Free Felt Gingerbread Ornaments Pattern and Printable Templates

By Jan Bay

Use my free felt gingerbread ornament pattern to make an adorable gingerbread family with just a few inexpensive supplies. The printable pattern includes templates for a gingerbread man, woman, and child, along with step-by-step sewing instructions to help you cut, decorate, stitch, and finish each ornament. Hang the whole family on your Christmas tree, or make individual ornaments for keepsakes, handmade gifts, package toppers, and holiday decorating.

See Supplies for This Project Here.

Supplies for Your Felt Gingerbread Family

You don't need a lot of supplies to make these little gingerbread ornaments. Most of the decorating is done with felt scraps and embroidery floss, so you can use the same materials for all three family members.

Materials for the complete set:

• Brown craft felt, approximately three 9-by-12-inch sheets
• Cream or ivory felt for the aprons and small decorations
• Deep red felt for pockets, bows, and the woman's skirt
• Small scraps of golden-yellow felt for the star cookie
• Brown, cream, white, red, black, and pink embroidery floss
• Six small red sew-on buttons, two for each ornament
• About 21 inches of narrow red ribbon for three hanging loops
• A small amount of polyester fiberfill
• Hand-sewing and embroidery needles
• Sharp scissors for cutting felt
• Washable fabric marking pen or tailor's chalk
• Printed gingerbread family cutting templates
• Straight pins or sewing clips

I'd choose medium-weight wool-blend felt if you have it. It holds the smaller shapes nicely and gives the ornaments a tidy edge. Good-quality acrylic craft felt will work, too. Just avoid felt that's so thin you can see the stuffing through it.

Stitches you'll use: Blanket stitch for the outside edges, running stitch for decorative apron stitching, backstitch for the smiles and icing, and a few small straight stitches for the cheeks and eyelashes.

If you're new to hand embroidery, DMC's illustrated embroidery stitch guide shows how to make these basic stitches. The blanket stitch and backstitch diagrams are especially helpful for this project.

A note about small decorations: These ornaments are intended for Christmas decorating, not as baby toys. The small buttons, ribbons, and other attached details should be kept out of reach of young children. Don't hang them over a crib or place them in a baby's sleep space.

Free Printable Felt Gingerbread Family Templates

The printable package includes cutting patterns for the gingerbread man, woman, and child. You only need to print the pages once, then trace the pieces onto your felt as many times as you like.

What's included in the printable:

• Page 1: Full-size adult gingerbread body pattern
• Page 2: Smaller gingerbread child body pattern
• Page 3: Adult aprons, child's apron, and woman's red underskirt
• Page 4: Felt pockets, hearts, star cookie, and bow pieces
• Page 5: Cutting and decoration placement guide

Printing instructions: Select Actual Size or 100% scale. Don't select Fit to Page. Measure the 1-inch test square on the printed sheet before cutting your felt. If the square isn't exactly one inch, correct your printer settings and print again.

The pattern outlines already include the full size of each felt piece. You don't need to add a seam allowance because the outer edges are joined with blanket stitches rather than a turned seam.

Before you start cutting, check that you have enough brown felt for two body pieces per character. The front and back must match exactly so the edges line up when you begin sewing.

Free Felt Gingerbread Ornament Pattern for the Whole Family

All three gingerbread ornaments use the same basic construction. You'll prepare the felt body, embroider the face and icing, add the clothing, and then stitch the front and back together with a little stuffing between them.

The adult ornaments share one body template. The child's pattern is smaller, but you'll make it the same way.

Finished Size and Cutting Guide

The adult gingerbread bodies are designed to finish at approximately 5.65 inches tall and 4.28 inches across their outstretched arms. The child is approximately 4.15 inches tall and 3.14 inches across.

These are expected dimensions based on the cutting outlines. Your finished ornaments may vary slightly with felt thickness, stitching tension, and stuffing.

