Beginner-Friendly Christmas Crafts You Can Make with Fabric, Felt & a Glue Gun!
Hey craft buddies! If you’re anything like me, once the holiday season hits, you suddenly want to turn every scrap of fabric in your stash into something cozy and festive. And good news — today’s collection of fabric Christmas DIYs is packed with ideas that are beginner-friendly, crazy affordable, and perfect for giving your home that high-end handmade Christmas look.
These projects are great whether you sew, glue, or fall somewhere in between. I’ve got no-sew options, simple stitches you can do while watching Christmas movies, and tons of free files and templates in my Free File Library. Opt in for the password here.
A huge thank you to HelloFresh for sponsoring the video that goes along with this post and supporting Whiskey & Whit. If you’ve got a busy holiday season (like me!) you’ll love how easy they make dinner time!
Let’s jump into the fabric fun!
🎄 Fabric Paper Chain Advent Calendar
The perfect cozy craft to make with kids
Paper chains, but make them fabric — and suddenly they become a keepsake you can use year after year. You can make one long garland or turn yours into a cute advent calendar like I did for my boys.
- Cut 3″ strips of fabric (I used different Christmas prints, but all one color works too!)
- Add Heat-n-Bond to make double-sided “fabric bookmarks”
- Trim the edges with pinking shears for that vintage look
- Add snaps, Velcro, hot glue, or sew the ends so the links connect
The snaps make it so easy for kids to remove a link each day — and it stores flat for next year. This project is such a sweet way to start the countdown to Christmas.
Fabric-Wrapped Candy Canes
Primitive, rustic, or modern — totally customizable If you saw my mini candy canes in the Mystery Box Challenge, these are the big sisters! You only need pipe cleaners + fabric strips, and they come together in minutes.
The basic steps:
- Twist 10 pipe cleaners together
- Rip or cut fabric into strips
- Wrap and glue as you go to create candy cane stripes
- Bend into shape and trim the ends
Make them in gingham, stripes, solids — whatever fits your Christmas theme. They look great tucked into trees, wreaths, baskets, or arranged with primitive Christmas décor.
No-Sew (or Sew!) Fabric Bows
Timeless Christmas decor you can reuse every year Big bows are everywhere this holiday season! This no-sew version uses only fabric, interfacing, and hot glue — but you can sew them if you prefer.
You’ll cut three rectangles:
- 16″ × 6″ (tails)
- 12″ × 6″ (bow loops)
- 3″ × 2″ (center)
Fold, press, glue (with fabric glue sticks — they matter!), pinch the centers, add your middle wrap, and you’ve got a luxe bow that looks store-bought. Add them to wreaths, garlands, stockings… or make a bunch to tuck around your house.
🎅 Norman Rockwell Pottery Barn Pillow Dup
A designer look for under $5
This one might be my favorite dupe I’ve made in a long time! Using heat transfer paper, an inkjet printer, and a plain pillow cover, you can recreate the gorgeous Norman Rockwell Pottery Barn look for just a few dollars.
I’ve added the exact Santa design in my free library so you can print it at home. All you need to do is:
- Press your pillow cover
- Trim your design
- Peel the backing
- Press for 90 seconds with firm pressure
- Remove the sheet — and admire!
He looks so close to the Pottery Barn original… but for a tiny fraction of the price.
🖼️ Fabric-Covered Mat for Picture Frames
A trending Ralph Lauren–inspired DIY
This is such a fun way to repurpose a thrifted frame. I used plaid Christmas fabric to cover the mat inside the frame, and the result looks straight out of a Ralph Lauren holiday catalog.
Just wrap the mat with fabric and secure it (tape or glue), then cut the inner opening.
You can display printable art, Santa photos, postcards, or family memories — perfect for classic or vintage-inspired Christmas vibes.
🎁 Vintage Christmas Fabric Cutouts
Turn old holiday ads into adorable stuffed décor
Using the same heat-transfer method as the pillow, I created vintage-style fabric “grain sack” cutouts in the style of old postcards and retro ads.
There are two ways to make them:
- No sew – glue the front and back pieces, stuff, then trim with pinking shears
- Sewn – stitch around, flip inside out, stuff, stitch or glue closed
These look awesome on tiered trays, shelves, or tucked into primitive-style Christmas arrangements. And yes — the files are all waiting for you in the library!
Fabric “Letter to Santa” Envelope
A keepsake your kids will cherish This soft, fabric envelope is adorable for holding letters to Santa — and can be sewn or glued, depending on your comfort level.
I made mine double-layered for durability (my boys are going to be handling it a LOT), added the printed design with heat transfer paper, and finished it with a snap closure. It looks vintage, handmade, and magical all at once.
Felt Ornaments: Candy Canes & Sprinkle Cookies
Perfect cozy crafting for movie nights Felt ornaments are everywhere this year — so I had to try them myself. And now? I’m hooked.
You can hand-stitch or glue these:
- Candy canes with stitched stripes
- Sprinkle cookies using beads
- Icing-layered cookies in different shapes
- Even little felt Santas (I bought that template on Etsy and linked it!)
Everything is beginner-friendly, and once you do the first couple, you’ll feel confident to stitch more. They make great tree ornaments, garlands, or gifts.
All templates and SVGs are in the Free File Library so you can craft along. I also made a cute Santa cookie using this Etsy template.
🍽️ A Quick Word from HelloFresh
This season is busy enough, and HelloFresh makes dinnertime so much easier. With over 100 weekly recipes, bigger portions, and tons of high-protein options, it’s been a huge help for our family — even Henry loves it!
If you’re curious, you can get up to 10 free meals with my code WHISKEYWITFM.
Just head to hellofresh.com and enter the code at checkout.
(New customers only; discount applied to your first box; varies by plan.)
I hope you love these fabric Christmas DIYs as much as I do! Cozy handmade projects are such a great way to slow down and enjoy the season — even if you only have a little time here and there. Let me know your favorites in the comments, and tag me if you make any of them this year!
Happy crafting, and I’ll see you in the next one!
— Whitney
