Pinwheel Ponders

Illustrated Index to Tutorials and Ponderings

2010-05-18T16:01:00.082-03:00

Below, in no particular order, are thumbnail photos that will take you to my tutorials and *notes pages. To visit any page click on the photo. (Note that there is more than one photo for some of the pages.)

TUTORIALS








*NOTES

* I haven't (yet?) made step by step tutorials for the projects on the "notes" pages. Instead these pages usually include information about other sources of information, i.e. books, magazines or webpages, as well tips and hints that I have figured out through trial and error.

Pinwheel 2010 2011 and 2012

Framed Ornament Tutorial

2010-05-17T14:03:00.021-03:00

I have used card stock and fun foam (craft foam sheet) to make cross stitch fridge magnets but it recently occurred to me that I could use the same method to make cross stitch ornaments too.

Click here to view, download or print a pdf version of this tutorial.

(From Stoney Creek "Snow Happens". Stitched on 22 count hardanger)

For this ornament I use two squares of red embossed card stock and one of 2 mm thick black fun foam. (I bought some red fun foam for this but the bold black back stitching called out for the black fun foam.)

First I cut a 3 inch strip of the embossed card stock. (A quilt ruler and mat knife, or rotary cutter, really speeds up this project and make the pieces more uniform.)

Then I cut the strip into two squares.

I wanted to cut a 2 inch square from the center of one of the red squares. I drew a line 2 1/2 inches from each edge ...

...then used a mat knife to cut out the square.

I checked the square against the stitched piece...

...then trimmed the stitched piece to a 2 1/2 inch square. (Halfway between the two inch opening and the three inch frame.)

Next I applied some glue stick to the back of the card stock frame ...

...flipped it over and centered the opening over the stitched piece. (I like to use glue stick for this step because it allows me to reposition the stitched piece until I am satisfied that it is well centered.) When it was well centered I pressed the card stock firmly against the fabric.

Because I didn't want the black fun foam to show through the white fabric I covered the back of the stitched piece with a piece of white acid free paper. (When I have used black fun foam under black fabric I sometimes use black paper.) I cut the paper just a little bigger than the fabric square, applied some glue stick to the edges of the paper ...

...and pressed it in place over the fabric.

Then I applied double sided tape to all four edges of the frame/ paper. (I like to use double sided tape for this step because it adheres right up to the edge and, unlike glue, I don't have to worry about it oozing out the sides.) I pressed the tape firmly to the surfaces and then removed the backing paper from the tape.

Next I carefully placed the frame and fabric tape side down onto one corner of my fun foam, making sure that the two edges lined up perfectly. When I was satisfied I pressed the frame to the foam with gentle pressure on all four edges.

Then I cut the foam so that it exactly conformed to the other two edges. I used scissors but someone braver than I am might use a mat knife. (To get a nice smooth straight edge with scissors open them all the way and make one long cut instead of opening and closing the them repeatedly.)

Next I added the hanger string. (For this ornament I used a piece of black Perle cotton but metallic thread or narrow ribbon would also be good choice.) For square ornaments I don't try to get the hanger perfectly centered. I usually place the hanger about 1/3 of the way across the top of the ornament so that it will hang at a jaunty angle. I fastened the hanger to the back of the fun foam with a bit of quick drying glue, but a bit of double sided tape would have worked just as well.

I applied the double sided tape to the four edges of the second piece of card stock, pressed it firmly in place and removed the backing paper.

Then I carefully laid the second square of embossed card stock on the fun foam. It is very important to take this step slowly because once the tape contacts the fun foam it is difficult to lift it without damaging the card stock. To make sure that the card stock fit properly on the fun foam I lined up one corner perfectly and then carefully lined up the opposite corner. When I was satisfied I pressed all edges of the card stock against the fun foam. (If I had any talent for design I would have stitched something like "There's no people like Snow People" and framed that for the back. Maybe I could just get it printed on some nice paper and frame that instead...)

Corner view.

Finally, to improve the contact between the tape and the other surfaces, I laid the ornament face down on a piece of felt over a flat surface and placed a heavy book on top of it. After a couple of hours it was ready to wrap or display.

When I have all the materials and equipment assembled in advance, and I'm not taking photos, I can put one of these ornaments/ magnets together in about 20 minutes.

Variations on the theme

1) I believe that a crafty person who is well equipped with things like circle cutters or a die cut machine could take this finish in some interesting directions.

2) A very similar finish could be crafted with two pieces of mat board.

3) The hanging thread could pierce the ornament and then be threaded through a button or sequin star or snowflake or other embellishment.

4) Or ...

Click here to view, download or print a pdf version of this tutorial.

Pinwheel 2010

Flat finishes

2010-05-14T08:43:00.009-03:00

Flat finishes are ideal for bookmarks and gift tags but they make very nice ornaments as well. The basic idea is to finish the back of the project with the same fabric as on the front of the ornament and to sew the two layers together. One thing I really like about this finish is that usually everything I need, ie. fabric, needle, thread and scissors, is already in my project box. I can finish stitching the design and start finishing the project immediately. For this reason they make handy portable projects.

There are a variety of stitches that can be used for this but a running stitch, double running stitch, satin stitch or blanket stitch are the simplest. (Diagonal stitches and cross stitches are possible but they take a bit of planning to get them to work out with too much fudging in the corners.)

Though I call these finishes flat finishes when one is making an ornament one can choose to add something to the middle to give it a bit of thickness. One could also add some non woven interfacing to the middle for extra stiffness and to make the back of the stitching less visible through back of the project.

On this page I will describe how I made the ornament and bookmark shown below.

To see how I made the two banner ornaments below click on the photo.

(This variation is on that page as well.)

To see how I made the three bound ornaments below click on the photo.

Running Stitch Ornament

(Lion and Lamb from "Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

First I figured out where I wanted my running stitches. Often this is just a matter of figuring out that I want to be so many "threads" (or sets of threads for hardanger or aida fabric) away from the outside edge of the stitching (2 or 3 or ...) but this time I wanted to make a rectangular design into a square ornament so I used a long basting stitches to mark a square. Then I decided how much fabric I wanted to show outside the running stitch. I chose 13 "threads" and cut away the excess fabric.

To give the ornament a little thickness I cut a square of 2 mm thick fun foam (craft foam sheet) approx. 1/4" smaller than the square I was about to stitch on the ornament. (One can use felt or card stock but I like to use fun foam because it adds a little soft thickness and helps the ornament keep its shape but it can't be creased.) Then I cut a piece of fabric for the back. Usually I cut it the exact size as the front piece but for this tutorial I cut it a little larger so it would be visible in the pictures. (Note, it is a good idea to get in the habit of making sure that both pieces of fabric are cut in the same direction from your larger piece of fabric as sometimes the fabric can have slightly more or less threads per inch horizontally then vertically.)

Next I stacked the two pieces of fabric and basted a temporary line of stitching through both layers of fabric. For each stitch I was careful to poke through the "same" hole in both pieces of fabric. By this I mean that for the front and the back I poked the needle in the center of the hole and I made sure that each stitch followed the thread of the fabric and was the same number of stitches long. Flipping the fabric from front to back is tedious but necessary.

Then I was ready to stitch the two pieces of fabric together. I usually start at a corner but this time I started in the middle and left a tail of thread so that I would be able to make a bow with the ends. In the row below my basting stitch I went down through the top fabric and made sure that it hit the corresponding hole in the backing fabric. I brought my thread up two "threads" to the right making sure that I hit the corresponding hole in my top fabric. I continued on in this matter...

...until I had just one full edge left to sew. I slid the fun foam between the two pieces of fabric...

... and continued on until I was back at the beginning. (If I had been making more of a puffy pillow I would have left a smaller gap and poked in the fibrefill before I finished the seam.)

After I trimmed the back fabric to match the front fabric I removed (frayed) two sets of threads from all edges of the two pieces of fabric, tied my red thread into a bow and added a hanger thread. Then I used a toothpick to put a spot of glue on the knot of the bow.

Double Running Stitch Bookmark

(Bookmark adapted from Victorian Cross Stitch Border
http://www.cross-stitch.co/flowers/victorian-cross-stitch.html
Stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

Unlike the Lion and Lamb project this bookmark also has a design stitched on the back so I had to be a little fussier about getting the two pieces of fabric lined up. (Note I stitched this bookmark in a mat (frame) made from a greeting card. I left it in the mat while I stitched the two pieces together. See this blog page about stitching in a mat.)

