can use fabrics with larger prints and patterns than you are normally able to get away with using the traditional quilted ornament pattern. You can also feature favorite characters, sports teams, holiday images, or even a custom photo, name or date, like this:

Personalized Baby's First Christmas Ornament

This tutorial includes full step by step instructions, and 60 close up photos covering the entire process. These ornaments can be a little bit trickier than traditional quilted ornaments (you can find a pattern for those HERE), but my tutorial really breaks it all down, and includes all my hints and tips for easily dealing with (or just plain avoiding!) what is usually the more complicated parts of making these.

Also included are TWO bonuses:

  1. How to make a ribbon bow and hanger.
  2. The Snow Globe Ornament “Look Book”.

You’ll get these extras for FREE.

free-snow-globe-quilted-ornament-idea-book

These instructions are in PDF format, and will be instantly downloadable from the receipt you will receive via email following purchase.

cute quilted ball easter ornaments

If you decide you would like to try making one of these ornaments, and have any questions at all about the process, or anything else related to quilted ornaments, please feel free to leave your question in the comment section right below this post…I will be glad to answer as best I can!

Here’s what happens when you purchase a pattern from me:

My tutorials are in PDF format, which means they will be emailed to you as soon as you purchase. No waiting!

As soon as you complete your payment, you will receive an email from me, which will contain the links to your patterns.

If for some reason, you do not receive your email, just fill out my contact form, and I will make sure you get it!

Oh, and by the way…I have pattern “bundles” available (which will save you money if you would like more than one of my patterns!).

39 Comments

  1. Linda Gormley on October 15, 2012 at 5:19 am

    HI, I bought a magazine yesterday and there was your gorgeous quilted ornament, well I almost fell off my chair when you stated that there was a tutorial with patterns,so ofcourse I purchased the tutoroial ,fabric and pins. My first half is great, then the ooops! began . LIning up the other half is tricky. I finished it, I love it but it needs improvement, so # 2 attempt hopefully will be better. But I really just wanted to thank you for sharing, they are so beautiful, I hope I will be able to make a few for my daughter, she would love them I’m sure. I’ll be watching my e-mail for updates and new designs, thanksd again !!!! Linda Gormley

    • ornamentgirl on October 18, 2012 at 12:50 am

      Thank you so much, Linda… I really appreciate that! :)

      Lining up that second half is definitely the trickiest part, but it gets so much easier, I promise!

      Thank you again, and have fun making them! :)

      • Shirley Hobbs on June 9, 2022 at 8:49 am

        Hi. I’m looking to do the snow globe on a bigger ball. Can you advise how I would calculate the size of material pieces to accommodate a larger ball. Wanting to use a larger centre piece on the ornament

        • Sarah Cinocco on June 9, 2022 at 9:37 am

          Hi Shirley, thanks for the question! We don’t have an exact formula for increasing the size on the ornaments but I’m happy to share some tips. Depending on the size ball you want to use, you can either add more layers, or cut your fabric pieces. If you are working with a 4″ ball, you can add another inch to your fabric measurements and start there. You will have to experiment a little bit to get the look you are going for. I hope that helps get you started. Happy Ornament-ing!

  2. Donna McAbee on December 30, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    Hi there. I am making a fabric ornament and would like to put a picture of my Nanny’s puppy in the center. My first attempt was absolutely a mess. I couldn’t get all the corners covered. Do you have any suggestions on how I could get Nanny’s puppy in the center? I also had trouble getting my squares lined up once I got a bigger piece of fabric. Any suggestions for that also? You make it look soooo easy. LOL
    Great tutorial!!
    Thanks for posting! :o)
    Donna McAbee

    • ornamentgirl on August 8, 2013 at 10:03 am

      Hi Donna,

      I am so sorry. Somehow I missed this comment before. I know I’m way late to the ball here, but hopefully you will still see this.

      Getting the corners straight on these ornaments can be a little tricky, but it gets SO much easier after you make a couple (and you’ve probably found that out by now!). Without seeing exactly how your first ornament came out, I am going to take a guess that your main square with the puppy might not have been large enough. I like to use a pretty large square. In fact, it should kind of seem like it is TOO big. But, this makes it so that you can cover all of the corners, and then you can always trim later if there’s too much excess fabric. Does that make sense?

