Cross Stitch Handmade Gift Ideas

A few years ago I put together a list of gift ideas for your favorite cross stitcher (even if that’s yourself!). But I’ve always wanted to make the opposite list — ideas stitchers can make as a handmade gift for others. As it turns out, that’s more difficult than it sounds. It really depends on what they’re into!

I originally planned this article to showcase general patterns that you might stitch for a friend or family member. But really ANY pattern could be a gift. Everyone’s taste is so very different and you’re going to know your person much better than I would.

Instead, I’m going to focus on finishing techniques here rather than specific patterns. The pattern is going to be really dependent on your giftee’s tastes. But knowing what you want to turn it into will hopefully help you narrow down the large amount of designs out there by size and style.

Should You Make a Handmade Gift?

Before we get too into things we should really discuss whether or not you should give cross stitch as a gift to begin with. And the answer is yes of course, but not to everyone.

Cross stitch, as well as many other handmade items, takes a long time to make. And your time is precious. Not everyone values your time, but YOU should.

Make sure the person you’re gifting is someone who will appreciate your hard work. It could be they’re also a crafter of some sort and understand the time spent. Or maybe they’re simply the sentimental sort that will treasure that handmade gift from a loved one.

But also make sure the gift fits the person and/or their decor. The last thing I want is for your hard work to be shoved in a closet only to come out when you happen to be visiting. Or worse– for it to end up in a thrift store/op shop!

Pick your giftees just as carefully as you pick their gift! And if you’re not sure about someone — keep it small and simple as a test to see if they might be worth a larger handmade gift in the future.

And don’t forget, the gift can be for YOU, too. Make yourself something nice as well! You deserve it.

Ornaments

A quick easy pattern is a great way to give a handmade gift without having to start in like, June to get them all done on time. Or if you don’t have a ton of time or you’re not sure how your giftee will handle a handmade gift. And small patterns are great for making into ornaments!

This could be Christmas bauble style, like a quilted ornament or snowglobe ornament. Or perhaps a functional gift card stocking that doubles as a tree ornament! I also love making biscornu with a hanging ribbon to use as tree ornaments. Though if they also do another sewing craft, they make great pincushions as well!

Any small piece could be made into an ornament for hanging anywhere, especially seasonal designs! I love the flat ornament style, but if they’ve got no room on their walls there’s the flatfold as an option as well that’s both easy to display and easy to store when not in season.

Greeting Cards

Hear me out, I know not everyone loves cards. But if your family is one that loves keeping old cards this might be perfect for you! They’re relatively small areas to stitch on, but there’s a ton of designs out there that would fit great into this space. Including a lot of free patterns! Find something your giftee would love and means something to the both of you for best results.

As for how to actually make a card, there’s a few different ways to go about cross stitch cards. You could use double-sided tape to just slap your finished stitch onto the front of a blank card. Preferably a light, acid free adhesive so that the recipient can pull it off and store or frame it if they want. Though you may want to look into ways to handle fraying fabric too, as it’ll get a bit more wear on the front of a card.

Another option is perforated paper. Either making a card out of perforated paper, or manually perforating a shape onto an existing card for you to stitch on.

There are also some cards with insert openings that you just slide your cross stitch into. Which means of course, that the recipient can keep just the cross stitch and choose to reframe it as they wish.

The downside to most of these, is you need to be comfortable with people seeing the back of your work. And you should be. The backs are just as beautiful. Especially if they’re messy. Embrace them!

Bookmark

In that image above you’ll also notice there are pre-made perforated paper bookmarks! You can also make your own using the same perforated paper techniques I mentioned.

Or, you can make them from plastic canvas or aida as well! I’ve a whole article on the different types of bookmarks and even how to make these fabric ones. No shortage of ideas there.

These gifts are great for book readers, of course. But also for students who have to read whether they like it or not.

If you’re looking for pattern suggestions though, I love all the intricate backstitch heavy designs by YellowBirdieStitches. They’ve got a ton of cute bookmark designs! Especially if your giftee is a coffee or tea drinker.

Keychains, Magnets, and Other Plastic Canvas trinkets

My favorite go-to for cross stitch gifts is plastic canvas. This is a versatile canvas that can be used for just so many things. Usually I make these stitches small enough to not take more than a few hours, just in case your giftee is not as appreciative as you hoped they’d be.

These small shapes can be used for a number of finishes such as keychains, magnets, earrings, hairclips, pins, necklaces, and 3d items! There’s something for everyone here. And they make great stocking stuffers!

I wrote an in-depth look at what you can make out of plastic canvas as well as how I back my canvas trinkets, so check that article out for ideas.

Video game sprites make excellent patterns if you’re making something for a gamer. I also highly recommend Craftigurumi for mini cross stitch patterns that are designed with plastic canvas in mind and are super detailed thanks to some clever use of backstitching!

Coasters

Another great use for small designs is coasters! There are of course acrylic coasters blanks you can just slide your cross stitch into. Like these square coasters below or the hexagonal coasters from Herrschners.