Cut the following pieces:

• Gingerbread man: 2 adult brown bodies, 1 cream apron, 1 red pocket, 1 golden-yellow star, and 2 red bow wings
• Gingerbread woman: 2 adult brown bodies, 1 scalloped cream apron, 1 red underskirt, 1 red heart, and 2 red bow wings
• Gingerbread child: 2 small brown bodies, 1 small cream apron, 1 red pocket, and 1 small cream heart
• Also cut two narrow red strips, each 1/4 inch wide and 1 inch long, for the centers of the two bows
• Cut three pieces of red hanging ribbon, each approximately 7 inches long

Before sewing: Lay out each character's decorations on its front body piece. Compare the placement with the finished example image before attaching anything.

I recommend completing the embroidery and appliqué details before you sew the bodies together. It's much easier to hide the thread ends on the back of a single felt layer than to work around an already stuffed ornament.

Basic Sewing Measurements

• Outer blanket stitches: approximately 1/8 inch deep and 1/8 inch apart
• Decorative running stitches: approximately 1/8 inch long with 1/8-inch gaps
• Adult apron width: approximately 2.64 inches
• Child apron width: approximately 1.93 inches
• Hanging ribbon: approximately 3/8 inch wide, folded into a loop
• Stuffing: just enough to give each body gentle dimension without stretching the felt

These measurements are guides, not machine-sewing tolerances. Consistent stitching and smooth outlines matter more than making every stitch exactly identical.

How to Make the Felt Gingerbread Man Ornament

We'll start with the gingerbread man. His cream apron, red bow tie, and little golden star cookie give him a cheerful baker's look without making the pattern complicated.

Step 1: Prepare the Brown Felt Body

Place the adult body template on your brown felt. Trace around it and cut two identical shapes. Choose the smoother-looking piece for the front.

Set the back piece aside. You'll add all the embroidery and decorations to the front before joining the two pieces.

Step 2: Embroider His Face

1. Find the center of the round head. Mark two gently curved closed eyes, approximately 3/4 inch apart.
2. Place the eyes across the upper half of the face, keeping them level with one another.
3. Using two strands of dark brown or black embroidery floss, backstitch along each curved eye.
4. Draw a small upward-curving smile centered below the eyes. Backstitch it with the same floss.
5. Using two strands of pink floss, add three short stitches to each cheek.
6. Secure the thread ends on the wrong side of the front felt piece.

The closed eyes and little smile are part of the family design, so keep the expressions similar on all three ornaments. The child will have a smaller face, of course.

Step 3: Add the White Icing Details

Mark a gently wavy line across the outside end of each arm, approximately 3/8 inch inward from the rounded tip. Add another wavy line across each leg, approximately 1/2 inch above its rounded bottom edge.

Use three strands of white embroidery floss and work short backstitches along the marked lines. Keep the stitching relaxed so the felt doesn't pucker.

You can add a second pass of embroidery if you want the icing to look fuller, but don't pull the thread tightly enough to gather the felt.

Step 4: Make the Cream Apron

1. Cut the man's apron from cream felt using the printable template.
2. Cut one red pocket and one golden-yellow star.
3. Center the red pocket on the lower front of the apron. Leave enough cream felt visible around the sides and bottom for decorative stitching.
4. Use two strands of cream floss to sew the curved sides and bottom of the pocket to the apron. Leave the upper edge open.
5. Position the golden star so its lower portion sits inside the pocket and the upper points are visible above the pocket opening.
6. Secure the lower portion of the star inside the pocket with small stitches. Add a few decorative cream stitches around its exposed edges.
7. Embroider short red running stitches around the apron edges, approximately 1/8 inch inward from the cut edge.

The star should look as though your gingerbread baker has tucked a little cookie into his apron pocket. That detail is worth keeping.

Step 5: Attach the Apron and Buttons

Center the apron on the gingerbread man's torso. The straps should sit on his upper chest, just below the neck. The lower apron should cover his tummy without extending over the legs.

Pin the apron in place. Sew it to the front body with small cream stitches around its perimeter, including the straps. Keep the stitches close to the edge so the apron stays flat.

Sew one small red button at the bottom of each apron strap, where the strap meets the upper apron. Stitch through the button holes several times and knot the thread on the back of the front body piece.

