If you’ve found yourself on this page, then you’re probably looking for a felt nativity for your children to enjoy during your Christmas preschool theme. Look no further.
This felt nativity includes a free template which you can snag from the end of this post.
Felt Nativity with FREE Pattern Template
I have spent some time over the last few years looking for a nativity set for my children to play with during the holiday season. While we have a porcelain nativity that sits upon our mantle, it was important to me that my children have their own nativity we could set up next to our bin of 25 Christmas picture books about Christ.
And being an in-home preschool, I also have the choice to be able to offer my preschoolers a nativity to play with, to.
Now, there are a lot of nativity toys available, and I looked at all of them. All. of. them.
But there were a few things I was looking for specifically:
- durability
- softness (I wanted a soft toy so that their play might be “softer” as well)
- different (so my kids knew the nativity was not just another set of toys)
I settled on wanting a felt nativity. I felt like the felt would be soft but durable, and require minimal sewing. (In fact, you can make this felt nativity completely no-sew if you choose). And having a lack of felt toys in our home, I knew my children would view this nativity scene with a bit more reverence than a typical plastic toy.
Admittedly, we do have a few traditional toy nativity sets, too.
So, I scoured the internet for a felt nativity, but couldn’t find one that wasn’t sold in an Etsy shop. (I didn’t have an arm and a leg to spend on a hand-made scene). So, I set out to make my own instead.
Felt Nativity Craft with FREE Template
You just need a few materials for this felt nativity. It’s simple enough even for a novice crafter, like myself.
Materials for Felt Nativity
- high-quality craft felt in a variety of colors
- cotton embroidery floss
- hot glue
- sharp sewing scissors
- FREE template (found at the end of this post)
About the Felt Nativity Craft
I’ll be completely honest.
This project took a number of hours to complete. I think part of this was due to having to make up my own pattern as I went along. Don’t worry, you don’t have to. You can grab a copy of my felt nativity template at the end of this post.
There is also hand stitching detail on nearly every piece. The hand stitching is not mandatory. You can choose to not do the hand stitching at all, or you can save it for another year!
Making it Movable
Because I wanted my children to be able to move the pieces to tell the Christmas story, nothing but the stable and trees are actually glued down. I mounted some light blue felt on a large, heavy-duty tri-fold display board. This way, all the pieces had a home when not in use, and the nativity could stay on display while not being played with.
Each piece is backed in an additional piece of felt, for added durability, and to keep my baby from picking at the threading.
Stitching the Pieces
I used cotton embroidery floss
The hand stitching took the longest because I used so many different thread colors on each piece. You can simplify that by using a single color, like a medium gray, on all the pieces. But, put the kiddies to bed and after a few movies, you’ll be surprised at how quickly this project can move along. I do think the many different colors of threading brings a bit of richness to the felt nativity.
All of the main pieces of felt are actually hot glued together. If you are a super crafty and patient seamstress, then I definitely recommend using a sewing machine.
The downside of using hot glue is that it is difficult to stitch through. Leave a thin border around the edge of each piece where there is no glue so that you still have a clean line of felt to add the hand stitching to.
A Tip about Felt Quality
One thing I did learn, which is the most important tip I can offer, is to use the high quality felt found at craft stores, or like this cotton embroidery floss. You’ll pay about $0.12 more per piece of felt, but the quality is so much better than the felt found elsewhere.
And yes, I bought the felt in sheets, not from the bolt. For the actual nativity pieces I probably used less than twenty sheets of felt. I used about twelve different colors, so buying from the bolt wouldn’t have been practical.
Using the Felt Nativity with Your Kids
My kiddies play with our homemade felt nativity set every day. Sometimes they retell the Christmas story, sometimes I tell it to them.
Sometimes I use the pieces to illustrate the scenes from that bin of Christmas books sitting next to it. And sometimes the pieces are just used for pretend play, which is okay with me too.
My little boys like to match the felt nativity pieces with the pictures in the books. And my baby holds the felt baby Jesus in his hand, next to his chubby cheek, and says, “Shhh, shhh” while he rocks back and forth.
What I can tell you definitively is that all my children have heard the Christmas story more times than every before, which is a complete win in my book!
Get your FREE Felt Nativity Template
If you think your own kiddies would enjoy this felt nativity, click the download button below and the free template will be sent to your email!
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I am Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home mama of five! I am the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught range of levels, including preschool and college, and a little bit of just about everything in between. Right now, my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
Forgetful Mom says
December 9, 2012 at 8:06 amYou did a great job! Looks like they are enjoying all your hard work.
Ana Lopes says
December 9, 2012 at 10:13 amJust adorable!!! Love the child smille! Thanks so much for sharing!
Happy week !
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
http://www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
Niki says
December 9, 2012 at 1:05 pmThanks so much for sharing. This is great.
