Hand embroidery is a great way to personalize thoughtful gifts for loved ones this holiday season. This list of simple, hand embroidered Christmas gifts will inspire you to sew up some adorable presents this year!
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This post combines two of my favorite things: embroidery and gifting. Watching loved ones open their presents brings me so much joy, especially when it is a homemade item!
Learning embroidery has completely changed my homemade gifting, and it allows me to customize and personalize as I see fit, creating precious gifts I know people will cherish for years to come.
So today I am sharing my list of simple, hand embroidered Christmas gifts for all my embroidery-loving friends! These are all beginner friendly, and use simple stitches.
I include several free patterns in this post, don’t forget to check them out!
There are so many ways to include hand embroidery in your Christmas gifting this year:
- Christmas Tree Cloth Napkins
- Handwriting Ornaments
- Clothing Items
- Bookmarks
- Initials and Names
- Wreaths
Let’s start with a few basics: materials and stitches!
Materials:
First, let’s talk some basic materials you will need for these simple embroidery projects. As you dig deeper into the embroidery world, there are a lot of materials you could buy, but truly, I keep things simple, and I have embroidered for several years now! Here’s my basic, inexpensive list of supplies:
- Fabric/Material – You can add embroidery to almost all materials, but a good fabric like this is helpful when you are beginning.
- Needles
- Embroidery Hoops – I like to use 6″ hoops as I’m sewing, but I use 4″ hoops for the final product.
- Floss
- Embroidery Pens to draw or trace your design
- Scissors – I started with just a small pair of scissors we already had at home, but you can buy some basic embroidery scissors.
A Few Basic Stitches:
I am not going to go into all of the possible embroidery stitches today, but I would like to give you a few that I use in every embroidery project! There are tons of embroidery videos out there that are helpful! Here are three stitches I would start with:
- Stem Stitch
- Lazy Daisy
- Satin Stitch
- *Bonus* the French Knot – a little trickier, but adds a fun element to your piece!
Now that you have your materials and stitches, let’s dive into this simple, hand embroidered Christmas gift guide!
Christmas Tree Tea Towels or Cloth Napkins
A blank tea towel or cloth napkin is a great place to practice your embroidery skills. You likely have blank items like this at your house, and can add some simple stitches to spruce them up!
I have a FREE Christmas Tree Embroidery Pattern and a FREE Thanksgiving Embroidery Printables that can be sent straight to your inbox!
This simple pattern also looks great on clothing items, canvas bags, or even a baseball hat!
Handwriting Ornaments
These handwriting ornaments are by far, my favorite hand embroidered Christmas gift I have made this season. Using just one stitch throughout, these are beginner friendly and can be made in one sitting!
What an adorable way to capture your little one’s precious handwriting!
Full details on these child’s handwriting embroidered ornament found here.
Clothing Items
I give embroidered clothing items as gifts all throughout the year, so it’s no surprise they made it on this simple hand embroidered Christmas gifts list. My shop is full of clothing items such as my birth flower pocket tees, toddler girls pocket tees, and our daisy dresses.
This year, I’m making an adorable hand embroidered Christmas tree sweatshirt for a friend. Although this is a custom order, I shared all the details and a free pattern. Check it out here!
Bookmarks
I recently discovered embroidery on cardstock, and the result is so fun! I’ve used this to make bookmarks, gift tags, and cards for people! If you are new to embroidery, using cardstock is much different from fabric, so take your time, and give some spacing between your stitches.
I have a FREE pattern for these fall bookmarks and for our book lovers bookmarks!
Initials and Names
With just a basic stem stitch or chain stitch, you can add initials to clothing items with ease! Simply use your embroidery pen to write the initials, or trace printed initials.
Wreaths
Wreaths are a simple embroidery project you can make today. Use a circular object, like the rim of a glass or mug, to draw a circle on your fabric. Use that as an outline to draw leaves, buds, or other embroidered florals! I use this same concept design when making my “Forget-Me-Not” embroidered hoops.
To make a festive wreath, include reds, greens and whites, using simple buds or holly flowers!
Bonus:
I have a few bonus items for you today, because these hand-embroidered items are great for wrapping or adding a personal touch to your holiday gifting!
Christmas Ribbon
Add some embroidery to your wrapping with this DIY Christmas ribbon! This project takes minutes, and can add a cute personal touch to your presents.
Hobby Jar
Give the gift of a hobby this season! As the New Year approaches, people are looking for crafting hobbies to jump into, so why not share your favorite hobby with them?
Simply pack embroidery supplies into a glass jar to get your friend started on a new crafting journey.
Gift Tags
I love how these gift tags turned out! Personalize them with friends and family members names, or simple as decoration. Check out our full post here.
I hope you found this post inspiring as you consider incorporating embroidery into your Christmas gifting this year!
If you tried one of these projects, or want to share one of your own, let me know over on Instagram! @homesweetharps
Free patterns to try:
- Christmas Tree Pattern
- Thanksgiving/Fall Printables
- Fall Bookmark Patterns
- Hello Fall! Gift Tag
- Embroidered Christmas Tags
Thank you! I will be saving this for me and my girls !
I’m so glad you liked it Jordan!
Love all of these ideas! The embroidered names in their handwriting is such a sweet idea.
Thanks Annie, it was my favorite project this holiday season!