Handmade Christmas: Shibori Designs to Sew and Dye at Home

Christmas time is nearly here. Thought some lovely simple Christmas shibori designs would be a fun project for you.

I have stitched 2 different shibori Christmas designs to give you some guidance and ideas of the best way to form them. They are quite simple shapes to make.

The star of the show in these designs is the beautiful miru shibori stitch—my absolute favourite! If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know how much I adore this technique. Working on these festive Christmas shibori creations has been such a joy—it’s a blend of creativity and satisfaction like no other. If you’re curious about miru shibori or want to explore the technique in more detail, I’ve got you covered. Check out all the tips and insights right here. Let’s get stitching!

2 Shibori Christmas Decorations to Stitch

The Bauble

Let us start with this bauble. Draw the design on to the fabric. Below is the design outline for you to copy. It is 10cm (4in) in height as a guide.

The first step is to attach a small bead to the back of the fabric in the centre of the design. Then fold the fabric in half. 5 rows of miru shibori make the main ogee shape. Extend the outer line of the shape to form a single line to create the hanging thread.

Gather up all your stitching tightly and then dye the fabric. After dyeing unpick the stitching to reveal your creation.

Here are images of details of the overall stitching and the finished design.

A Christmas Tree

Likewise, this shibori Christmas tree is made in a very similar way. Transfer the design on to your fabric. It is 13cm (5in) tall overall as a guide.

Firstly sew a small bead to the back of the fabric at the top of the tree. Next fold the fabric in half. Sew 7 rows of miru shibori to form the triangular tree shape. The tree trunk is stitched with two rows of running stitch through the fold.

Below are images of details of the overall stitching and the finished design.

Finally

If you create two of each of the designs you can sew them together, inserting a small ribbon at the top. Then stuff with kapok or lavender and make a hanging for the Christmas tree. I am sure you will be able to come up with other ideas for Christmas themed shibori patterns.

If you search my blog you will find designs for a five sided star and many snowflake designs. These are more complicated patterns but here are the links to a five sided star and to a snowflake. Just take it step by step and you will be fine.

Happy Stitching!