Carrie says
December 9, 2012 at 5:04 pmThis is so beautiful!! I would love it if you would share at my link party at http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2012/12/sharing-saturday-49.html.
Carrie says
December 9, 2012 at 5:06 pmAnd there is also a Nativity Blog Hop that this would be great for at http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2012/12/focus-on-nativity.html. Thank you!!
Lauren says
December 10, 2012 at 2:02 pmthis is really nice! thanks so much for sharing!
maggy, red ted art says
December 12, 2012 at 1:58 pmHow lovely! Looks like the children really enjoyed it too!
Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
Karyn says
December 13, 2012 at 7:11 amThis is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your pattern!
Annette {This Simple Mom} says
December 13, 2012 at 12:09 pmWonderful! THank you for sharing the template!!
Savannah says
December 13, 2012 at 3:54 pmThis is a great nativity. I especially love the smile on your little girl’s face in the last photograph. I am stopping by from True Aim. I would really appreciate it if you would consider adding this link to Look What We Did. -Savannah http://lookwhatwedid-homeschool.blogspot.com
Miss Courtney says
December 14, 2012 at 11:01 amI love your project. The felt pieces look amazing and you’ve inspired me to try sewing (gasp) with my own flannel projects. If you do any more flannel projects, I’m in a group called Flannel Friday and we’d love to see some of your stuff. I’m the host this week if you want to check out the post going up later today or join in by commenting on the post that’s already up!
Carrie says
December 14, 2012 at 3:15 pmThank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
Kirstylee says
December 14, 2012 at 3:53 pmAmazing! Thank you so much for offering the template.
The Iowa Farmer's Wife says
December 14, 2012 at 7:43 pmADORE this! Featuring it tomorrow on the Sunday Showcase!
Christy says
December 16, 2012 at 9:52 amI LOVE this! So much better than the Christmas trees and stuff that I’ve seen around.
JDaniel4's Mom says
December 17, 2012 at 12:38 pmWhat a beautiful learning tool for retelling the Christmas story! I will be sharing it on the Read.Explore.Learn. Facebook page today!
jtulip says
December 17, 2012 at 11:23 pmThat is so beautiful. A Nativity scene that the children will treasure. It will probably be one of those things that you save for when they have children. Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library! Pinning.
Rachel Kaylynn says
December 18, 2012 at 1:45 pmBeautiful nativity! Thanks for sharing your pattern.
Marlo says
December 19, 2012 at 9:43 amThank you so much for sharing your pattern! I’m making this for my girls but for especially for my 2 yr old who has trouble playing quietly during church services. I’ll be making an activity bag for her to take to church.
Paws says
December 26, 2012 at 10:34 amMy almost four-year-old insisted I make this for her this year. We all love how it turned out! Thanks so much for sharing your patterns.
Jen says
September 15, 2013 at 12:26 pmDoes felt just stick to felt? I’m wondering how the pieces that aren’t glued down stick?
Sarah says
September 16, 2013 at 1:07 pmYes, felt sticks to itself.
melissa says
October 31, 2013 at 9:59 pmThis post is almost a year old but I found you on pinterest, and started making my own nativity using your pattern. I am absolutely in love with it! Thanks for taking the time to share!!
Erin says
November 2, 2013 at 7:39 amFound this on Pinterest and am hoping to attempt. Thank you so much for the post and pattern! It’s adorable!
queenie says
November 6, 2013 at 7:26 amThis is SO cool! I want to make one for our grandson. . . . and hope that his parents will get into telling – and re-telling – and remembering! – the story of Jesus’ nativity. . . . . Thank you for this.
Shelley Gaudry says
November 6, 2013 at 9:11 amMy daughter sent me your link and now I am making 2 at the same time! The pattern is great!
Stephanie Griggs Lyman says
November 13, 2013 at 3:27 pmThis is darling! Thanks for the pattern. How do you attach the backing? You said it hid the stitching, so I’m guessing glue?
Sarah Punkoney says
November 13, 2013 at 3:51 pmYes. I used hot glue to attach the backing.
becca says
November 16, 2013 at 1:18 pmDid you also hot glue the trees and stable onto the blue felt? Also, did you glue your pieces before you did the stitching? Thank you!
Sarah Punkoney says
November 16, 2013 at 1:52 pmI did glue down the trees and the stable onto the blue felt, but everything else can be moved around. I tacked the pieced of felt for the people and animals with tiny dots of glue, and then used the stitching to really hold everything down. Finally, I backed each piece with an additional piece of felt to avoid my little one picking at the stitching as well as to give it extra support. I glued them. This was before I bought a sewing machine, so I supposed all of this could also be done with a machine if using the right needle for the felt and maybe a quilting foot.
