Christmas Knitting Patterns

Everything from a five-minute bauble to a family jumper

Festive knitting can be divided into three major categories, and this collection covers all of them. Decorations come first: tree ornaments, knitted Christmas trees, robins, gnomes and full nativity collections that grow year on year as you add figures. Then come the novelty covers, which are the fastest gifts in knitting, including chocolate orange covers shaped as Rudolph or a mistletoe mouse and Ferrero Rocher covers that turn a box of chocolates into a table decoration. Third are the wearables and larger projects: Christmas jumpers, stockings, hats and even dog coats.

Planning the run-up to Christmas

Start with what takes longest. A Christmas jumper for an adult is weeks of work, so it needs casting on in early autumn if it is to be worn in December. Stockings sit in the middle and are worth making as a set over several evenings. Decorations, gnomes and chocolate orange covers are the projects for the last fortnight, when time is short and you need presents that finish quickly. Making a batch of the same small pattern is far quicker than making five different ones, because the fiddly part is learning the shaping and finishing.

• Under an evening: chocolate orange covers, Ferrero Rocher covers, simple baubles and tree ornaments.
• A weekend: gnomes, robins, elves, gingerbread men and small nativity figures.
• A week or so: a knitted Christmas stocking with colourwork and a hanging loop.
• Longer: a Christmas jumper with a motif or Fair Isle yoke, or a set of dog coats.
• Year on year: a nativity collection, adding a figure or two each season.

Yarn, quantities and using up scraps

Festive decorations are the best possible use for oddments. Small toys and covers rarely take more than a few metres of each colour, so a bag of leftovers becomes a tree's worth of ornaments. Wool and wool blends hold shape well for stuffed figures; acrylic is practical, washable and cheap for a large batch. Metallic and sparkle yarns look wonderful on baubles but can be scratchy, so keep them off anything worn. Work small toys at a firmer tension than the ball band suggests, on needles a size or two smaller, so the stuffing does not show through the fabric.

Techniques these projects will teach you

Small Christmas projects are a painless way to learn things that seem intimidating on a garment. Knitting in the round on double-pointed needles becomes obvious after two chocolate orange covers. Intarsia and stranded colourwork are far less daunting across a stocking cuff than across a jumper front. I-cord, French knots for eyes, simple embroidery for faces and safe attachment of features are all skills that transfer straight into toy knitting the rest of the year. Use securely sewn embroidered features rather than beads or plastic eyes on anything going to a small child.

Finishing, storing and reusing

Stuff toys firmly but evenly, adding small amounts at a time and working the filling into limbs with the blunt end of a needle before closing the seam. Sew hanging loops into a seam rather than onto the surface, so they take the weight. Once the season is over, store knitted decorations in a box with a lid rather than a bag. Make sure to keep them dry, and add a moth deterrent for anything woollen. Reblock a flattened bauble by steaming it lightly and reshaping while damp.

Christmas knitting questions

Are there free Christmas knitting patterns to download? Yes, the collection includes free downloadable PDFs including easy decorations and novelty covers.

What can I knit for Christmas in one evening? A chocolate orange cover, a small bauble or a simple tree ornament.

When should I start a Christmas jumper? Early autumn for an adult size, since a colourwork jumper takes weeks of evenings.

What yarn is best for knitted decorations? Leftover DK or aran in wool or acrylic, worked at a firm tension so stuffing does not show.

Are these patterns safe for children's toys? Embroider faces rather than using beads or buttons, and sew every part on securely.