I knew that I wanted to have the lines of double running stitch four sets of threads outside of my green border so I temporarily basted the two pieces together two stitches outside the blue border. As with the Lion and Lamb ornament I was careful that each stitch was centered on the hole and corresponded with the same spot of both pieces of fabric.

Front

Back

This time I basted all the way around the bookmark.

Front

Back

I began to stitch the ornament together at one corner. For each stitch I flipped the bookmark over and made sure that the needle was poking though the correct hole of both pieces of fabric.

Front

Back

When I reached the starting point ...

...I reversed direction so that I filled in the blanks left by the previous running stitch. (Double running stitch.)

When I had completed the stitching I removed the fabric from the frame. I counted out 6 sets of threads from the double running stitch and cut along that thread for all edges of both pieces of fabric.

Then I frayed two sets of threads from each edge of both pieces of fabric.

Click here to continue to the page on banner ornaments.

Click here to continue to that page about bound ornaments.

Pinwheel 2010

Bound Ornaments

2010-05-12T14:07:00.019-03:00

This page is the third blog page about flat ornaments. To view the first page click here.

To make flat ornaments with a bound edge one can use a satin stitch or a blanket stitch.

Blanket Stitch Gift Tag

For the blanket stitch (or buttonhole stitch) finish I started with two pieces of fabric, the stitched piece and the backing piece. The pieces should be bigger than the desired size of the finished ornament. (I cut mine a little smaller than I should have but it wasn't a problem until the very end.)

(Seraphina goes Skating adapted from DMC Seraphina Occasions. Stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

I temporarily basted the two pieces together, making sure that the needle went into the very center of the holes, that the thread followed the grain of the fabric and covered the same number of threads on the front as on the back.

Then using DMC Perle #12 I began to blanket stitch the two pieces of fabric together. As with the running stitch finishes I needed to flip it over every stitch and check that the needle was poking through the second layer of fabric in the correct hole. This was a very slow process...

... but eventually I had gone all the way around the square.

At this point I could have chosen to just trim and fray the edges but for this tutorial I chose to cut away the two layers of fabric. To make it easier to cut close to the blanket stitches I like to remove the threads just outside the blanket stitches. I don't think that this can be done with aida fabric but for small projects on even weave fabrics one can just insert a needle under the center of the thread and pull it out. For this 22 count fabric I had to cut the threads about every inch or so and ease the segments out with a needle...

...until I had removed the whole line of threads.

I repeated this for all four sides of both pieces of fabric. Then I was ready to cut away the excess fabric. (This was when I wished that I had cut my fabric larger because I had so little to hold on to.) I cut the backing fabric first. To do so I slid the scissors between the two layers of fabric, poked the point of the scissors to the surface (not shown on photograph) and slid the scissors sideways towards the buttonhole stitches. Then I cut away the excess fabric.

When it came time to cut away the front fabric I kept the back side of the tag face up. Again I brought the point of the scissors to the surface and slid the scissors sideways toward the buttonhole stitches before I cut away the excess.

When all of the excess was cut away the tag looked like this.

Once I added the hanging thread the tag was complete.

It is very time consuming to blanket stitch though two layer of fabric. Sometimes I choose to just stitch through one layer then sew or adhere the stitched piece to wide ribbon or mat board instead. For this angel I used a satin stitch through one layer of fabric, cut it out and adhered it to a sandwich of mulberry paper and card stock. I only used a small amount of glue on the back of the satin stitches.

(From Sam Hawkins' "520 Christmas Cross Stitch Designs". Stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

But sometimes blanket stitching through the two layers of fabric does seem to be worth the extra time and effort. Here are some notes on how I stitched Emie Bishop's "Christmas In My Heart 2000" as a reversible ornament. (I wish that I had taken more photos of the process.) I stitched it on 36 count linen using single strands of floss and DMC Perle #12.

First I stitched the front of the design, except I only did the cross stitching, the eyelets and the satin stitches inside the eyelets.

Then I stitched a piece for the back that only had the eyelets and the satin stitches inside the eyelets.

Then I basted the two pieces together. Because I wanted the the two layers to exactly match up when I stitched them together I basted a line up the center, through the eyelets and then I basted around the outside of the heart. I knew that the blanket stitches were going to cover four threads beyond the eyelets so I placed each basting stitch five threads (vertically and horizontally) from the outside corner of each eyelet.

When the basting was complete it looked like the two photos below.

Then I stitched the blanket stitch through both layers of fabric.

Finally I stitched the satin stitches for the inside of the heart. I didn't have any thread fine enough to do a nice job on the woven bars and dove's eye (on 36 count fabric) so I decided that I would instead create a sort of pulled thread heart. For the inside heart I cut all of the the threads from the back layer of fabric. ie. I removed the whole heart. Then I cut the alternating pattern of four threads from the front fabric. (Cut four and leave four.)

To cut out the outside heart I used the same sequence I used for the ornament at the top of this page. (First I cut all the fabric away from the back layer and then I cut all the fabric away from the front layer. To give my scissors more room to work I removed the thread that was closest to each line of blanket stitches. And for both layers I like to have the back side of the ornament facing up when I cut.)

Click here to view, print or download a pdf of these notes about making this reversible hardanger heart.

Pinwheel 2010

Banner Ornaments

2010-05-12T13:28:00.019-03:00

("And Even a Mouse" by Lori Birmingham, stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

This page is the second blog page about flat ornamenets. To view the first page click here.

To make a banner using my flat ornament method I use a piece of fabric twice as long as my finished banner. I stitch the front of the ornament on one end and the back of the ornament, if any, on the other end. After I fold the fabric in half I can use a running stitch, or a double running stitch, to make a box around the design. The area between the top line of stitching and the fold of fabric leaves a slot for a dowel or cord.

For this banner I decided to stitch a running stitch 5 "threads" from the top, bottom and sides of the design on the front. I began in the bottom corner and stitched over two and under two. I flipped the fabric for each stitch to make sure that the needle was centered in the correct hole.

When I had stitched all four sides it looked like this...

...and this.

I removed two "threads" from each edge. (For 22 count hardanger actually means 4 threads.)

Slipped a piece of satin rat tail cord in the slot...

... and slip stitched the ends together.

Then I rotated the ends into the slot.

Banner Ornament Variation #1

For this ornament I already had rectangles as part of the design so I decided that I just wanted to add a line of stitching on the bottom and sides. To keep the continuity of the line I stitched lines of double running stitch along where the slot would be.

(Michael Powell Christmas Tree, download available to members at http://www.michaelpowellart.co.uk Stitched on 22 count hardanger.)

Then I folded the fabric and began to sew the running stitch down one side...

...along the bottom and up the other side. When I reached the stitching at the top I reversed direction and filled in the running stitching (double running stitch) ...

... down the side, along the bottom and back to the beginning. I frayed two "threads" from the bottom and sides. I threaded a piece of stain rat tail into through the slot, slip stitched the ends together...

...and rotated it so the ends were inside the slot.

Banner Ornament Variation #2 (Bunny Banner Redux)

I wasn't completely satisfied with the running stitches on the Bunny Banner because they looked a bit anemic. I knew that I didn't want to punch it up with a double running stitch nor did I want to use a darker floss. I considered using two lines of running stitches and then I came up with a better plan.

I decided to use the same colour of thread but I used DMC Perle #12 and a satin stitch instead. (Two strands of floss would have worked too.) I left the running stitches in place as basting, though normally if I am going use basting stitches I don't place them where they will be covered up. I coped this time by removing them every inch or so.

I began by slipping the needle from the front of the fabric between the two layers to the starting point. This long stitch of thread was positioned so that it would be covered by the first stitches. I always like to start with my first stitch on the front and beginning on the inside of the project. (This is more important when I am making a bound ornament because I will be cutting the fabric right against the satin stitch.)

I began to make satin stitches, passing the needle through both layers of fabric and making sure that it passed through the center of the hole on both. After I had made a few stitches ...

...I tugged the thread end a little bit and cut it close to the fabric so that it disappeared under the fabric.

I continued stitching until I reached the end of the thread. I like to make the last stitch on the back of the fabric. I slipped the needle in the hole but I only passed through the top layer of fabric. I tunneled back in the direction I had just stitched and emerged between the stitches, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches away.

I gave a gentle tug on the thread, cut it close to the stitches and watched it pop under the stitches. I began the next thread the same way that I did the first, on the top side and towards the inside of the project.

I continued on this manner, removing the basting stitches about every inch or so, until I was finished.

Note: When using a satin stitch the back will appear slightly different than the front because the stitches are on a slight slant.

