Christmas Embroidery Decorations: Pillows, Table Runners and Sweaters

Hoops and ornaments are where most Christmas embroidery starts, but the pieces that change how a room feels at Christmas are often bigger and more practical: a cushion on the sofa, a runner down the middle of the dinner table, a sweater with a small motif on the chest. These get used, not just looked at, and they come out of the decoration box every December.

This guide covers how to choose and size a design for each of these projects, which fabrics to use, how to finish a pillow cover and a table runner with basic sewing, and how to embroider on knitwear without puckering.

Christmas Decorations You Can Embroider

• Pillow covers: one large motif on a cushion that lives on the sofa all of December.
• Table runners: a matching motif at each end of a long strip of linen.
• Sweaters: a small design on the chest, collar or cuff of a plain knit.
• Hoop art and wreaths: covered in our Christmas embroidery guide and in wreath embroidery patterns. A door wreath made from five to seven small hoops tied to a wreath ring with ribbon is one of the easiest ways to show several small pieces together.
• Tree ornaments and stockings: see Christmas ornament embroidery and Christmas stocking embroidery patterns.

Any Pattern Can Become a Decoration

You do not need a pattern designed for a pillow or a runner. What matters is scale and placement. A motif drawn for a 5″ hoop can go on a cushion, a runner end or, scaled down, a sweater pocket. Lumellu templates are printable, so you can change their size in your printer settings: scale the print until the design measures what you need, then check it with a ruler.

Before you transfer anything, do a paper test. Print the design at your chosen size, cut it out and lay it on the fabric where it will go. Step back. If it looks right at arm’s length, transfer it; if it looks like a postage stamp or crowds the edges, change the print size and try again.

Designs with a clear silhouette and a story work best at large sizes: the Christmas Deer with Lights, a young deer wrapped in pink, yellow, blue and green bulbs; the Santa pattern in his classic red suit; or the gentle Reindeer Fawn, which suits beginners.

Shop Christmas embroidery patterns →

Christmas Embroidery Pillow Covers

A pillow cover gives you a large canvas: 40×40 cm and 45×45 cm are the standard sizes. Make one each year, store it with the decorations, and after a few Christmases you have a collection.

Motifs that work at pillow scale

• A large central wreath of holly, pine and berries, 15–20 cm across. The ring is balanced on its own and needs no border.
• A Christmas tree, either a bold geometric triangle with branch lines or an illustrated tree with baubles and French knot lights. Our Christmas tree embroidery guide shows both styles.
• A single word such as JOY or NOEL in large back stitch letters, with a border of small stars or running stitch. Quick and beginner-friendly.
• A story scene, such as the Mice Ice Skating pair in striped scarves, enlarged to fill the centre.

Sizing and fabric

On a 45×45 cm cover, aim for a design 18–22 cm wide; on a 40×40 cm cover, 15–18 cm. The design should fill roughly half the face, with plain fabric around it as a border.

Medium-weight natural linen is the best choice: it holds stitches cleanly and survives use. Cotton canvas is firmer and easy for beginners. Velvet in deep green or burgundy looks rich with gold thread, but stitches sink into the pile, so leave it for a later project. Avoid thin sheeting, stretchy fabric and shiny synthetics.

Finishing: the envelope back

For a 45×45 cm cushion, cut the embroidered front at 48×48 cm and two back panels at 48×32 cm. Fold one long edge of each back panel over 1 cm twice and stitch a hem. Lay the front face up, place both back panels on top face down with the hemmed edges overlapping in the middle, pin and sew all round with a 1.5 cm seam. Clip the corners, turn through the opening, press and insert the cushion pad. The sewing takes 20–30 minutes; no zip or buttons needed.

If you do not want to sew, buy a plain linen or canvas cover and embroider the front panel before you put the pad in.

Christmas Table Runner Embroidery

A runner sits at the centre of every Christmas meal, so a handmade one gets noticed more than almost any other decoration.

Size and placement

A runner is usually 30–35 cm wide. For the length, measure the table and add about 30 cm for a 15 cm overhang at each end. Stitch the main motif at each short end and leave the long middle plain or edged with running stitch. On a 32 cm wide runner, keep each end design about 18–22 cm wide and place its lower edge 4–5 cm from the finished end.

Three placement options work well:

• The same design at both ends, either facing the same way or mirrored to face inward.
• Two related designs, such as a robin at one end and holly at the other, in one thread palette.
• One central motif on a short runner of 100–120 cm, best with a symmetrical design such as a wreath or a star.

