December evenings disappear fast. Here are ten free Christmas knitting patterns small enough to start after dinner and finish before bed: ornaments for the tree, little wrappings that are a gift in themselves, a candle cosy, a stocking and something for the dog.
They are sorted by the one thing that matters when you are short on time: how long the designer says it takes. The first three take about an hour each. The next four take a whole evening. The last three are small, but their designers don’t give a time, so we tell you that rather than guessing. Every pattern gets the same card: who designed it, the skill it asks for, the yarn, the needles, the size, the time, and one honest thing to watch for before you cast on.
How these cards work. Every figure on a card comes from the designer’s own pattern page. Where a designer doesn’t say something, the card says so rather than guessing, and where a page contradicts itself, the card tells you. We don’t copy designers’ photos, so click through to see each finished piece on the designer’s own page, which is also where the instructions are.
Quick picks: match the pattern to your evening
- A gift that needs wrapping tonight: the gift card holder, the coffee cozy sweater or the wine bottle sweater.
- Ornaments for the tree: the Christmas balls, the star or the mini tree.
- Only the knit stitch so far: the gift card holder or the faux fur stocking.
- A bag of super bulky leftovers: the tabletop trees or the wine bottle sweater.
- Something for the dog: the elf dog bandana.
Before you start: what “one evening” means here
The times on these cards are the designers’ own, and designers knit fast. If you are newer to knitting, or you stop to watch the video, add a little. Small projects also hide their time in the finishing: sewing seams, stuffing, making pom-poms and weaving in ends. Wind your yarn and find your tapestry needle before you start, and the evening goes further. Want a project with a bit more room? See our quick knitted gifts you can finish in a weekend.
About an hour
The designer’s own pattern card says about an hour of knitting for each of these. Good for a weeknight, or for the night before you need a gift tag.
1. Knitted Gift Card Holder
One long garter stitch strip, folded into a pocket and seamed at the sides, sized for a standard gift card. The page gives three versions: plain with white ends, striped, and a green tree with tiny pom-poms.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a free printable |
| Skill | Basic (beginner); knit stitch only, plus a seam |
| Yarn weight | DK |
| Yarn | 18 to 24 yards of DK scraps per holder |
| Needles | US 6 (4 mm) |
| Size | About 3.5 x 4 in once folded; fits a standard gift card |
| Time | About 1 hour of knitting, per the designer's pattern card |
the fabric has to be dense so the card doesn't show through. If your knitting is loose, the designer says to go down a needle size.
2. Knitted Christmas Ball Ornaments
Soft, stuffed baubles in two-colour stripes of smooth and bumpy rows. The page gives two ways to knit them: flat on straight needles and seamed, or in the round on double-pointed needles.
| Designer | Kristen, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a video |
| Skill | The page says intermediate in one place and experienced beginner in another |
| Yarn weight | The page says super bulky in one place and bulky in another |
| Yarn | Two colours; the page lists 100 yards of each, and suggests Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick or Patons Classic Wool |
| Needles | US 11; see the note below |
| Size | Not stated by the designer |
| Time | About 1 hour of knitting, per the designer's pattern card |
the page lists the needles as both US 11 (8 mm) and "11 US / 4.5 mm", which are different sizes. US 11 is 8 mm. Knit one ball and see if you like the fabric before you make a set. You also need stuffing.
3. Knitted Star
A flat five-point star, knit in one piece from the top point down, with the two bottom points worked one at a time. The designer made it for the Fourth of July, but in gold, white or silver it is a star for the tree.
| Designer | Kristen, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a video |
| Skill | The pattern card says intermediate; the intro calls it easy for beginning knitters |
| Yarn weight | Any; the designer used worsted |
| Yarn | 42 yards of worsted |
| Needles | US 7 straight needles, plus a third needle to hold stitches |
| Size | Not stated by the designer |
| Time | About 1 hour, per the designer's pattern card |
there are 43 rows and each one is different, so a row counter helps. For the bottom points you leave stitches waiting on one needle and knit the first point with a third needle.
A whole evening
Two to four hours each, by the designer’s own figures. Put on a film, cast on after dinner, and it is done by bedtime.
4. Coffee Cozy Sweater
A tiny ribbed sweater that slides onto a takeaway coffee cup, with a pocket the designer says really works and two little arms with mittens and thumbs. The designer made them as quick Christmas gifts for friends.
| Designer | Kristen, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Experienced beginner |
| Yarn weight | Aran or worsted |
| Yarn | Two colours; amount not stated |
| Needles | US 7 straight needles |
| Size | Fits a takeaway coffee cup; measurements not stated |
| Time | About 2 hours of knitting, per the designer's pattern card |
the arms and mittens are the fiddly part, and the designer says to watch her video if the thumb cast-on is new to you. You'll need knit, purl and a 2×2 rib.
5. Knit Tabletop Christmas Trees
Narrow cone-shaped trees in super bulky yarn, knit in the round from the top down and slipped over foam craft cones. There are five sizes, from a 4.5-inch tree to a 12-inch centrepiece.
| Designer | Kristen, Studio Knit |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (a paid printable is optional) |
| Skill | Intermediate; you knit in the round on double-pointed needles |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 17 yards for the smallest tree, up to 56 yards for the largest; the designer used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick |
| Needles | Four US 11 (8 mm) double-pointed needles |
| Size | From 4.5 in tall (extra small) to 12 in tall (extra large) |
| Time | 1 to 4 hours per tree, depending on size, per the designer |
start with the extra small tree if you only have one evening. The designer strongly recommends foam craft cones for a neat shape, so buy those before you start.
