Holiday Sewing Project: Gingerbread Man Table Topper
This tutorial walks you through creating a festive quilt as you go table topper using Sewing Parts Online’s exclusive gingerbread man fabric panels from the So Creative brand. The project features five small 5 inch gingerbread man squares paired with four coordinating half square triangles to form a charming holiday layout. With simple cutting, stitching, and layering, you’ll learn how to assemble the blocks, add batting and backing, and finish the edges with neatly mitered corners. This beginner friendly project is a quick, fun way to decorate for the season, and the gingerbread panels are available in several sizes, making it easy to customize your holiday creations.
Gingerbread men are such a fun and festive project. Take a look at this one, it’s a 43 inch square fabric panel printed right here at Sewing Parts Online as part of our So Creative brand. These panels come in a variety of sizes, and who can say no to a 43 inch gingerbread man? I decided to turn mine into a cute holiday project using our smaller gingerbread men panels, which measure 5 inches square. This is a quilt as you go table topper that’s adorable, simple, and perfect for the holidays.
For this project, you’ll need five 5 inch gingerbread man squares and four half square triangles. To make half square triangles that finish at 5 inches, start with 5½ inch fabric squares. Pair them up, stitch, and cut to create your HSTs. Once you have your five gingerbread men and four HSTs, lay out your design however you like. I arranged mine in a 3x3 grid, and it turned out so cute.
Next, you’ll prepare your quilt as you go foundation. Cut a piece of batting and a backing fabric. Since your sewn block layout will measure 14 inches square after accounting for seam allowances, cut your batting to 14 inches and your backing fabric to 16 inches square. I used a green print from my half square triangles for the backing because it felt festive and matched perfectly.
Now it’s time to sew. Start by joining your 5 inch squares into vertical columns rather than sewing them individually. This helps keep everything lined up. Place your first column along the left edge of the batting and backing, then layer the second column on top, right sides together, making sure the seams align. Press your seams toward the darker fabric to help them nest perfectly. Stitch along the seam, open it up, and then repeat with the remaining column. Once everything is sewn, press the entire piece flat.
With your quilt top secured, it’s time to finish the edges. Fold the outer edge of the backing fabric halfway toward the project, press, fold it over again to enclose the raw edge, and topstitch along the fold. Begin and end your topstitching just inside the batting area so the corners stay clean. For a neat finish, fold each corner up at a 45 degree angle before folding the sides, creating a beautiful mitered corner. Continue pressing and stitching each side until all four are complete.
This project is easy enough for beginners, but the results look polished and festive. The little gingerbread men make it irresistibly cute, and you can use panels in any size such as 5 inch, 9 inch, 18 inch, or even 43 inch for different holiday projects. With over 8,500 panel designs available on our website, there are endless possibilities. We’ll link to the gingerbread men panels and the fabrics used in this tutorial so you can recreate the look. Give it a try, follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and as always, happy sewing.