Step 6: Make His Red Bow Tie

1. Take the two red felt bow wings from the printable pattern.
2. Arrange them with their narrow ends meeting at the center and their wider ends pointing outward.
3. Make a couple of small stitches through the narrow ends to hold the wings together.
4. Wrap one narrow red felt strip around the center, overlapping the ends on the back.
5. Stitch the overlapping ends together to form the bow's center band.
6. Position the completed bow immediately below his face and above the apron bib.
7. Sew the bow firmly to the brown felt body, keeping the attachment stitches hidden beneath its center band.

His front is now decorated. Check the face, icing, apron, pocket, buttons, and bow before moving on to the final assembly instructions below.

How to Make the Felt Gingerbread Woman Ornament

The gingerbread woman has the same smiling face as her companion, but her scalloped cream apron, red skirt, and little hair bow give her a different personality. You can keep the same brown felt and white icing so the two ornaments look like a matching set.

Step 1: Cut Her Body and Clothing

Using the adult gingerbread template, cut two brown felt body pieces. Cut one scalloped cream apron, one red underskirt, one red heart, and two red bow wings.

Lay the skirt and apron over the front body before sewing. The red skirt belongs underneath the cream apron, with its smooth curved lower edge showing below the apron hem.

Step 2: Embroider Her Face and Icing

1. Mark two closed, curved eyes across the upper half of the face.
2. Add two or three tiny eyelash stitches at the outside corner of each eye.
3. Embroider a smiling mouth centered beneath the eyes.
4. Add three short pink stitches to each cheek.
5. Mark a wavy white icing line across the upper forehead. Keep it below the top edge so there's room for the hanging ribbon and bow.
6. Embroider white icing lines across both arm tips and both legs, matching the man's general placement.

Use two strands of dark floss for her facial features and three strands of white floss for the icing. Work the white lines in short backstitches.

Step 3: Attach the Red Skirt

Position the red skirt across the lower torso. Its upper edge should sit beneath the apron area, and its smooth curved lower edge should extend below the cream apron by approximately 1/4 to 3/8 inch.

Stitch around the visible lower and side edges of the skirt using small red stitches. The apron will cover the skirt's upper attachment stitches.

Add short cream running stitches along the visible red skirt hem. Space them evenly across the lower edge.

Step 4: Decorate the Scalloped Apron

1. Cut the scalloped apron from cream felt.
2. Place the red heart in the center of the apron bib, below the chest and above the scalloped hem.
3. Stitch around the heart using two strands of cream embroidery floss.
4. Add red running stitches approximately 1/8 inch inside the apron edges.
5. Embroider three small red sprig-shaped decorations along the lower apron, with one centered and the other two placed evenly on either side.
6. For each sprig, make a short vertical stitch and two pairs of diagonal stitches branching outward.
7. Fasten off the embroidery floss on the wrong side of the apron.

Keep the little sprigs simple. They add interest to her apron without competing with the red heart.

Step 5: Attach Her Apron and Buttons

Lay the decorated cream apron over the red skirt, lining up the apron straps just below the neck. Make sure the red skirt hem remains visible.

Sew around the apron edges with small cream stitches. Work carefully along the scalloped bottom so every curve lies flat.

Attach one small red button at each strap junction. Sew through each button several times, then secure the thread on the wrong side of the body.

Step 6: Make Her Hair Bow

1. Arrange the two red bow wings with the narrow ends meeting in the middle.
2. Stitch the narrow ends together.
3. Wrap the remaining red center strip around the middle and stitch it closed on the back.
4. Position the bow high on the upper right side of her head, partly overlapping the forehead icing.
5. Attach it with several small hidden stitches through the center band.
6. Add a few cream straight stitches to the bow wings if you want the decorative stitching shown in the example image.

Her bow should sit off to one side rather than directly over the center of her head. That leaves the embroidered expression clearly visible.

Set the completed front aside with the man's front while you prepare the smallest family member.

How to Make the Felt Gingerbread Child Ornament

The little gingerbread child is made from a smaller body pattern, but the details are just as important. Its cream apron and tiny red pocket help it belong with the two larger ornaments without looking like an exact miniature copy.

Step 1: Cut the Child's Felt Pieces

Use the smaller gingerbread template to cut two matching brown body pieces.

