The concept for these Ankara Christmas baubles has been floating around in my mind for months! I love Ankara fabric and I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my decor (if you don’t know what Ankara fabric is then click here). I haven’t really seen Christmas decorations that reflect my Nigerian heritage, so this was the perfect opportunity to create something that fuses Nigerian culture with Western culture. You’ll be pleased to know that these baubles are quite easy to make and you can be as creative as you wish with the fabric that you choose and with what you choose to put inside the baubles. I made 20 of these Ankara Christmas baubles and I confess that I’ve never been prouder of my Christmas tree than I am now. It really is wonderful to display something that you’ve made with your own hands. So, to learn how to give your Christmas tree a bespoke touch keep on scrolling, and as usual I’ll leave some shopping links below.
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You will need:
- Ankara fabric
- Round plastic Christmas baubles, 8 cm Diameter
- Round Christmas baubles in different colours (try to pick colours that compliment your fabric)
- Ribbon (choose a colour that matches your fabric)
- Scissors
- Needle
- Thread (choose a colour that is close to that of your fabric)
Instructions:
- Put some small coloured baubles into one half of the larger clear bauble and then gently press the two halves together.
2. Cut a length of ribbon and thread it through the handle of the clear plastic bauble. Tie a knot at the end to secure it. Then set this aside.
3. Make the Ankara ‘skirt’: cut out a rectangle of fabric that measures 10 inches x 3 inches.
4. Thread a needle with some thread (N.B. I used red thread for illustration purposes because it’s easier to see in the picture, but I recommend that you use a colour that matches your fabric because you want the thread to blend in). Fold the fabric in half lengthways then use a running stitch 5 mm from the raw edges to hold the fabric edges together.
5. Cut the thread and pull the two ends together to gather the fabric. Tie the two ends of the thread together a few times so that it is secure, and then cut the threads about 5 mm from the knot. Leave space for a very small hole in the middle of your skirt.
6. Hold the knotted end of ribbon and thread it through the hole in the middle of the Ankara skirt. Then push the skirt down to the top of the plastic bauble.
7. Cut another length of ribbon and tie a bow just on top of the skirt to finish. Then hang your Ankara Christmas bauble on your tree.
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