I think this is less noticeable when the corners are all stitched, but I chose not to do that for this project. This is what it could have looked like if I had chosen to stitch the corners.

Front

Back

If I had been going to make a bound ornament I would have stitched the corners so that I could cut the fabric right to the stitching.

Click here to continue to the page about bound ornaments.

Another note: If I had wanted the satin stitches to look exactly the same on the front and back of the ornament I could have stitched satin stitch "frames" on both the front and back of the ornament, before I folded it half. Then I could have used a thread that matched the fabric and running stitched around the box. If I had used a satin stitch on both sides and then sewed the two pieces together with a running stitch, it would look like this...

And if I had continue around a second time to make a double running stitch it would have looked like this...

Using this method one could choose to use another specialty stitch, such as four sided stitch, double herringbone stitch, long arm cross stitch or Montenegrin stitch to "frame" the ornament and then sew the front and back together with a thread that matches the fabric.

Pinwheel 2010

Three Sided Ornament Tutorial

2010-04-21T20:39:00.044-03:00

I stitched this wee ornament just so I could take some step by step assembly pictures. Once again I adapted the Pelin Tezer design (see this earlier blog entry) but this time I used Ice Blue 25 count fabric. (Thanks Barb!) When the ornament was complete I looked at the pictures I had taken and said "Why don't I have a picture of that step." As usual I will try to compensate for the missing photos by using too many words.

(P.S. In November 2010 I posted a some notes for a similar three sided ornament. Those notes may illustrate some of the steps that weren't well illustrated on this tutorial.)

On to the tutorial...

Click here to view, download or print a pdf version of this tutorial.

After I had stitched the design three times I cut three leaf shapes from white card stock and marked the centers of the card stock pieces with a pin hole. (For adjustable templates for leaf shapes, also known as lens shapes, see my Lens Template page.) Then I applied some glue (glue stick or Fabric Tac are good choices for this) to the card stock pieces and laid them sticky side down on some white felt. When the glue was dry I cut the felt around the card stock shapes.

I laid one of the stitched pieces face down on my work surface. I poked a pin through the pin hole of the card stock and into the center of the stitched piece. With the points of the card stock shape lined up with the center line of the stitched piece I cut around the fabric, approx. 3/8" (or 1 cm.) from the card stock shapes. (This would have been easier if I basted the center lines on the stitched piece. See the bottom of the page.)

I used pins to mark a spot on the center line of the stitched piece that was just above the points of the card stock. (Which I wouldn't have had to do if I had marked the center line with a running stitch.)

Keeping the points of the card stock lined up with the pin marks ...

...I folded the fabric over the card stock shape at the widest point and secured it to the card stock with dots of Fabric Tac glue. (I think double sided tape would have worked well too.)

Still keeping the points of the card stock lined up with the pin marks I used a tooth pick dipped in Fabric Tac glue to gradually glue one fabric edge, from the center up towards the point. I repeated for the other edges, gently pulling the edges of the fabric towards the center to keep the fabric taut on the card stock. When I removed the pins it looked like this.

(If you don't have fast drying glue lacing the fabric edges from side to side is another good way to keep it taut.)

To keep the fabric at the points snug against the card stock I hand sewed a seam where the two sides of the fabric met. (Though I was able to push this seam allowance out of the way when I later assembled the ornament I think that next time I may press the fold down against the seam so that I won't have to wrestle with it. Or I may get braver about cutting away the excess fabric.)

Then I repeated the above steps for the other two stitched pieces.

When I sew these shapes together I like to start in the middle and use one long thread to sew all three seams. (Then I don't have to worry about a knot pulling loose or putting too much stress on the fabric.) However when there are three sections to the ornament this means that I finish up at one of the points of the ornament with no way to get back to the middle. I solve this by leaving a thread tail long enough to take me to the end. (If you get lost following the directions that follow have a look at the tutorial on this page. Though the shapes are a bit different the construction order is the same and I think I did a better job with the illustrations.)

So, starting with a thread that was about 18 inches long I sewed a short stitch at the center of one side of a leaf and another short stitch in the center of one side of the second leaf.

(I like to make the stitches near the inside of the ornament, closer to the card stock instead of the top of the felt, so that the the seam creates a furrow between the two leaves.)

I pulled the thread through but left a tail about 5 inches long. I knotted the two ends of the thread together ...

... and pulled the two stitched pieces together.

Using the short end of the thread I sewed towards one point. Again I made my stitches toward the inside in order to create a furrow. (I usually use a ladder stitch to assemble this type of ornament but I did stitch one section with a slip stitch so I could see if the cording covers that type of seam as well. It did.)

When I reached the point of the leaf I left the thread to finish later. I used the other end of the thread to sew towards the other point. When I reached the point of the leaf I passed the needle and thread under the fabric to the other side of the leaf so that it was ready to sew on the third leaf. Because the first section (leaf) was under the second I couldn't lay the third flat under it. To keep the seam nice and tight I laid the third section against the second so that their points were sided by side and sewed the first half inch or so this way.

Then I pushed on the two points of the ornament to separate the first and second sections. I curved the third between them so I could stitch the rest of that seam. At the point I tunnelled the needle under the fabric to reach the one remaining seam. (If I felt that the points were not sufficiently close together I would have tunnelled the needle under the points of the two other sections and gently pulled them together.) Then I sewed the last seam. When I reached the points I tunnelled the needle under the fabric of all three points a few times to draw the points together and to secure the thread. (This is better is better illustrated on the other three sided ornament tutorial.) Then I tunnelled the needle under one of the stitched pieces and brought it up about one inch away from the point. I pulled on it a bit and cut the thread close to the surface of the fabric so the end popped back under the fabric.

I used the same steps to finish the thread at the other end.

Then I was ready to make the cording. For the cording I used 4 lengths of 6 strand floss. I wanted to twist about 6 inches of cording for each seam and tassel but I added one inch for "shrinkage". I measured out 56 inches of 6 strand floss (4 lengths times seven inches times 2) and added a little more (for the knot) before I cut it. I knotted the ends together, made the loop into a figure eight and folded it in half.

I inserted a bamboo skewer (a knitting needle works well too) through the loop near the knot and clipped a pen at the other end of the loop. (I sometimes use an electric mixer to make cording but it wasn't worth the trip to the kitchen for just three short pieces.)

I put the two ends of the skewer under my two feet, held the pen upside down, pulled the threads tight and began to twist. After I had twisted the pen about 50 times the thread wanted to double up when I eased the pen toward the skewer. I pulled the pen up again and gave it 10 more twists for good measure. Carefully holding the center of the twisted thread with one hand I brought the clip of the pen down to the skewer. Only then did I allow the thread to twist on itself. With a bit of tugging and twisting it looked soon like this:

To keep the cording from untwisting too much I replaced the skewer and pen clip with a safety pin. (A paper clip works well too.) I repeated this procedure to make two more pieces of twisted cord.

Next I twisted a single strand of floss to make a corded thread for the ornament hanger. (I tied one end to the skewer but I just used my fingers to twist the thread.)

I threaded the hanger thread through a tapestry needle and threaded the tapestry needle through the loops at the folded ends of the three pieces of twisted cord.

I adjusted the hanger thread so that it was centered on the loops and made a knot to draw them together.

To keep the hanging thread more to the center of the ornament I threaded the two ends into the tapestry needle and threaded the needle up between the three looped ends. I removed the needle and tied the two ends of the hanger thread together.

Then I was ready to attach the cording to the ornament. I stuck a pin down the hole where I had just threaded the hanger thread and pushed the pin into one end of the ornament.

Moving the three pieces of cording out of the way I used a toothpick to apply a small amount of white glue to about the top inch of one furrow between two of the ornament sections.

I gave one piece of cording a little twist to tighten it up, pressed it into the glue and stuck a pin through the cording and into the furrow little below where the glue ended. Any excess glue that showed around the cording was removed with with a clean toothpick. I repeated this procedure for the other two pieces of twisted cord and left it to dry.

When I returned I removed the pins then used a toothpick, white glue, and pins to attach about another inch of cording to the three furrows. (I didn't forget to give the cording a little twist before I pressed it into the glue.) Again I removed any excess glue and left it to dry.

When I returned I again removed the pins and used a toothpick, white glue, an extra twist and pins to attach the twisted cords to the furrows right down to the bottom point of the ornament. I checked for excess glue and left it to dry.

Finally I was ready to make the tassel. I took a 20 inches of a single strand of floss, folded it in half and passed the ends through the loop to make a circle.