6. Candle Cosy
A lacy knitted sleeve for an empty glass jar. Drop a tea light inside and the jar becomes a glowing lantern. It is knit in the round with a band of small eyelets that let the light through.
| Designer | Davina, Sheep and Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free, with a video |
| Skill | Not stated by the designer |
| Yarn weight | DK cotton |
| Yarn | Amount not stated; the designer used Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK |
| Needles | 4 mm double-pointed needles, or a long circular for magic loop |
| Size | Written for jars 2.75 in and 3 in across, with notes for other jars |
| Time | 3 to 4 hours, per the designer |
measure your jar first. The designer says the pattern needs adjusting to fit, and explains how. It uses yarn overs and decreases, so it is not a first project. Use a tea light, and never leave a lit candle alone.
7. Christmas Elf Dog Bandana
A red and white striped garter stitch triangle with a fluffy green ruffle around the edge, tied on with two knitted ties. The designer says you can make it in an evening or over a cosy weekend.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy, for a confident beginner |
| Yarn weight | DK, held together with a sparkle yarn |
| Yarn | 65 to 140 yards in all, by size; the designer used Sirdar Snuggly Replay DK and YarnArt Christmas |
| Needles | US 8 (5 mm), plus a US 8 circular, 32 to 40 in, for the ruffle |
| Size | Small to extra large: 11 to 17 in across the top |
| Time | An evening or a weekend, per the designer |
the ruffle is picked up all the way round and then every stitch is increased, so there are a lot of stitches on the circular needle. Skip the ruffle and it is a plain striped bandana. Always supervise a dog wearing it.
Small, but the designer gives no time
These three are small and quick by any measure, but their designers don’t put a number on the time, so we won’t either. The card gives you the size and the yarn so you can judge for yourself.
8. Mini Christmas Tree Ornament
Two small flat tree shapes, sewn together with a decorative blanket stitch and stuffed. Add buttons or a fabric heart, and hang it on the tree or tie it to a present as a gift tag.
| Designer | Louise, Handy Little Me |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Easy (beginner to advanced beginner); knit, purl and K2tog |
| Yarn weight | DK |
| Yarn | Scraps of green DK; less than a full ball, per the designer |
| Needles | US 6 (4 mm) |
| Size | 3.5 in tall x 4 in wide |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
the knitting is short, but the finishing is not: you sew two pieces together, stuff them, and add a ribbon to hang it. You also need toy stuffing, and buttons or fabric to decorate.
9. Christmas Wine Bottle Sweater (Showy)
A little stockinette sweater for a bottle of wine, knit flat in super bulky yarn and sewn into a tube, with a faux fur collar on top. It turns a bottle into a wrapped present.
| Designer | Jennifer, Brome Fields |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (an ad-free PDF is optional) |
| Skill | Beginner |
| Yarn weight | Super bulky |
| Yarn | 5 to 10 yards of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, plus 22 to 27 yards of Lion Brand Go for Faux for the collar |
| Needles | US 11 (8 mm), and US 15 (10 mm) for the fur |
| Size | Fits a 750 ml bottle; about 5 x 8 in |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
faux fur yarn is hard to see stitches in, so knit the collar slowly. The collar is sewn on with thread or cotton yarn. A great use for the last few yards of a skein of Thick & Quick.
10. Faux Fur Stocking
A small Christmas stocking in thick faux fur yarn, knit flat in two pieces on giant needles and sewn together. The designer wrote it to be as simple as possible, and it is all knit stitch with a little shaping at the toe.
| Designer | Jessica, Mama in a Stitch |
|---|---|
| Free or paid | Free (only on the blog) |
| Skill | Beginner; the knit stitch plus KFB and K2tog |
| Yarn weight | Faux fur |
| Yarn | 2 skeins of Lion Brand Go For Faux Thick & Quick |
| Needles | US 35 |
| Size | About 6 in wide x 12.5 in long |
| Time | Not stated by the designer |
each piece is only 24 rows, but it is hard to see your stitches in fur, so count rows as you go. US 35 needles are huge and not every shop stocks them. Add a ribbon or leather loop to hang it.
What you’ll need
Most of these use scraps. The things that come up more than once:
- Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, used for the tabletop trees and the wine bottle sweater, and suggested for the Christmas balls
- Lion Brand Go For Faux for the stocking and the wine bottle collar
- Toy stuffing for the Christmas balls and the mini tree
- A tapestry needle for the seams and for weaving in ends, which every pattern here needs
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More to knit from what you have
- Have a whole weekend? Here are quick knitted gifts you can finish in a weekend.
- Odds and ends in the basket? Try what to knit with leftover yarn.
- Have a bag of thick yarn? Here is what to knit with chunky yarn.
- Only know the knit stitch? Here is what to knit when you only know the knit stitch.
- Browse every project sorted by time.
- Crochet as well as knit? Our sister site has a whole shelf of knitting patterns at Daily Crochet.
