Handmade knit ornaments are perfect for trees, package toppers, garlands, or a small gift! I love making small crafts for Christmas, and knitting has such a cozy, wintery look to it. Most of these ideas shouldn’t take more than a few hours to make, and I’ve included a good mix of cute and elegant projects.
Fair warning, though – they are small and therefore a bit fiddly, so they might not be good for your first knitting adventure. However, a good scarf or hat is also great this time of year, so maybe try your hand at one of those if you’ve never knit before!
So time to put on a Christmas movie, plop down on your couch, and make a handmade knit ornament!
First up, these knit acorns could be so cute as tiny ornaments or even a bowl filler. I love the red they used in the picture, but I they would also look very elegant in varying shades of beiges, grays, and whites for a more Scandinavian look.
How adorable is this tiny cup of cocoa?! Even though it’s round, it is actually made using a flat piece sewn together and gathered at the bottom. The cocoa, marshmallows, and handle are sewn on at the end.
If you ask me, woodland critters are such a cute Christmas theme. I have a whole Woodland Themed tree at my house! This Four Calling Birds pattern would be so cute with other woodland-themed decor! There are a few extra notions required for this one – safety eyes (or you could always sew eyes with yarn instead), felt, polyfill, and branches for them to sit on.
These little knit penguins would be so cute on a tiny tree together or as a set of 4 or 5 toys as a gift for a little one! The pattern also avoids knitting in the round, so they should be pretty quick and easy to knit up.
These stars come in 4, 5, and 6 point varieties and could be used for anything from a Nordic look, to traditional Christmas, to Hannukah, to even starfish for a coastal Christmas theme. I have personally tried this pattern. It is a bit challenging and involves knitting in the round, but it comes together very neatly and only requires two ends to weave in, so that’s a lazy gal’s bonus.
Christmas can always use some fair isle! This handmade knit ornament has a classic look and would look so great with a cabin Christmas theme. There are several patterns to choose from here (I’ve only shown one), so once you get the general hang of it, I imagine you could whip up a whole coordinating set!
I have also tried this cute little house pattern! It’s a bit fiddly with several pieces to sew together, but so adorable. You could also swap out the colors to make this a New House ornament instead of a Gingerbread House. How special would it be to give someone a handmade knit ornament of their new house?! This one also requires a bit of polyfill, felt, and hand stitching with embroidery floss to complete the details.
You didn’t expect just one fair isle project in a Christmas knitting post, did you? These tiny little stockings would be adorable as a garland or perhaps as a more special way to gift wrap cash. Another fun idea might be to adapt the pattern to include color-worked numbers for an advent calendar. This pattern also avoids knitting in the round and the color-working makes it look especially fun!
And finally, these tiny Christmas Walruses are from one of my favorite pattern makers – Mochimochi Land. How perfect would these be on a kids’ tree? These are a little bigger (described as “snowball-sized”) at 3.5 inches, and they are worked in the round. I have found her patterns to be super fun and easy to follow, though!
Side note: She also sells kits, which would make a great Christmas gift!
Check out some of my other handmade ornament project ideas:
Leave a Reply