I removed the pins, threaded the ends of the three cords through the circle of thread and lifted the circle up snug against the bottom of the ornament. I pulled the circle tight, making sure that it was well centered on the bottom of the ornament and that all the cords were flat against the ornament.

Next I wrapped the two ends of the thread around and around the three cords until I had about four inches of thread left. I threaded the ends of the threads into a tapestry needle, inserted the end of the needle above the wraps and pushed it towards the center of the three cords.

I cut the loops at the safety pins...

...cut off the knots and gently untwisted the threads.

I used a clean moist face cloth to dampen the threads and then straightened them with a wide tooth comb. When they were straight and smooth I used a ruler and rotary cutter to cut the ends off straight and even.

(Though, as usual, the angle of the photo makes them look anything but!)

Click here to view, download or print a pdf version of this tutorial.

As I mentioned above it would have been easier to keep this ornament centered while cutting and folding if I had marked the center lines of stitched piece and the cardstock.

Pinwheel 2010

Flexi-hoop Tutorial

2010-04-12T15:30:00.015-03:00

Many years ago I made many of these ornaments. These days the flexi-hoops are harder to find but I was recently asked how I assembled my flexi-hoop ornaments. So I stitched and assembled one and prepared this tutorial.

Designs from Bundle of Bears by Vermillion Stitchery. Stitched on 22 count hardanger.

Click here to view, print or download a pdf of this tutorial.

First I laid the inside ring over my stitched fabric and shifted it around until I had the design centered the way I want it. (Mostly I tried to keep the space between the outside reaches of the design and the inside of ring fairly similar all the way around.) I used 4 pins to mark the top, bottom and sides of the outside of the ring. Then I use a needle and thread to remark these spots.

I centered the fabric over the ring and placed the flexible hoop over the fabric. I was careful that the four spots marked with the thread were just inside the flexible hoop and that the fabric was not pulled out of square. When I was satisfied I set it aside for a few minutes.

When I took the ring off again the fabric has developed a nice crease and I removed the thread.

Then I assembled the back of the ornament. For this I usually use card stock and some thermolam (or baby fleece) fabric. Often I just use a blank piece of card stock but this time I chose to use the inside of a greeting card. (See this blog page for some other possibilities I discovered in my greeting card stash.) I centered the inside ring over the card stock and traced around the ring.

I cut out the card stock circle and used it as a pattern to cut out the white fleece.

I used a glue stick to adhere the fleece to the back of my card stock circle. I then made a stack consisting of the ring, the card stock, the fleece and the stitched fabric. At this point I checked to make sure that the top of the card stock verse "agreed" with the top of the stitched design.

Then I fixed everything in place with a wide white elastic. (I save the elastics from broccoli and cut them into two narrower elastics.) I never seem to have enough fingers at this stage of the process but eventually the fabric was flat and centered and the elastic was too.

Next I used sharp scissors to cut the fabric snug against back edge of the ring.

To keep the edges from fraying, and the elastic band from shifting, I covered the elastic with a round of masking tape. (Though the ornaments I made 14 years ago have not shown any signs of damage I will recommend that you use an acid free tape.) I lined one edge of the tape against the front edge of the elastic and wrapped it around. Then I cut the tape close against the back edge of the ring and pressed it into the contour of the ring.

Finally I was ready to install the flexi-hoop over the rest of the ornament. To keep things lined up and snug I always install it from the front. I start with the top of the hoop and ease it down both side until it is all in place. At this point I usually dig into my ribbon box for something to garnish the hanger.

This is the back view.

Click here to view, print or download a pdf of this tutorial.

Pinwheel 2010

Three Sided Ornament on Blue

2010-03-30T11:59:00.020-03:00

Adapted from a Pelin Tezer complimentary design that can be found near the bottom of this page. Stitched with B5200 on 22 count hardanger. The coverage wasn't as good as I had hoped so the stitching isn't as bright white as I had envisioned. However, I'm very happy about the finishing so I'm now on the hunt for samples of higher count blue fabrics, or thicker thread, to experiment with.

This ornament was inspired by a redwork one I found on lovebiser blog. The blog page is not in English but she has lots of step by step photos. She assembles her ornament by sewing the pieces right side together and then she turns it right side out, stuffs it with polyfil and slip stitches it shut. I assembled this one by mounting the three pieces over card stock and felt then ladder stitching them together.

I didn't have access to a camera the day I put this ornament together and I was too impatient to wait for one. However I did make a tutorial of the next three sided ornament I assembled. Three sided ornament tutorial.

While I was stitching this ornament I had a eureka moment (an eureka moment?) about applying the cording in such away that I didn't have to worry about fraying ends. I made three pieces of cording and ran the hanger thread through the center of the three loops at the folded end. I parked this point at the top of the ornament and, using a toothpick, I applied a tiny line of glue along three seams of the ornament. I glued the cording over the seams.

When the glue was dry I bound the three cords together, snug against the bottom of the ornament.

Then I shook and combed the ends of the cording into a tassel and cut them to length.

I'd like to do an ornament like this and use a crocheted or tatted edging at the seams. I'm thinking I might even be able to use the crochet to "sew" the three pieces together. I don't think I would do it for gift ornaments though because the ornament would have to be carefully stored to keep the edging from becoming wrinkled. Or maybe I should apply edging flat on the ornament so that it frames the stitching on all three sides and meets at the seams...

Pinwheel 2010

Cross stitch on black

2010-03-27T16:55:00.005-03:00

(For detailed information on any of these projects click on the image and you will be transported to my online album.)

I have stitched 20 small projects on black and none of them were designed to be stitched on dark fabric. The results have sometimes been disappointing. Often I find that large areas of light colours can appear grey. In "Cross Stitch Flowers" Jayne Netley Mayhew recommends that when one chooses to stitch projects that have been designed for light fabric on dark fabric that they should either use a slightly higher count fabric or more strands of floss. I have also achieved better results by choosing threads that are one shade darker than the suggested thread.

Additionally I find that I have to be aware that very dark colours adjacent to the black fabric sometimes disappear into the background. When stitching on black fabric thead of medium hues, especially jewel tones, are usually the safest bet.

Take for example these two ornament prototypes. Both were stitched from the same EMS "Christmas Greeting" design with the same threads on 22 count. The jewel colours look good on black and the greens look okay but the white and beige flowers become quite drab and grey.

Pinwheel 2010

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2010-01-22T13:28:00.002-04:00

Here is a "contact sheet" view of most of the cross stitch ornaments that I have made since 1989. Some have been stitched only once or twice but others have been stitched 20 or more times. If you want more information on them you can visit my flickr cross stitch album then click on the individual pictures.

Pinwheel 2009 and 2010

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2010-01-14T20:40:00.002-04:00

Playing with YoYos

2009-12-15T12:05:00.005-04:00

I started these two balls way back in the summer but I finally had time to finish them with the buttons I bought in November. An interesting bit about the gold buttons. I bought three cards and they all had the same stock number on them. It was only when I had them off the card and handled them that I discovered that one card held metal buttons and the other two had plastic buttons.

My tutorial for these YoYo Ball Ornaments can be found on the following page,

http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com/2009/08/yoyo-pomander-yo-yo-ball-ornament.html

I also had a new inspiration and decided to make a wee wreath with 6 hexagonal yoyos. Alas, I had only one red button of the right size but the white ones looked better than I thought they would. I may or may not change the buttons after my next trip to the "button store".

As I was stitching this I was thinking, "What (on earth) will I do with this?" It is too big for an ornament and too small to use as a wreath. Once it was done I found the perfect spot for it. I have it on the door from my kitchen to the hall. Now I'm thinking I should make two more for the doors from the hall to the living room. (Which would make the white buttons look very intentional since the banister in the hall will be decorated with greenery and white bows.)

The tutorial for hexagonal yoyos can be found at:

Polka Dot Pineapple tutorial for folded hexagon yo-yo

My blog page about my other hexangonal yoyo projects can be found at,

http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com/2009/08/yo-yo-variation-hexagon.html

Pinwheel 2009

Birdhouse Ornament Variation

2009-11-29T18:06:00.012-04:00

(The tutorial for the original birdhouse ornament is on this blog page.)

For this variation I replaced the ribbon trim under the roof overhangs with pieces of off-white mat board.

I also used 3/4 inch wide green grosgrain ribbon to replace the mat board on the sides and base.

The grosgrain I used was very heavy and stiff so it did not reveal the contours of the fabric below.

