You can finish these home-knitted gift ideas before Christmas
5.12.2025
Translation: machine translated
Hand-knitted gifts are great, but it's the same every year: the spontaneous idea comes too late. To make it happen without stress this year, I've put together some simple knitting projects that you can finish before Christmas.
It's 23 December 2024 and I'm kneeling on the floor in the bathroom at ten o'clock in the evening. At the last minute, I've finished knitting and washing my daughter's Christmas present, a double-layered hat. But it still has to dry in time for me to wrap it up for Christmas. So I'm kneeling down to blow-dry a wet hat and don't quite know whether to be annoyed with myself or laugh.
Every year, I resolve to enjoy the Advent season in a contemplative and cosy way and to knit Christmas presents in between. But in the end, I'm under time pressure again. So that you don't feel the same way, I've picked out a few suggestions for self-knitted gifts that are quick and easy to make.
Do what you can do
How quickly someone knits is very individual. So if you're looking for a project, it's helpful to think about what you're already practised at. I know from my own experience that I can knit stockinette quite quickly, even without looking. That's why I would choose something simple for such a tightly timed project. I also pay attention to what kind of design I already have some experience with. If you've never knitted socks before, just before Christmas is not the right time to start.
In general, you can take two factors into account: The gauge and the size of the knitted piece. An oversized jumper in small stitches is unlikely to be finished by Christmas. A chunky knit hat probably will. So let's get started.
Cosy mittens for warm fingers
The Tree Hugger Wrist Warmers from Drops are an ideal gift that is quick to knit and requires little yarn. They are perfect for visits to the Christmas market where you need your fingers to hold on to the mulled wine. The ribbed pattern makes these wrist warmers very stretchy and they hug the hand beautifully. This makes this design perfect as a gift if you don't know the exact size of the recipient. I have already given away hand warmers like these myself and the recipient now wears them on her morning walks with the dog. Another advantage of this design is that it requires very little yarn.
Source: Julia Escher
If you would like to give really warm mittens as a gift, I can recommend the LC Mittens by Ailbíona McLochlainn. They are almost faster than the Wrist Warmers. I'm currently knitting myself a pair and can already see myself trudging through the snow with the family while my fingers are wrapped up nice and cosy in these thick gloves.
Source: Julia Escher
These instructions are available in three stitch patterns. If you want to work very quickly, you can hold three yarns together and knit with a 5-millimetre needle. This will make the gloves go particularly quickly. I knit my version with a 4-millimetre needle and finished the first glove in just five days. For my project, I combined a yarn with a colour gradient with a white fleece yarn. If you would like to achieve a similar effect, you can, for example, combine the quality Colour Shift DK from Rico Creative with Suri Alpaca from Lang Yarns.
Small shawl, big trend
Since last autumn, they've suddenly been everywhere, the small shawls in a ruffled rib. The trend was started by PetiteKnit with their Sophie Scarf and since then, other designers have followed suit with numerous variations of these small scarves. I have selected the HI Bandana from Ozetta for you.
Source: Ozetta : Hailey Smedley
The big advantage of these sideways knitted designs is that you can use up all your yarn. To do this, weigh your yarn before and during knitting. As soon as you have used up half of the yarn, start the decreases according to the instructions to work the second half. If you have already reached the desired centre of the length beforehand, you can knit the decreases earlier.
But be careful: most people are particularly sensitive at the neck! That's why it's important to choose a material that is well tolerated by the person receiving the gift. Some people find mohair and alpaca yarns in particular unpleasant. If in doubt, merino wool is always a good choice.
A pretty cover for the hot water bottle
Whether for an upset stomach after Christmas dinner with the family or to warm the bed in the ski hut: Hot water bottles are useful in every household. But who would rather cuddle up with a plastic surface than a woolly bottle?
I've picked out the Filli hot water bottle cover from Maschenfein for you. The large stitches make quick work of it and the result is nice and cosy. Incidentally, the design provides for the cover to be felted after knitting.
Source: Maschenfein
If you prefer not to felt, you can also knit All You Need - A Classic by London Leo (free, available in German or English). This project is worked in stockinette and is perfect for incorporating textured patterns and stripes or trying out a new colour.
You can find the matching hot water bottle here:
Hot-water bottles
Quantity discount
EUR8,74 per piece for 2 units
Fashy Hot water bottle
2 l, Bed flask without cover
Three small projects on top
When you're knitting, it's pretty easy to end up with small balls of leftover wool. I have selected three ideas for you that are not only ideal for small amounts of yarn, but also make pretty little additions to existing gifts
For example, how about these scrunchy freebie instructions from Rico Design? You can either use the recommended fluffy yarn Nilli Nilli or be inspired by your own yarn scraps.
Source: Rico Design
If you would like to make a beautiful ornament for the tree or for the window as a gift, I can recommend the poinsettia by Sarah Stosno (Ein Koffer Voll Wolle). She explains everything step by step in her video tutorial.
Filling cotton wool for the star
And last but not least, I came across these cute mini hearts from Ducathi, where you can create a lot from just a little yarn. The hearts can be used as decorations, for example, to embellish gifts or to make a garland.
Source: Ducathi
What has inspired you? What projects do you currently have on the needles that you would like to give to your loved ones for Christmas? Let me know in the comments, and happy knitting!
Julia Escher
Freelance Editor
julia.escher@ik.meI started knitting 14 years ago and love experimenting with fibres and colours. When I'm not working with wool, I’m gardening or pursuing my other great passion: reading and writing about Chinese (art) history. You can find my knitting projects on Ravelry under Julia-knitsalot.
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