There are pattern shops that design patterns specifically with these coaster shapes in mind, like these gorgeous blackwork optical illusions by TrunkyStitches.

But really, you can turn any cross stitch into a mug rug with a bit of sewing. FatQuarterShop for example has a mug rug tutorial on their youtube using a cute pumpkin cross stitch design. Probably not the best idea for homes with children or rambunctious pets though, as they’re more likely to get stains and spills on them.

But you could do a layer of clear vinyl on top to keep them safe!

Bags & Other Sewing Projects

Zippered pencil pouches, project bags, card bags, tote bags, dice bags. Bags come in all shapes and sizes. And most of the time you’re stitching on fabric. Whether you’re using aida or evenweave, it’s still just fabric and you can use any sewing patterns out there to turn your stitches into gorgeous yet useful items.

In my article on making a cross stitch tarot bag, I followed a free pattern available online and discussed the challenges I faced when adapting it to my cross stitch.

Another bag I made out of cross stitch is this pencil pouch that featured in my UNDERTALE cross stitch book. And guess what — It was stitched together entirely by hand! Yes, even the zipper. You don’t NEED a machine to follow sewing tutorials. Especially when using aida — you can just use the aida grid as a guide and stitch it like you would backstitching!

Customized Clothing

As I mentioned above, aida is still just fabric. So while it’d be a great choice for a patch pocket or as an applique design in your favorite apparel patterns, you can also just stitch directly onto manufactured clothing to customize them! I have an article detailing how to use waste canvas or soluble canvas to stitch straight onto any fabric. You’re no longer limited to gridded fabrics! Though you may want to invest in a thimble if stitching through thicker fabrics like denim. It can definitely take a bit more force to push through.

How cute would it be to stitch something personal onto the apron of someone who loves to cook? A floral design on a gardener’s overalls? Or simply a sports logo on a cap. Your imagination is the only limit here!

Or yes, some chickens on your butt. Guess what, chicken butt?
…I am, in fact, a fully grown adult.

Wall Art Piece

If you’re set on a large piece to be hung on someone’s walls, there’s a few categories these tend to fall into. As I noted earlier, you may want to keep their home decor in mind if you can, to make sure it does actually end up on their wall!

First, finishings: The most common of which is framing your cross stitch. But some great alternatives are hoop finishes and stretched canvas finishes.

But you can do that with almost any cross stitch. So how do we narrow down what to make? Here’s some ideas!

Pet Portraits

A popular option for cross stitch and embroidery gifts is pet portraits. Pet owners tend to love personalized gifts featuring their furbabies and feathered/scaled friends.

You can find general designs of most pets and breed varieties and alter them a bit to fit the specific pet. Whether you like a more simplified graphic style, or really detailed backstitch-heavy designs.

Alternatively you can commission a custom pet portrait based on a photo you provide.

Fandom Gifts

Most of us have that friend that is just really into a specific piece of media. Whether that be a game, movie, tv show, book, or podcast. These are great for gift ideas as chances are another fan of that media has already designed a pattern for you.

Even the most niche interests have patterns out there, though obviously the more popular media will have more to choose from.

You could find a design featuring their favorite character, or go a bit more subtle with references or quotes from that media.

Event Based Gifts

Another common handmade gift category are stitches for specific events rather than a holiday or birthday.
I’m talking Wedding samplers, birth announcements, graduations, etc. I’m lumping these together, but they’re obviously very different. They’re all ones where customization is very important. Both in making sure you spell their names right (it happens), and finding out exactly what colors they’re using for their wedding or nursery.

You could go with the traditional names and dates format, or just something that really commemorates their style. I’m not even going to try linking patterns here though as styles super vary from traditional and kitchy to gothic or nerdy. This is mainly just a reminder that these events might warrant a handmade gift as well!

Cross Stitch Kit

Finally, you could try get them into cross stitch instead! I am a big fan of gifting small kits such as the Mill Hill ornament kits. These are relatively easy to follow, already have all the necessary materials, and take little work on your part!

While I recommend smaller kits for beginners so they don’t get discouraged — if you find the perfect design it’s alright if it’s a bit more complicated depending on your giftee’s personality. If they already do other crafts and are confident enough they’re still likely to try it! One of my first stitches ever was a large Dimensions kit back in the 90s and I’ve been stitching ever since.

But they can definitely be quite daunting for those who are not used to the slow speed of handmade items.

You could of course make them a custom kit if there’s a specific pattern you know they’d love. If the image is something they really like they’re much more likely to finish it. Or at least try it.

This is great both for people who have shown some interest in your hobby before or have been wanting to try it themselves. And for people you’re not sure would appreciate the work put into a hand stitched gift so you want them to experience it first hand, even if they don’t finish a project.

Of course, you can always offer to finish it for them if they try it and don’t like it. It’s still a gift, you’re not trying to make them feel obligated to do it if they don’t enjoy the process. But if they at least start it, they’ll be much more aware of exactly how much love and time is put into each stitch.