However, if I was to make another ornament this way I would cut the fabric, that covers the side walls, a little differently. When I glued the fabric to the side walls it looked something like this. (The areas indicated with the black triangles were not covered by fabric.)

That is because I had cut the fabric straight across the bottom and straight down the roof slope. I would have had better coverage if I had cut the fabric as indicated by the pink lines in the illustration below. Then the fabric would have completely covered the side walls. I might even have had a bit to trim from the top and bottom.

If I make another ornament like this one I will also cut a small rectangle of off-white mat board and insert it under the roof edge, between the ends of the two trim pieces. (The grey coloured area on the right side of this illustration.)

Pinwheel 2009

Birdhouse Ornament

2009-11-28T14:37:00.029-04:00

Click here to view, print or download a pdf of this tutorial.

Materials Used :

* Two stitched pieces of fabric
(I used designs from Dimensions "Friends Gather Banner" kit.)
* One block of wood - 3/4" thick
* Scraps of mat board
(I used pieces cut from a Dollar store photo mat. I think that it is a little thinner, and easier to cut, than the mat board used by a professional framer.)
* Approx. 16 inches of 1/4 inch wide Ribbon.
(I used the stiff ribbon that one might use for a corsage because it is more resistant to fraying. If none had been available I would have used regular ribbon and treated the one exposed end with Fray Check.)
* Approx. 7 inches of strong but not too thick thread for hanger
(I used DMC Pearl #12.)

Assembly

These are the dimensions for the house shaped block that gave shape to my birdhouse. I cut mine from a 3/4 inch thick block of wood but one could use three pieces of 1/4 inch thick foam core or a 3/4 inch thick piece of styrofoam. (One could make a thicker or thinner birdhouse but you would have to add or subtract the difference to the width of the mat board pieces.)

To mark my wood block I stuck a big sharp needle through the pattern at the corners. Then I removed the pattern, drew lines between the points and cut the wood along the lines.

These are the dimensions I used for the mat boards. I cut a 1-1/4 inch wide strip of blue mat board and then cut the strip into three piece each 2-1/4 inch long. These pieces were for the roofs and base. Then I cut a 3/4 inch strip from off-white mat board. This strip was for the side walls.

I have been told that one should not leave stitched fabric in contact with unfinished wood. The wood should be covered with paint, sealer, fabric or acid free paper. I used paper, but it is just a personal preference. To quickly cover the block with paper I glued the house to a square of paper and let it dry paper side down. (I used decoupage medium but an acid free glue stick would work just as well.) I didn't need uniform coverage, but I made sure I had good coverage at the edges. When the glue was dry I cut around the block. To make it easier to see the edge and get nice and close I held the block paper side down. Then I repeated the process to cover the other side.

To cover the edges of the block I used a strip of paper 3/4 inches wide and some more decoupage medium.

Next I marked my fabric pieces. I cut out the pattern and placed the hole over the stitched piece. I moved it around until I had it centered the way I wanted it. (Remembering that the 1/4 inch ribbon would be covering the top and bottom edges.) I used a running stitch to mark the center line of the gable and pins to mark the line for the bottom, but one could use all pins, or even pieces of tape. When I lifted the pattern I cut the fabric along the line for the bottom, following the threads of the fabric.

Then I applied glue to the top and bottom edges on one side of the wood block. I was careful to apply the glue within 1/4 inch of the edge and to not use an excessive amount that would seep into the fabric. I used Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper Glue, but an acid free glue stick would work well too.

Next I positioned the fabric over the block so that the bottom of the fabric met the bottom of the block and the center line of the fabric passed over the peak of the roof gable. Then I pressed the edges of the fabric against the block at the bottom and roof edges. (I advise using something like a scrap of mat board to do this in case some glue does seep through. It keeps your hands clean for future steps.)

Next I removed the basting thread and left the glue to dry. When the glue was dry I repeated these steps for the back of the ornament and left it to dry.

Then I was ready to cut the fabric at the roof edges. I gently folded the fabric from the top side back a little and cut the bottom fabric adjacent to the block.

I continued cutting the roof edges until it looked like this:

Next I trimmed the fabric at the sides of the block. It is best if the fabric from the front and the back just meet in the middle so I trimmed it about 3/8 inch from the side edges of the block, as indicated with the pink lines on the following photograph. I then folded the fabric from the front and the back against the sides to makes sure that there was no overlap. If necessary I trimmed it a little more.

To attach the fabric at the sides I applied two thin lines of FabriTac Glue to the block. (Double sided tape would also work well for this step.) I pressed the fabric from one side flap into it. (Note that I used a scrap of mat board to hold it in place until the fabric was confidently stuck to the block. With FabriTac glue this happens very quickly.)

Then I pressed the other side flap of fabric for that side wall into the other line of glue. If I was using a glue that didn't dry quickly I would position both flaps for one side wall and then lay that side down on my work surface until it dried. (If you are using foam core or styrofoam you could use small rust proof pins for this step instead.) If there had been any fabric extending above or below the side walls I would have trimmed it off before proceeding.

To keep the roof nice and flat, and to decrease the possibility of the hanger pulling out, I made a small dent in one side of the block near the peak of the roof. (I used the points of an old pair of scissors.) Then I knotted the ends of the hanger string together.

I wanted the finished roof to meet in the center like this...

...so I was very careful about the placement of the roof pieces.

I applied FabriTac glue to the block on the "dented" side of the roof. I made sure to get some in the dent, above the dent and on the roof edge on either side of it. Then I laid the hanger in place with the knot in the dent and the loop going over the peak of the roof.

Next I gently positioned one of the pieces of blue mat board on the glue. First I checked that the overhang was about equal on the front and back and then I laid it on my work surface as shown in the photograph below. I made sure that both the block and the edge of the mat board were flat against the work surface. Then I checked to see if the overhangs were still about equal and parallel to the front and back surfaces of the block before pressing the roof piece against the block. I removed any visible glue with a clean toothpick.

I left it in this position for a few minutes then flipped the block over so that the mat board was against the work surface. I left it to dry.

Then I was ready to attach the other roof piece. I applied FabricTac glue to the block and, with the hanger sticking out and the two mat boards lined up at the front and back,

I gently positioned the second piece of blue mat board on the block so that the underside of the second piece just covered the exposed top edge of the first piece. I laid the birdhouse on the work surface so that the first roof piece was flat on the surface and checked that the top edge of the second roof piece just touched the work surface.

Then I checked that the overhangs were parallel to the front and back of the block and pressed the roof piece against the block. After I removed any visible glue with a clean toothpick I left it for a few minutes. Then I flipped it over so that the second roof piece was against the work surface.

When it was dry I was ready to add the ribbon trim. I needed to cut six pieces of ribbon each approximately 2 -1/4 inches long so I used the one remaining piece of blue mat board as a guide. I was careful to cut the ribbons straight across so that they would be a good fit at the top of the roof.

Next I glued one of the ribbons under one of the roof slopes. Because I didn't want the glue to saturate the ribbon I used a toothpick to apply a very small amount of Elmer's Fabric glue to the fabric. (One could also use an acid free glue stick on the ribbon.) Since the purpose of the ribbon is to cover the gap between the fabric and the roof overhang I laid the ribbon gently in place, eased it towards the center and then towards the roof until no gap showed in either direction. When it was in place I used a scrap of mat board to press the ribbon into the glue. I removed any visible glue with a clean toothpick.

Before I glued on the second piece of ribbon I laid it in place and checked that the cut edge was cut at the same angle as the roof slope at the center. If if hadn't been I would have trimmed it. Then I followed the same steps that I used for the first ribbon.

I left them to dry and then added the ribbons to the other side of the ornament.

Then I was ready to add the ribbons to the bottom of the birdhouse. I applied a small amount of Elmers Fabric glue along the bottom edge of the fabric and gently placed the ribbon over the glue. (One could also use a acid free glue stick for this step.) I stood the block up on the work surface and eased the ribbon down to just touch the work surface. Only then did I use a scrap of mat board to press the ribbon into the glue.

I removed any visible glue, left it to dry and then repeated the procedure for the other side.

Then I was ready to glue the ribbons to one of the side walls. I placed a drop of FabriTac glue on the back of each ribbon end.

I held a scrap of mat board against the front of the block to hold the ribbon flat and then used another piece to press the two ribbon ends against the side wall. When I knew that they were secure I repeated the procedure for the ribbons from the back of the birdhouse.

