Looking for a heartwarming, handmade touch for your gift cards this holiday season? Or perhaps you’re just starting your knitting journey and need a simple, satisfying project? This knitted Christmas ornament gift card envelope pattern is perfect for both! It’s designed with absolute beginners in mind, allowing you to practice basic knitting techniques while creating a beautiful and reusable Card Envelope Gift. Imagine the delight of your loved ones receiving not just a gift card, but also a charming, hand-knitted ornament they can cherish for years to come. Let’s dive into this rewarding craft!
Your First Knitting Project: A Delightful Card Envelope Gift
Inspired by a challenge from Marly Bird, this pattern was created to be incredibly accessible, even if you’re brand new to knitting. Like many beginners, I myself brushed up on the basics through helpful resources like Marly Bird’s beginner knitting videos. This card envelope gift project focuses on knitting a simple square – the foundation of many knitting projects. Once knitted, this square is cleverly folded to create a snug envelope, perfectly sized for standard gift cards. So, gather your needles and let’s embark on this beginner-friendly knitting adventure!
Materials You’ll Need:
- Yarn: Red Heart With Love in a festive color like Holly Berry. This yarn is readily available and easy to work with for beginners.
- Knitting Needles: Knitting needles in size 7 (4.5mm). This slightly smaller needle size helps create a denser knit, perfect for concealing the gift card inside your card envelope gift.
- Button: A small button for closure, adding a charming detail to your card envelope gift.
- Yarn Needle: For weaving in ends and seaming.
- Scissors: To trim yarn.
You can also find this pattern on Ravelry to add to your favorites here.
We’re using a slightly smaller needle than typically recommended for this yarn to ensure a tight knit. This is especially helpful for beginners as it naturally leads to tighter stitches, which is ideal for this card envelope gift project. Don’t worry too much about perfect tension – the beauty of this pattern is its forgiving nature. As long as you achieve a square shape, your card envelope gift will turn out beautifully.
Gauge (Approximate): 20 garter stitches and 40 rows = 4.5 inches (11.43 cm) square. Gauge is not critical for this project, but this gives you a target to aim for.
Knitting Pattern for Your Card Envelope Gift:
- Cast On: Using the long tail cast-on method, cast on 20 stitches. Leave a tail of approximately 10 inches – this extra yarn will be used for seaming your card envelope gift later.
- Knit Every Row (Garter Stitch): Knit every stitch of every row. This creates the simple garter stitch, perfect for beginners and gives a lovely textured look to your card envelope gift.
- Rows 1 – 40 (or until square): Continue knitting every row until your piece measures approximately 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches, forming a square. It’s okay if it’s not perfectly square – handmade charm is part of the appeal of this card envelope gift!
- Cast Off: Cast off all stitches, leaving another long tail of yarn for sewing the envelope shape of your card envelope gift.
You should now have a knitted square, ready to be transformed into a delightful card envelope gift. Don’t worry if your tension isn’t perfect; the slightly rustic look adds to the handmade charm. Now, let’s fold and shape your knitted square into an envelope!
Take the yarn tail from where you cast off and thread it through the yarn needle. Bring the yarn through to the opposite corner of your knitted square, as shown in the picture. This starts the folding process for your card envelope gift.
Next, take the bottom corner of your square and fold it upwards, bringing it towards the center of the square. This is shaping the base of your card envelope gift.
Now, fold the top corner down to create the envelope flap. This completes the basic envelope shape of your card envelope gift.
Using your yarn needle and the long tail, sew along the two diagonal edges to secure the envelope shape. This will create a sturdy and functional card envelope gift.
Almost finished! Now we just need to add a hanger, a closure, and a button to complete your adorable card envelope gift ornament.
Adding the Finishing Touches:
- Hanger: For the hanger, you can crochet a chain (if you know how to crochet) or knit an i-cord. A simple crochet chain is easy and quick: Attach yarn to the top left corner of your envelope, and create a tight chain of about 30 stitches. Secure the end and weave in the yarn tails.
- Closure: Attach yarn at the tip of the envelope flap and create a crochet chain (or knitted i-cord) about an inch long. Secure it and weave in the ends.
- Button: Sew a button onto the front of the envelope in the corresponding position to the chain closure. This adds a decorative and functional element to your card envelope gift.
Congratulations! You’ve knitted your very own card envelope gift Christmas ornament! If this was your first knitting project, we hope you found it enjoyable and rewarding. For experienced crocheters with knitting needles tucked away, this is a fantastic way to explore a new craft and practice your tension while creating charming handmade gifts.
Explore More Beginner Knitting Projects:
- 28 Yarn Box Subscription Services for Knitters and Crocheters – Find inspiration and yarn delivered to your door!
- Knitting 101: Knitting for Beginners – Further expand your knitting knowledge.
- 4 Things You DON’T Need When Learning to Knit – Simplify your beginner knitting journey.
