Dressing your house in the fabrics of Christmas is as satisfying as wrapping yourself in the sensuous silk scarf or velvet jacket you save for the holidays. Fabric brings richness, color, and depth to any shape it embraces-almost demanding to be touched, whether it is a scratchy wool or a buttery silk. Trims are the finishing touches that shimmer and delight, like icing on cookies.

Fabric has been woven into holiday decorating since Victorian times. Before the Christmas stocking evolved, real socks, often embroidered or trimmed, were hung near chimneys, with high hopes. At the turn of the century, fancifully shaped animals and figures made from snowy cotton batting wrapped on metal frames dangled from countless American Christmas trees.

With so many fabrics and trims available, how do you begin to choose? You can use dressy fabrics like silk-faced satin, silk taffeta, and velvet for most of your ornaments and stockings, and finish them with a wide selection of metallic-silver ribbons, bullion, rickrack, and twine, all of which take on a soft, nearly golden patina over time. But almost any winter fabrics will do, from woolly tartans and humble corduroys to an old Christmas tablecloth, too worn to be used for dining, but too beautiful to discard. Felt is pleasing to work with because of its opaque color and tidy edges, which do not require a hem; you can easily add a decorative edge with pinking or scalloped shears. Gingham and grosgrain ribbons are congenial companions for a homey fabric like felt. And pretty ribbons can be draped, looped, stitched, or tied into bows to become ornaments all by themselves.

Fabric can deliver a powerful jolt of color to any ornament or decoration-so plan your color scheme carefully. Use fabrics with contrasting textures in just one or two colors, or unify contrasting fabrics with a single shade of trim, like silver ribbons and twines. Whatever fabrics and trimmings you choose, everything you make will brighten your rooms, and your spirits, with the color and warmth of the holidays.

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