Then I was ready to attach the mat board to the side walls. To prevent a gap between the bottom of the birdhouse and the base it is important to get the length of the mat board just right. I did this one of two ways.

Option #1. For this method I cut the mat board to the correct length before gluing it to the mat board.

I positioned the strip of off-white mat board under a roof slope and centered it on the block. I marked the mat board with a pencil.

I removed the mat board and cut just inside the line. I double checked the length to make sure that it wasn't longer than the side wall. (Ideally, because of the angle, it will be a touch shorter against the side wall but just right at the outside edge.)

Because it is not possible to use the weight of the block to press the mat board against the block while the glue dried I usually used the fast drying FabriTac glue for this step. (I use double sided tape for the very last one I made and I was impressed with the results.) I put the glue on the back of the mat board, positioned it in place, pressed it against the side wall and held it until it was secure. I removed any visible glue with a clean toothpick and repeated the procedure for the other side.

Option #2. My preferred way to cut the mat board for the side walls was to glue it in place and then cut it to length.

To do this I cut the strip of off-white mat board in half. I applied the glue (or double sided tape) to the back of the mat board and positioned it under the roof slope. I checked that it was centered, pressed it against the block and removed any visible glue.

I repeated the steps to attach the mat board to the other side.

When the glue was dry I could cut the side wall to the proper length and angle. The trick to this is to make sure the blade of the scissors stays flat against the bottom of the block as the scissors are squeezed close. They tend to want to lift a bit towards the end of the cut, like they did in this picture...

...so I used my thumb to push them back against the block and finished the cut.

I cut the other side wall to length then stood the birdhouse up on the work surface to check that the length of the side walls did not create a gap under the birdhouse.

Finally I was ready to glue the birdhouse to the last piece of blue mat board. I applied Fabric Tac to the bottom of the block and gently positioned it on the mat board. I checked that it was well centered and that the front edge was parallel to the edge of the mat board.

Then I pressed the birdhouse against the mat board, checked that there was no visible glue and left it to dry.

Click here to view, print or download a pdf of this tutorial.

Note. After I completed this tutorial I made this similar birdhouse. Click on the photo to read about its construction.

Pinwheel 2009

Fun yoyo projects

2009-09-02T07:26:00.004-03:00

Ornaments from Felt

2009-08-10T21:45:00.021-03:00

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2009-08-10T13:47:00.003-03:00

Fabric Ornaments

2009-08-10T12:15:00.047-03:00

Gingerbread House on Perforated Plastic

2009-08-09T22:11:00.008-03:00

I made this ornament many years ago and I'm frequently asked about it. I loaned the book to someone and it hasn't yet been returned. This is what I can remember about how I made it.

The chart is from the ASN book Plastic Canvas Gingerbread Village (#3039) by Carol Mansfield. The original building was a two gabled duplex but I only stitched one half of the duplex.

I used 4 strands of floss on 14 count perforated plastic. I used the colourless perforated plastic for the walls and white perforated plastic for the base and roof pieces. (I'm not sure that it mattered much because I don't think you could see the colour of the perforated plastic after the stitching was complete.)

I used a continental stitch for most of the gingerbread house. The exceptions were:

-I used long stitches on the barber poles, the "red and green shrubbery" and
the white roof shingles. This may be the way it was on the original chart.
-I used 2 strands of blue floss to cross stitch over the yellow to make
'shadows' in shop windows. I don't think that was on the original chart.

Here is a close up picture that shows how I used two strands of blue floss to cross stitch shadows over the yellow on the windows.

(This photo reminds me that I used a photocopier to decrease the size of the shop signs that were in the book.)
When I pulled out two of these house ornaments I discovered that I stitched the white on the roof two different ways on two different houses. One has short stitches and one has long stitches. I don't know which way it was done on the original chart.

The round beads were 4mm faceted beads.
The red 'wagon wheels' ones were 10mm. (I can't remember what they are
called.)
The gathered lace on the base was 1/2 inch wide.
The flat lace for the eaves was slightly narrower.

I mostly used JP Coats floss but at some point I did note DMC equivalents on the bobbins.

Tan 5347 (DMC 435 or 436)
Brown 5472 (DMC 801 or 898)
Yellow 2289 (DMC 727)
Blue DMC 799
Red DMC 321
Green DMC 701

Here is a side shot taken before I put the roof on. I cut toothpicks to just the right length to act as beams to keep the top part of the walls from tipping in. Or tipping out. Today I would probably use a folded cardboard shape.

Pinwheel 2009 and 2010

Geodesic Paper Ball Ornament

2009-08-09T17:45:00.013-03:00

For a while I had been thinking of doing a Geodesic Paper Ball Ornament, sometimes called a Card Ball or a Paper Ball, like the one in this tutorial,

http://inkspiredcreations.com/geodesic-ornament-tutorial/

However, I didn't have any paper that I thought would suit the project. This week when I was looking at some felt ornament projects a light bulb went on.

This is my stitched paper ball. The white paper is not quite as stiff as card stock. I thought of embroidering snowflakes in each triangle but I wasn't sure I was going to like a stitched card ball so I dug out my (only) decorative punch and some blue mulberry paper.

Though the star is obviously too big I am quite pleased with the results. It sort of reminds me of something made out of thin white leather.

I made my circles 1 1/2 inches diameter then I punched the stars and glued the mulberry paper to the back. The finished ball, with the protrusions, is a little less than 3 inches around.

The next time I make one I will try making the circles 1 3/4 inches. I have made a pdf document that has the pattern for twenty 1 3/4 circles with the triangles marked. It could be printed on the back of some pretty card stock. Or one might be able to run fabric, with freezer paper or iron on interfacing on the back, though their printer. I see this done on blogs all the time, but I haven't tried it.

To see or download my pdf click here.

The next time I sew one I may lightly stuff the ball with poly fill. The paper held up fairly well until I started the last series of seams. When I couldn't get my fingers inside the ball I started pushing in on the triangles and some of them are a little dimpled. No one else will notice, but I know that they are dimpled.

Variations on the theme

One can also do these with just four, six or eight circles.

Here are instructions for the six and eight.

http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projects/ss/SmallSqOrn.htm
http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projects/ss/SmallOrn.htm?once=true&

An interesting tutorial for one that uses 12 slotted flower shapes. (No gluing of sewing required!)
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-make-3d-paper-ball-ornaments.html

And a few more tutorials for the ones with 20 circles

http://www.freekidcrafts.com/recycled-greeting-card-ball.html

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2010/12/geodisic-paper-ornament.html

http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2009/12/tutorial-crafting-a-holiday-card-keepsake-ornament-by-nicole-of-lillyella.html

Here is another tutorial with interesting variations:

http://origin-www.hgtv.com/crafting/glitzy-geodesic-ornaments/index.html

HP has 2 printable card balls (Vibrant Snowball and Flannel Snowball)

http://h30393.www3.hp.com/printing/app/us/en/snowball_ornament-landing.aspx

http://h30393.www3.hp.com/printing/app/us/en/hd_3d_snowball-landing.aspx

Here are some kits that I found:

http://www.squidoo.com/paperballornaments

Pinwheel 2009

Yo Yo Variation (Hexagon)

2009-08-08T09:39:00.011-03:00

The other day when I was looking for yoyo tutorials I happened on this variation.

The tutorial can be found at:

http://mousechirpy-polkadotpineapple.blogspot.com/2008/06/tutorial-folded-hexagon-yo-yo.html

I "folded" the idea into my brain. Last night, after a conversation about making souvenir yoyo ornaments from old clothing, I figured out how I wanted to use it.

This is a picture of dear departed father-in-law removing his famous banana bread from the oven. He is wearing his favorite shirt. He had me cut the sleeves off. (Note that he asked me roll the hem to the right side. He thought it would be less irritating that way.)

After he died I was very tempted to save the shirt, and the jeans, to make a souvenir. I couldn't think of a specific project so I resisted the urge. Yesterday I was surprised to discover that I still had the two sleeves in a drawer.

So this is my hexangonal yoyo souvenir of my father-in-law. The button is from the sleeve.

I made this one from a 3 1/2 inch circle, which is a good size for a fridge magnet. (I did apply iron on interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. I didn't need to do any pinning or sewing, except to sew on the button.) I think I'll make two more just a little bit bigger and make a reversible ornament.

(Postscript At Christmas I made 6 more of the reversible ornaments and gave them to my husband's brothers and sisters.)

Playing with Hexagonal Yoyos

I made these three into fridge magnets and sent them to the friend who inspired me to think about yoyos as souvenirs.