Lori says
November 18, 2013 at 3:13 pmI may be trying to be too exact but I’m making one of these right now and had a few questions. It’s just SO cute! Do you have a template for the stable, hair including beards, star, sheep feet, donkey blanket and gifts from the wise men? These touches are all so sweet! If not, do you have any tips on scale or thought process to help me include these details? I’m not very good at improvising. Thank you SO much for this!!!
Sarah Punkoney says
November 18, 2013 at 5:15 pmWell, sheesh. I guess my template isn’t super complete, is it? I don’t have a template for the items you mentioned. I just eye-balled and guestimated until I got what I was looking for. For the hair and beards I began with a square and cut a half circle off one end to get a curve. Then, fold it in half to make a very small cut for the mouth. Unfold and snip the square end to make it look like a beard. I did a similar technique for the hair. I started with a square and snipped at one end to make it look like shaggy hair. The top won’t matter since it will be covered up. For the donkey blanket, I began with a square and laid it on the donkey back and then just trimmed it to fit the curve of the donkey back. The gifts are just squares with strips of felt for the ribbon. If I have time this season, I’ll make a template for the items you mentioned. Hopefully this helps, though.
Julie says
November 14, 2014 at 4:08 pmDid you by chance happen to make the template for these items? About to start making this with a few girl friends, and it would be awesome if you had 🙂 No worries if not, just thought I would ask!
Sarah Punkoney says
November 14, 2014 at 4:20 pmYes, there is a template. It’s at the bottom of the post.
Julie says
November 18, 2014 at 4:04 pmOh! I actually meant these specific things that weren’t included in that template (star, stable, beards, etc.) that this other girl was asking about.
Sarah Punkoney says
November 18, 2014 at 4:38 pmOh, no, I don’t have a template for those. The beards in particular you really just have to cut according to your own pieces. I thought that with them being so small, there would be a large margin for error, so I left them out of the template. You can draw out the pieces on a sheet of paper, cut out, and trace onto the felt to make your own. As for the stable, the pieces are basically all straight, so it’s pretty straight forward.
Carissa D says
November 24, 2017 at 11:10 pmI hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and made a template for the missing items. We used your template to make an Advent Nativity Calendar in a Swap Group that I am in. Some people dropped out of the swap, so I had leftover manger and Baby Jesus pieces. I decided to use them up by making some quiet book pages. You can see it and get the template for the extra pieces here: http://faithandfeltobsession.blogspot.com.au/2017/11/isaiah-9-unto-us-son-is-born-quiet-book.html
Cheers! Great pattern!!
Sarah Punkoney says
November 30, 2017 at 12:59 pmI love your nativity! And thanks for linking to your post so my readers can grab those extras. I love the stars.
Kendel says
November 20, 2013 at 11:40 amThis is fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing!
Karen N says
December 3, 2013 at 9:17 amThanks so much! We only have three of our ten still at home and homeschooling, but I’ve got grandkids coming along now who will love these! Guess that’s part of my Christmas gift this year!
Laura says
December 5, 2013 at 7:01 amThank you so much for sharing this. I’ve made one for my Godson, with one piece for each day of Advent, until he has the whole story. I had a great time making it, and I know he’s going to love it!
Emily Herbert says
December 18, 2013 at 12:44 pmExcited to do this one this week! Thanks Sarah!
Marilyn says
November 2, 2014 at 7:29 pmThank you so much for sharing your awesome templates. I’m going to make this set for my grandchildren. Your figures look so real.
Robyn Adams says
December 6, 2014 at 10:28 amI used your great patterns to make a beautiful Nativity for my grandchildren. Thanks for sharing!
Esther says
December 17, 2014 at 6:39 amThis is great! I plan on starting this in January to hopefully complete by next year. 🙂 I had a few questions, first, did you just use regular thread? Some of it looks thicker like on the clothes. Is there a certain type of needle that works best for hand stitching felt? Thank you so much for sharing this for free. I found a couple patterns but they you had to buy them. I also love that you kept the pieces somewhat simple, no complex French knots and such.
Sarah Punkoney says
December 17, 2014 at 8:50 amThe layers are hot glued together. (I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time. If I were to do it again I’d sew all the pieces together). But, the detail stitching on everything was done with embroidery floss. In the post there is an Amazon link to the threads I used. I didn’t use a special needle, just the smallest head the thread would allow, but there may be a needle out there better for felt. I’m sure someone at your fabric store could help out.
Leah says
November 23, 2018 at 8:41 pmHello! I love your felt nativity. I am making it this week! Do you have a template for the stable and the star?
Thanks!
Leah
Sarah Punkoney, MAT says
December 13, 2018 at 2:56 pmSorry, I just free handed the stable and star, so they aren’t included. They are pretty straight forward to draw, though.