Begin by preparing the green felt for embroidery.

Cut a piece of wool felt 9" x 9". Draw or trace a 7" diameter circle in the center.

In this example, a 7" craft ring is traced to make the circle.

A template is a printout of a design, and it's an excellent tool for planning where to stitch.

Print a template of the design using embroidery software. If you do not have embroidery software that makes templates, Wilcom's TrueSizer is a free program to use.

Place the template so that it's closer to the bottom of the circle than the top. The bottom edge of the design should be 1" from the bottom edge of the circle. The top edge of the design should be 2" from the top edge of the circle.

Center the design horizontally between the left and right sides.

Mark the center point of the design, as well as the horizontal and vertical axis lines. These marks will be used for hooping.

Spray the cutaway stabilizer with a small amount of temporary adhesive, then smooth the fabric on top.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together, aligning the marks on the fabric with the marks on the hoop.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so the needle is right over the center point.

Embroider the design.

After embroidering, cut out the circle. There is no need to trim the stabilizer away from the back of the fabric.

Repeat this process for a total of 4 embroidered circles.

To prepare the fabric for the ornament shapes, draw or trace a 3" circle onto the red wool felt.

In this example, a ribbon spool is used to trace the circle.

Cut out the shape.

Repeat this process for a total of four ornament circles.

Make tops for the ornaments. Draw 4 rectangles, each 3/4" x 1/2", onto the gold wool felt.

Cut out the rectangles.

Now that the pieces have been embroidered and cut, it's time to assemble the mat.

Place two of the embroidered circles onto the red felt for the back, top edges facing.

Use a straight edge to align the vertical axis lines on the circles. Leave 1 1/4" between the top edges of the circles.

Pin the circles in place. Leave a couple of inches of excess fabric around the outer edges of the circles.

Overlap the embroidered circles opposite the first two circles. Align them with the straight edge and pin in place.

Leave 1 1/4" of space between the top edges of the circles.

Trace the inner and outer edges of the circles onto the fabric. 

Mark the axis lines onto the fabric. These marks will be used for placing the circles back onto the fabric later on.

Number each circle on the underside, and also on the outer fabric around each circle.

Remove the circles and add fusible web to the back of the each circle.

Return each circle to the fabric, one at a time, matching the numbers and axis marks.

Overlap each circle as you go.

Use a pressing cloth and press the circles in place, according to the instructions on the fusible web packaging.

Add fusible web to the back of each ornament piece and place them in-between each of the embroidered circles.

Position the top edges of the pieces 3" from the corners of the square shape in the center. 

Position the shapes side-to-side by measuring equal distances between the side edges of the shapes and the side edges of the embroidered circles. 

Using a pressing cloth, press the shapes in place.

Trim the fabric around the entire outer edge of each circle and ornament shape.

Using a zig-zag stitch, stitch around the entire outer edge of each shape.

Cut four 3" lengths of decorative cord. Add a drop of fabric glue to one end of each piece of cord to prevent them from fraying. 

Add a couple of drops of fabric glue to the ornament top fabric pieces, and place the raw end of the cords onto the fabric.

Place the fabric/cord pieces, wrong side down, at the top of each of the ornament shapes and press in place.

Add fabric glue to the back of the cord, bend the cord into a hook shape, and press the cord in place.

This candle mat is made out of wool felt, which is flammable, so be sure to use a flame-resistant base under the candle on the mat.

Glass or stone bases are excellent options.