Some more yoyos to play with...

Pinwheel 2009

YoYo Pomander (Yo Yo Ball Ornament)

2009-08-04T09:12:00.038-03:00

(For links to other Yo Yo ornament ideas visit this blog page.)

Tutorial:

This ornament was made from a 2 1/2 inch diameter styrofoam ball and 12 yoyos. The yoyos were made from 3 inch circles cut from cotton fabric. (If you aren't familiar with yoyos there are links to two tutoriials in the "Links and Tips" section below.)

As I completed each yoyo, and before I cut my thread, I sewed a button to the center. Then I took two of the yoyos and marked five spots equal distance apart. You can use a needle and thread or one of those quilting markers with the disappearing ink. (I'd do it on the back side, just in case.)

Then I sewed (tacked) a yoyo to these center yoyos at each of the marked points. Here are the two sets of yoyos.

Next I prepared the ball. I choose a yellow print fabric for the ball and cut a long strip of fabric 3/4 inch wide. I wrapped the fabric around the ball until none of the surface was exposed. Then I attached the end of the strip to the ball. I used Fabri Tac glue, but a pin or two would also do the job.

(I liked the look of this little ball. It had me wondering what it would look like with several coats of decoupage medium.)

Now I was ready to put the yoyos on the ball.

Pushing a pin through the button of one of the center yoyos I stuck it to the ball. Then I adjusted the position of the five attached yoyos so that they were equally spaced around the ball and stuck pins through each yoyo.

Top view:

Side view:

Next I flipped the ball over and placed the other set of yoyos on the ball so that the 5 outside yoyos fit into the gaps of the ones below. Then I pinned the center one to the ball.

Diagram showing the last 6 yoyos dropping into place:

When the last 5 yoyos were evenly spaced around the ball I pinned them in place.

Then I was ready to glue them, one at a time, to the ball. Saving the center yoyos for last, I loosened one pin and applied a dab of Fabri Tac glue to the center back of the yoyo. Then I pushed the yoyo back in place. I repeated this for nine more yoyos. Because my center yoyos seemed a little loose I used a tooth pick to apply glue to the backs of them. (If they been snug I wouldn't have bothered.) When the glue was dry I removed the pins.

To finish it off I attached a loop of ribbon in the triangular gap between three random yoyos. At the opposite end I attached a loopy ribbon tail in the triangular gap between three yoyos.

Links and Tips

Yoyo tutorials:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/hbyoyotutorial1.html

http://anniescupboard.blogspot.com/2008/03/fabric-yoyo-tutorial.html

Additional Tips:

1. As mentioned in the second yoyo tutorial you don't need to turn under the edge of the circle if you plan to cover the center of the yoyo with a large enough button or embellishment, such as another yoyo. Choose a tightly woven (fray resistant) fabric and consider putting a drop of a "fray check" type product in the center of the yoyo before adding the button. If in doubt try making one both ways. For my yoyo bola project I used black tshirt fabric and it didn't need to be turned under.

2. In these tutorials the authors use cardboard or paper for their circle templates. I prefer to use a scrap of adhesive vinyl (also known as Mactac, Contact Paper, adhesive vinyl shelf paper, Fablon or sticky-back plastic) to make a template and to sew the yoyos. I can use one template over and over again. (If you don't have access to adhesive vinyl, Reynolds white freezer paper makes good templates too. You need to iron it on, but you can use one template over and over again.) To see how I use vinyl adhesive to cut and sew a yoyo check out this blog page.

3. Would you like a diagram to help you mark the five points on your yoyo? I have provided one. Just click here.

4. Ideally I would use a bias strip of fabric to wrap the ball but if the fabric doesn't fray excessively a strip cut on the straight of the grain works just as well. This one was cut on the straight of the grain and I only needed to clip off a few frayed threads when I finished the wrapping. (Embroidery scissors get in nice and close without encouraging more fraying.) For my yoyo bola project I used a strip of t shirt fabric. It hugged the curves very well but it made for a slightly bigger ball.

5. I acknowledge that one could assemble a ball with just pins, but the glue makes the ball more child friendly. If one did want to use pins they could use a round headed pin, or a pin with a beads. They could push one into each buttonhole. Or they could use something other than buttons. Like a felt circle or a tatted or crochet flower or... The possibilities are endless.

Variations on the theme

1. My first yoyo ball was a very colourful creation that I called YoYo Bola. (And maybe it does resemble some kind of virus.) It is made with double yoyos. The big black ones on the bottom are made from t shirt fabric. Intrigued? If so than you than you can click here to find the blog page about it.

2. I have been asked if these balls could be made with ribbon instead of fabric. The answer is yes. Ribbon yoyos are also called ribbon rosettes. Here is a tutorial for ribbon rosettes.

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2008/05/ribbon-rosette-craft-series.html

To make a ribbon yoyo the same size as my fabric yoyos choose a ribbon that is 3/4 inch wide and cut it 5 1/2 inches long. Join the ends with a 1/4 inch seam then use a running stitch to gather one edge. Here are couple I made.

The green one uses 3/4 inch ribbon. The red one is slightly smaller. One important detail about working with these ribbon yoyos. If you want to sew a button or something else to the middle you will have to put a scrap or ribbon (or circle of fabric) at the back to catch your thread. (The needle has to go through something that won't pull through the hole.)

3. Currently I am working on a Christmas fabric pomander. I don't have enough buttons to finish it, which is why I am blogging instead of working on it. :] (The photo below does not do the vibrant fabric justice.)

4. Another one waits in the wings...

5. And if I don't get to the "button store"... There are always fabric swirls, paper stars, bead caps, organdy or lace rosettes...

... or ribbon embroidery or tatted circles...

6. And if I don't get to the fabric store there is always bias tape or even lace hem tape. It takes the curves very well.

Pinwheel 2009

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2009-08-02T15:14:00.002-03:00

YoYo Bola Experiment (YoYo Ball)

2009-08-02T13:48:00.017-03:00

(If you are just looking for a tutorial to make a yoyo ball ornament click here.)

This was another 6 in the morning vision. In my minds eye I could see a ball covered in double yoyos. The bottom yoyos would be black and the top yoyos would be the vibrant colours of a stain glass window.

The first disappointment came when I opened my long neglected box of quilting fabric. Who knew that there wasn't anything in there that resembled the colours of a stain glass window. I settled for some pieces I thought would look good on black. I needed 12. I only came up with 9 so I repeated the yellow print and used the flip side of two others.

Then I started to look for black fabric. I wasn't surprised that there was none in the quilting box so I went looking in the "archives" I keep in my sons' closet. Nothing there either. (Well there was his brand new black dress shirt... but he has only worn it once.) Then I had an inspiration. Dh had a brand new black t shirt in his "give away box". It would do for this experiment.

And so I was off and running. I cut twelve 3 1/2" circles from the bottom of the black t shirt. To my surprise they made very nice yoyos. Then I made twelve coloured yoyos from 2 1/2" circles. Then I went looking for black buttons. I didn't have 12 of them. I was eying my son's shirt again. (I could always buy him new buttons...) I decided that I would have to postpone this project until I could get to the fabric store. Or at least a second hand store that might have some black shirts. I went back through my buttons and picked out some navy blue and dark grey ones.

I used the buttons to join the coloured yoyos to the black yoyo. Then I arranged them in two groups of six. I chose the repeated yellow print for the center ones and moved the others until I liked what I saw. As so.

I picked up the 2 center yoyos and marked 5 spots at equal distances. (I used tiny safety pins, not shown.) Then I tacked the five outside yoyos to the center ones at these points.

Then I was ready to add them to my 2 1/2 inch styrofoam ball. In the wee hours I had several ideas of how I would cover the styrofoam ball, to keep the white from showing in between the yoyos. I didn't use any of them. Instead I cut a one inch strip from the bottom of the t shirt and wrapped it around the ball. (Hmmm. Maybe I could use a variation of that for a temari type ball.) I noticed that it naturally curled up so I took advantage of that and wrapped it with the right side down.

A friend "greyed" this picture a little to make the strips show up more than they really do. The fabric is the same black as the black yoyos.

I had planned to sew all the yoyos together but I recognized that, sewn together, they were going to be a little too big for my ball. I needed to let them overlap a bit. So instead I used a pin to stick one center yoyo to the "North Pole" of the ball and another pin to stick the other centre yoyo to the "South Pole" of the ball. I spun the yoyos of the Southern hemisphere until I got an arrangement I liked. (With the tops of the southern hemisphere yoyos fitting in the gaps between the northern hemisphere yoyos.) Then one at a time I applied a dab of fabric glue to the center of each yoyo and stuck it to the ball. (I used fast drying Fabri- Tac.) I glued one yoyo from the top half, then an adjacent one from the bottom half. When they were all glued in place I removed the pins from the "Poles".