Cut one cream child-sized apron, one red pocket, and one small cream heart. You'll also need two red buttons and a length of red ribbon for hanging.

Step 2: Embroider the Little Face

1. Mark two small curved closed eyes, approximately 1/2 inch apart.
2. Stitch each eye with two strands of dark brown or black embroidery floss.
3. Add a small upward-curving smile below the eyes.
4. Make two or three short pink stitches on each cheek.
5. Embroider a wavy white icing line across the forehead above the eyes.
6. Add matching icing lines to the rounded tips of the arms and legs.

The child has less room for embroidery, so shorter stitches will give you a neater result. Keep the facial features comfortably inside the round head rather than crowding them against the outer seam.

Step 3: Make the Small Apron and Pocket

1. Lay the red pocket in the center of the cream apron.
2. Stitch around the pocket's curved sides and bottom with cream embroidery floss, leaving the top open.
3. Position the small cream heart in the middle of the red pocket.
4. Attach the heart with tiny cream stitches around its edge.
5. Embroider short red running stitches around the apron border.
6. Fasten off all embroidery threads on the back of the apron.

There's no need for an elaborate decoration here. The little heart is enough to make the child's apron different from the other two.

Step 4: Attach the Apron and Buttons

Center the apron on the child's torso, with the straps sitting just below the neck.

Sew around the apron edges using small cream stitches. Make sure the apron lies flat between the arms and above the tops of the legs.

Attach one red button at each strap junction, sewing securely through the button holes and the brown felt body.

Before assembling the ornament, compare the child with the two adult fronts. All three should have matching brown felt, white icing, cheerful faces, and red-and-cream clothing details.

Now you're ready to turn the decorated fronts into finished ornaments.

How to Stuff, Stitch, and Finish Your Gingerbread Ornaments

You'll finish all three gingerbread ornaments the same way. I recommend starting with the man because his larger body is easier to handle while you're getting comfortable with the blanket stitches.

Step 1: Prepare the Hanging Ribbon

1. Cut a 7-inch length of red ribbon.
2. Fold it in half to make a hanging loop.
3. Place the two ribbon ends on the wrong side of the decorated front body piece, at the top center of the head.
4. Let approximately 1/2 inch of each ribbon end extend downward inside the felt body.
5. Separate the ribbon ends slightly and secure each one with several small stitches through the felt.
6. Keep the loop pointing upward, away from the head.

Attach the ribbon before stuffing the ornament. The ends will be hidden between the front and back layers, giving the finished decoration a cleaner appearance.

Step 2: Join the Front and Back

1. Place the undecorated brown back piece behind the finished front, with the wrong sides together.
2. Line up the head, arms, torso, and legs.
3. Use sewing clips or a few pins to hold the two layers together.
4. Thread a needle with two or three strands of brown embroidery floss.
5. Begin blanket stitching near the outer edge of one leg, working approximately 1/8 inch inward from the cut edge.
6. Continue around the lower body, arms, and head, keeping the stitches approximately 1/8 inch apart.
7. When you reach the ribbon at the top of the head, add a few extra stitches through the ribbon ends to reinforce the attachment.
8. Continue stitching around the remaining side, leaving an opening of approximately 1 inch along the outside of one leg.

Take your time around the rounded hands and feet. Shorter stitches will follow the curves more neatly than long ones.

Step 3: Add the Stuffing

Use small pinches of polyester fiberfill rather than pushing one large piece inside the ornament.

Begin by gently moving stuffing into the head. Use the blunt end of a crochet hook or a similar tool to ease a little stuffing into the arms and rounded feet. Don't use a sharp tool that could pierce the felt.

Continue filling the torso until the ornament has a lightly rounded appearance. The front should rise gently, but the back should remain fairly flat.

Check the shape before closing: The head should remain round, the arms should stay level, and the legs should not twist or bulge. If the edge stitching begins to pull apart or the felt looks stretched, remove a little stuffing.

Step 4: Close the Opening

Fold the two felt edges back into alignment and continue blanket stitching across the opening.