      As far as lining up the fabric squares, make sure that you don’t put them too far apart from each other in their placement. In other words, even though that first picture square is pretty large, you don’t want the “star” you create around it to be as big. Those pieces should leave just enough of a frame around your picture as you need, and not much more than that. The larger your make that opening, the harder it will be to keep everything lined up.

      I hope that helped a little, and again, I am so sorry that I completely missed this question before. If I can help any more, please let me know!

    • Jean Hurst on October 17, 2016 at 8:41 pm

      Have you tried to copy your pets picture on to fabric, using your computer.
      I have had success pressing the shinny side of freezer paper to fabric and then printing the picture onto the fabric. I forgot to mention, you will need to download ( or is it upload ?) the picture into your computer.

  3. barb fredette on September 5, 2013 at 5:22 am

    Hi ornament girl
    I fell in love with the quilted ornament balls and i am very eager to get going. If i order the quilted ball ornament tutorial will I also get patterns that will make other quilted balls also. I was not sure if I am only receiving 1 pattern or more than that. Please respond and thank you for sharing your talent. I live in a very small town in Lyndeboro New Hampshire and I would like to make some for my daughters and friends.
    thanks Barb

    • ornamentgirl on September 5, 2013 at 5:33 am

      Hi Barb… I’m so glad to have you here. :)

      If you order the pattern shown on this page, you’ll get the pattern for this particular style quilted ornament, plus a bonus tutorial that will show you how to do the ribbon bow and hanger. I have another quilted ornament pattern (it’s right here: https://theornamentgirl.com/blog/being-crafty/quilted-ornament-tutorial/) and it is a separate product. If you haven’t made these before, I’d start with the regular one (at the link I just mentioned), because it’s a little easier to get the hang of. That pattern also comes with the bonus ribbon bow and hanger tutorial, and it also comes with another bonus that will show you how to make these ornaments using wired ribbon instead of fabric. That would definitely be the best pattern to start with if you’re new to this craft.

      I hope that helps! Thanks Barb!

  4. barb fredette on September 7, 2013 at 3:12 am

    Hi Stacy
    Thanks for getting back to me, and yes that was a big help to understand what I will get. I have been practicing by looking at your picture and I am not doing to bad. I will order your patterns in a couple of weeks. I will have my daughters help me, I am not that computer savy yet. I am getting there. I look forward talking to you again. I will keep on practicing until I order your patterns. Have a nice day
    Thanks Barb

    • ornamentgirl on September 9, 2013 at 6:52 am

      That sounds great, Barb… I hope you enjoy making them! :)

  5. barbara wade on September 7, 2013 at 7:30 am

    I signed up for your newletter , etc. but have not received the free pattern for the ornament as promised. How do I get my pattern? We have made the folded ornaments from Christmas fabric a lot, ( our Quilt Guild) and sold a lot of them. I really like these and have several. Thanks, Barbara

    • ornamentgirl on September 9, 2013 at 6:52 am

      Hi Barbara,
      I just emailed the pattern to you. Let me know if you don’t receive it. I’m so sorry about that!

  6. Beverly MacKay on September 11, 2013 at 10:41 am

    I signed up and receive the newsletter but have never received the promised ornament pattern. Would love to receive it. Thank you, Beverly

    • ornamentgirl on September 11, 2013 at 11:58 pm

      Beverly, I’m really sorry about that. Will you contact me using the contact link at the top of this page, and send me your email address? And then I will get the pattern right to you. (I can’t put my direct email address here for you, or I will get inundated with spam!) Thanks, and sorry again that you didn’t receive the pattern!

  7. Carla on September 20, 2013 at 2:09 am

    Love seeing your ornaments.
    One day I want to try making some.

  8. Janice Anderson on November 7, 2013 at 11:51 pm

    Yesterday I signed up for your newsletter and purchased two of your tutorials, which are fabulous but didn’t get a free pattern. I love this ornament.
    Thanks

    • Anonymous on November 7, 2013 at 11:56 pm

      Never mind I didn’t see the link to download the tutorial! Sorry I got the promised pattern. I just want to tell you that your tutorials are the best I have found. :-)

      • ornamentgirl on November 8, 2013 at 7:51 am

        Hi Janice… I didn’t see your second comment in time, and I just re-sent the pattern… haha… sorry about that! I SO appreciate the compliment on the quilted tutorials… thank you! :)

  9. Jan Warner on March 5, 2014 at 3:29 am

    I ordered the snow globe pattern and received it! Now is this the same one that I could make the baby ornaments? They are so cute and with my third grandchild coming in a few weeks I would love to start making them! Thanks!