Remember that you stitch the end design twice, so choose one you will enjoy repeating. A design that is not specifically Christmassy, such as birds or botanicals in a red and green palette, lets the runner stay out through January.

Fabric and finishing

Medium-weight natural linen (about 180–220 gsm) lies flat and washes well. Coloured linen in deep red or forest green with cream or gold embroidery does half the decorative work for you. Good thread colours on natural linen: DMC 498 (red), 319 (green), 336 (navy), 938 (dark brown), 3865 (cream) and 676 (gold).

To finish, either hem it (press a double 1.5 cm hem on all sides, mitre the corners and topstitch) or line it: place the embroidered front and a backing piece right sides together, sew round with a 1.5 cm seam leaving a 15 cm gap, turn through the gap, press and topstitch close to the edge to close it. Either takes under an hour.

How to Embroider a Christmas Sweater

Knitwear stretches and has texture, so it needs a slightly different approach from linen in a hoop.

Which sweaters work

A plain cotton or cotton-blend sweatshirt is the easiest first project: little stretch and a close surface. Tightly knitted wool in plain stockinette also works. Avoid chunky and open knits (the thread disappears into the gaps), very stretchy synthetics, mohair and cashmere for a first attempt. Wash and dry the sweater before you start so it does not shrink under the finished stitching.

Transfer and stabilizer

You cannot trace through knit with a light pad, and iron-on transfers do not take well on it. The cleanest method is printable stick-on water-soluble stabilizer: print the design, stick it where you want it, stitch through it and rinse it away. It also solves the problem of marking dark knits. See our guide to water-soluble stabilizer for details.

On the inside, add a piece of soft cut-away stabilizer or no-show mesh slightly larger than the design. It stops the knit stretching while you stitch and while the sweater is worn. Hoop the fabric so it is taut but not pulled, as over-stretching a knit distorts it permanently.

Stitches and placement

Back stitch, running stitch and French knots behave best on knitwear. Keep satin stitch areas small, under about 1 cm wide, and avoid long and short stitch and any long floats across the back, which catch on fingers and jewellery. Two strands of floss suit most knits; use three on heavy knits and one on fine ones.

• Chest or pocket area: a motif up to 3–4″ (7–10 cm), such as a snowflake, a holly sprig, a star or a small tree.
• Collar: tiny repeating stars or dots, or one small motif at the point of a V-neck.
• Cuff: a band of small snowflakes or trees, or initials.
• Centre front: a wreath or tree about 10–12 cm across. Measure and mark the centre carefully before hooping.

The free snowflake and snowman patterns come in 4, 6 and 8 inch sizes, so the 4 inch version is already close to pocket size. More snowflake ideas in snowflake embroidery patterns, and star shapes in star embroidery designs.

Washing Embroidered Decorations

Turn pillow covers and sweaters inside out and wash them on a cool, gentle cycle; hand wash runners or use the same gentle cycle. Do not tumble dry. Dry flat, then press from the wrong side on a towel so the stitches are not flattened. Remove all water-soluble stabilizer before the first wash and trim thread ends neatly on the back.

When to Start

A pillow cover or table runner takes roughly 8–15 hours of stitching, and a small sweater motif 1–3 hours plus preparation. For Christmas, start pillows and runners in October or early November, especially if they are gifts. A sweater motif can wait until late November. For gift ideas, see gift embroidery ideas.

What’s Inside a Lumellu Christmas Pattern

Every paid Christmas pattern in the shop is a PDF that includes:

• vector line art in several hoop sizes (listed on each product page) that prints with clean, sharp lines;
• DMC colour codes;
• a list of materials and tools;
• a separate Stitch Guide PDF.

It is a digital download only, so no materials are shipped: you choose your own fabric, thread and cushion pad or sweater.

Christmas Embroidery Decorations FAQ

What size should a design be for a cushion cover?

18–22 cm wide for a 45×45 cm cover, 15–18 cm for a 40×40 cm cover. Test with a paper print before you transfer.

Do I need a stabilizer to embroider a sweater?

Yes, on almost all knits. Use stick-on water-soluble stabilizer on top for the design and a soft cut-away stabilizer on the inside for support.

Do I need to know how to sew?

Only straight seams. The envelope cushion back and a lined or hemmed runner are both simple. Or embroider a ready-made cover.

What fabric is best for Christmas decorations?

Medium-weight natural linen for cushions and runners, cotton canvas as an easier alternative, and a plain cotton sweatshirt for a first knitwear project. More detail in our embroidery fabric guide.

See all Christmas embroidery patterns →