Join the final stitch to the first stitch so the border looks continuous. Knot the thread discreetly between the felt layers, then pass the needle through the stuffing and bring it out a short distance away. Snip the thread close to the felt so the end disappears inside.

Step 5: Final Inspection

Gently smooth the ornament with your fingers and check the following:

• The outside blanket stitches are evenly spaced and secure.
• The head, arms, and legs have retained their intended shapes.
• The ribbon loop is firmly attached.
• The buttons, bows, pockets, and appliqué details are securely sewn.
• No stuffing is escaping through the seams.
• There are no loose threads hanging from the finished ornament.

Repeat the assembly process for the gingerbread woman and child.

Once all three are finished, hang them together to check the overall balance of the set. The smaller child should look noticeably shorter than the adults, but the embroidery and clothing colors should tie the family together.

If you're giving the ornaments as gifts, a small kraft gift box or tissue-lined bag will help protect the stitching and bows.

Tips for Making and Decorating Your Gingerbread Family

You can make the family exactly as shown or change a few of the smaller details. I'd keep the basic body shapes and matching aprons, though. They give the three ornaments their coordinated look.

Keep the Icing Neat

Draw the icing lines lightly before you embroider them. Use short stitches around the curves and avoid pulling the floss too tightly. If a line looks uneven, it's easier to remove a few stitches before you add the stuffing.

Choose Coordinating Colors

The brown, cream, and deep red combination gives these gingerbread ornaments a traditional Christmas look. A little golden felt on the man's star cookie adds just enough contrast.

You could replace the red with muted green or dusty pink, but I'd use the same accent color on all three ornaments rather than giving each one a completely different palette.

Make a Larger Gingerbread Family

Want another child? Use the smaller body and apron templates again, then change the pocket decoration. A tiny felt star, heart, or embroidered initial would work without requiring another complete pattern.

For a larger family display, you could also give each child a different ribbon color while keeping the cream aprons consistent.

Use Them as Gift Decorations

These aren't just Christmas tree ornaments. Tie one onto a wrapped present, hang a pair from a decorative hook, or arrange the family on a small seasonal wall display.

If you want a garland, make several ornaments and attach their hanging loops to a separate length of ribbon. Space them far enough apart that the arms don't overlap. A garland works particularly well above a mantel or on a wall where the stitching can be seen.

Store the Ornaments Carefully

Keep the finished ornaments in a dry box between Christmas seasons. Place a little tissue paper between them so the bows, buttons, and raised decorations don't press against one another.

If they collect dust, gently brush the felt with a clean, dry brush. Avoid machine washing, which can distort the stuffing, embroidery, and appliqué pieces.

And if you have a few felt scraps left, take a look at my felt crafts and patterns for more handmade project ideas.

Felt Gingerbread Ornaments FAQ

Can I make these ornaments without a sewing machine?

Yes. The entire gingerbread family is designed for hand sewing. You'll use basic embroidery stitches and blanket stitching, so there's no need for a sewing machine.

Do I have to stuff the ornaments?

No. You can leave the bodies flat if you prefer. Just stitch the front and back together without adding fiberfill. The ornaments won't have the same rounded appearance as the example image, but the appliqué designs will still work.

What kind of felt is best?

Medium-weight wool-blend felt is a good choice because it holds its shape and has a nice finish. Quality acrylic felt is an inexpensive alternative. Avoid very thin felt that stretches or becomes transparent when stuffed.

Can I enlarge or reduce the printable pattern?

Yes, although changing the scale will also change the apron, pocket, and decoration sizes. Print every template page at the same percentage so the components remain proportional.

If you reduce the pattern substantially, consider embroidering the smallest details instead of using separate buttons or tiny appliqué shapes.

Can I use these ornaments in a baby's nursery?

They're intended as decorative Christmas crafts rather than toys. Keep them out of a baby's reach, and never attach them to a crib, bassinet, or other infant sleep surface. The buttons, ribbons, and small embellishments are not suitable for a baby to handle.

Once you've finished the whole gingerbread family, you'll have three coordinating handmade Christmas decorations from one free printable pattern. Make the set for your own tree, or sew another family to give as a Christmas gift.