    • Staci Ann Lowry on September 24, 2014 at 7:16 am

      Hi Jan… Yes, it sure is! Congrats on grandbaby #3! Thank you so much!

  10. Heather on October 5, 2014 at 2:51 am

    Hi, it says that you will soon be offering “ornament kits with customized embroidery for weddings, anniversaries, and baby’s first Christmas”. I really want to make a baby’s first Christmas ornament for my son, and I absolutely love the look of the snowglobe quilted ornament with the writing in the middle. I’ve never attempted one of these before, so I figured a kit would be the best way to go. So, do you have any of these kits available yet?
    Thanks!

  11. Sharon Wilson on December 11, 2014 at 2:30 am

    I want to order but how do it know which ornament I’m ordering. Want the basic one see how I do.

  12. Sheryl Schneider on September 8, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    I am working with your pattern for the Military ornaments that you posted for a Korean War Veterans Reunion. It appears as if you used a patch, which I found in the 3 inch size. Please verify if it was indeed a patch, and if you used a three oe four inch foam ball. The patch is thick and will not smoothly go over a three inch ball. It may be in the pattern and I over looked it but if I use a four inch ball, how big should I cut the “squares”? I am going to have to average, at least, one a day to complete them in time.
    That’s for your help.
    Sheryl Schneider
    Ps, My patterns are purchased under my husbands name if that is of any importance as I do not have a Pay Pal account,

    • Staci Ann Lowry on September 11, 2015 at 8:57 am

      Hi Sheryl…. I actually did not use a patch. It was a fabric with an emblem about 2″ across (using a 3″ ball). You may be able to use your patch on a larger ball, maybe 4″. I am not sure though, if your patch is too thick. If you do try it with a 4″ ball, I would cut your rectangles about an inch longer and wider to accommodate.

      I hope that helps!

  13. Barbara on October 6, 2015 at 8:04 am

    For the Snow Globe with name embroidered what kind of interfacing are you using? Are you using rayon or polyester threat?

  14. Mary Ann Colaneri on November 9, 2015 at 7:58 am

    Just curious if you remember where you got the ribbon/material for your ornament “Bejeweled “. (Love it!)

    • Staci Ann Lowry on November 10, 2015 at 11:28 am

      Hi Mary Ann! I *think* it was from either Michaels or JoAnns. I am not 100% sure, but it is likely that it was one of those 2 places. It was actually quite a while back, so I’m not sure how easy it would be to find it now. I’m sorry I’m not being more helpful than that!

  15. jan munoz on November 28, 2015 at 1:57 am

    If you use larger Styrofoam balls do you have to change the measurement of the fabrics? I bought 3″ and 4″ balls.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on December 13, 2015 at 4:40 pm

      Hi Jan… Yes. Just increase the length of of your rectangles about an inch for the 4″ ball. :)

  16. Jeanne on December 11, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    Hi Staci,
    I just want to tell you your ornaments are gorgeous! You have a wonderful talent for selecting colors and fabrics! I do hope mine can come close to yours! I know it will take lots of practice! So, my question for you is….how long does it take YOU to make one?
    Thank you again for your tutorials and beautiful work!!
    Jeanne

    • Staci Ann Lowry on December 13, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Thank you so much, Jeanne! It takes me about 20-30 minutes now to make one. :)

  17. Marcia Day on January 2, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    I enjoy your patterns

  18. Marcia Bacon on January 20, 2016 at 10:07 am

    Where did you purchase your US Marine insignia fabric?

    • Staci Ann Lowry on January 27, 2016 at 10:56 am

      Hi Marcia… I purchased it at Walmart originally, but it’s now out of print. You can still find it occasionally on eBay. I hope that helps.

  19. Sharon Thomas on December 21, 2019 at 4:15 pm

    I’m a bit late to your page, but the USMC ornament caught my eye. I will have to do something like that for my favorite Marine.

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