The finished ball is 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

This ball is nothing like the one that was in my minds eye at 6 am. It is a bit too much "bright polka dots on black background". I think that a double one like this would look better with monochrome yoyos on a solid background. If I were to do a multi print one again I would make single coloured yoyos (single or double layer) and let the background colour show through a little more.

It also occurs to me that if one used a sequin, or felt circle, for the center of the flower one could permanently pin each flower to the ball. (I would still tack the five yoyos to a center one so that they end up roughly equal distance apart.) One could use a round headed pin, or a pin with a bead or... I guess one could even use two (or four) decorative pins and regular buttons.

And possibly one could use a similar method to attach six yoyo flowers to a foam cube. (Hang it from one of the corners perhaps?)

One other small thing that I would do differently next time. I used freezer paper for my circle pattern. I find that this makes it very quick and easy to cut the circles. (Just iron on the pattern and cut around the circle, stopping about a 1/4 inch from the end. Remove the paper pattern. Finish the cut.) I also like that I can use the same pattern over and over again. However, yesterday it was too hot to be standing over a hot iron so I should have used the adhesive vinyl (Mactac) that I keep on hand for patterns and templates. It is just as fast and just as reusable, but I could have been sitting in a comfy chair in the shade somewhere cutting the 24 circles.

I enjoyed the project though and think I like it well enough to add a loopy ribbon tail and keep it for an ornament. Or maybe I'll tear it apart and use it for the start of a small wall quilt. They did look nice when they were lying flat together...

But first I think I'll try making another YoYo Bola. (Maybe one that looks like a less virulent virus than the original one.)

Pinwheel 2009

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2009-07-27T16:58:00.001-03:00

Paper Pieced Santa Pattern

2009-07-26T12:32:00.017-03:00

I was given this ornament as a gift and at the request of friends I have made a pattern so that he could be constructed using paper piecing. You can download or see it here.

If you are familiar with paper piecing the picture and the pattern should be all you need to build a Santa ornament of your own.

If not...

There is a nice tutorial about paper piecing at Quilter's Cache. And another at BellaOnline.

To download a pdf of the following instructions click here.

This Santa requires:

A - white fabric
B - peach fabric
C - white fabric
D - red print
backing - same red print fabric
Two black beads for eyes
One red pompom for nose
Jingle bell

Print pattern and trace it onto paper suitable for paper piecing.

1. Place white fabric to cover area A on backside of paper pattern. (Right side up.) Remember to leave some fabric above line for seam allowance.
2. Place peach fabric scrap right side down on top edge of white fabric and pin. (Or use tape.)
3. Flip over and machine sew, with tiny stitches, along line between A and B. Trim seam to 1/4 inch.
4. Fold peach fabric up. Press or finger press.
5. Place white fabric scrap right side down on peach fabric and pin.
6. Flip over and machine sew, with tiny stitches, along line between B and C. Trim seam to 1/4 inch.
7. Fold white fabric up. Press or finger press.
8. Place red fabric right side down on white fabric and pin.
9. Flip over and machine sew, with tiny stitches, along line between C and D. Trim seam to 1/4 inch.
10. Fold up red fabric. Press or finger press. Sew on bead eyes.
11. Place face down on right side of red fabric.
12. Following the dark outside line of pattern, cut through paper pattern and red fabric.
13. Sew around using seam line on paper pattern, leaving an opening of about one inch. Remove paper pattern.
14 Trim seams. Clip corners. Turn right side out. Press. Slip stitch to close one inch opening.
15. Attach jingle bell and nose.
16. Fold down hat and tack in place.
17. Attach cord for hanging.

Updates

Here is a photo of a "gang" of Jolly Old Elves that Khristina (aka Khris) has made from this pattern. Khris's Santa's have embroidered red noses.

Khris has a blog where she saves her favorite free online patterns, tutorials and ideas. Check it out at http://www.freebiesforcrafters.blogspot.com/

And here are some that that talented Teresa pieced and painted. How I wish that I had a better working relationship with paint and brush!

Teresa blog can be found at http://allthingsvintage-teresa.blogspot.com/

Pinwheel 2008

Some thoughts on Washi (decoupage) Eggs

2009-03-23T11:13:00.040-03:00

These eggs are real, but empty, eggs covered in Japanese Washi / Chiyogami paper. I used wrapping paper for my first few eggs. Then someone sent me some Washi paper. The ones I made with this paper were easier to do because the Washi paper molds to the curves of the egg. There are some very good tutorials online. They are basically similar, but you may learn something different from each one.

http://www.decoupage-online.com/eggs/washi.html

http://dragginink.com/washi_eggs.htm

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/better-homes-gardens/2914/washi-eggs/

http://shuszoo.com/ggs2/Tutorials/Washi%20tutorial%20imbed.pdf

http://www.yasutomo.com/project/washieggs.htm

http://chihuahua-yip.deviantart.com/art/How-to-make-washi-eggs-102939796

Here are a few of my eggs.

More can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/14426014@N05/sets/72157602642721343/

Additional hints:

I'm sorry that I don't have images to illustrate some of these hints. The next time I make an egg I'll take some step by step pictures.

1. I found that Medium sized eggs were the perfect size for the packaged Washi paper that is approx. 6 inches (15 cm) square. You can cover two eggs from each sheet. Paper with gold ink is especially attractive if you apply many coats of finish to the egg. Then the gold ink appears to float above the paper.

2. To get small holes for emptying the egg you can poke holes and try to enlarge them. I found that I had more control over the size and shape of the holes if I pierced a circular pattern of tiny holes and joined them together. See the third picture on this page. I use a strong but sharp darning needle and aim to have the final holes just larger than the diameter of a round wood toothpick. When the two holes are complete I insert a toothpick and "stir" in a wide circular motion to break the yolk and sever the chalazae (the opaque ropes of egg white that hold the yolk in the center of the egg) at either end. This makes it much easier to blow out the contents.

3. If you choose to mark lines on the back of your paper do it very lightly and gently. Dark lines may show through, especially on light coloured paper. I drew my lines 1/4" apart and I also made my center band (the part that goes around the equator of the egg) 1/4" wide. (The 1/2" wide band recommended on most sites may work well on large eggs but it was too wide for my chicken eggs.) To quickly mark the lines you can use a quilter's ruler or you can lay your paper on the top of a bigger piece of graph paper and use the graph paper lines as a guide.

4. If I intend to make a hanger for the egg I leave the hole at top (the fat end) uncovered. To make this easier I insert a round toothpick in that end and trim the strips to just touch it. Though I don't need a hole on the bottom of the egg I also don't want an excess of overlapping paper. So once again I insert a toothpick and trim the strips. Except the last strip. For the last strip I remove the toothpick and let the end of the strip cover the hole.

5. If you decide that you want to paint (or dip) a finish on your Washi covered egg it is nice to have something to hold onto. I use a toothpick. I insert about 2 cm. (3/4 inch) of the toothpick into the egg and apply a ring of white glue around it. When it is dry I have a sturdy handle.

Between coats some people stick the handles into a block of styrofoam. Since I dip my eggs I prefer to hang them up. I use a cardboard shoebox with three holes in the top to accommodate three eggs. A clothespin holds each toothpick while the eggs dry. (I could also use a bobby pin, or an alligator clip, or a paperclip or...)

6. The links above recommend lots of products to finish Washi Eggs, and I'm sure that they all work well. However, I make a mess anytime I use a paintbrush. For that reason I use a brush mark free method that I know works for me; I dip my eggs many times in a dilute solution of decoupage medium.

In a small bowl I add one part decoupage medium to one part water and stir very gently to prevent bubbles. Because it is hard to get the solution right up to the top of the egg I use a wide brush to generously apply the solution to the shoulders of the egg. Then I tip the bowl and twirl the egg around and around in the solution.

After several rotations I gradually bring the toothpick to a vertical position, while still twirling the egg. Then I hang it to drip. After about 5 minutes I lightly touch a wet paintbrush to the bottom of the egg to wick away any excess solution. When it is dry I repeat the process. (To keep the solution in the bowl from evaporating between coats I slowly add a small amount of water to the surface and cover the bowl with cling wrap. When I am ready for the next coat I gently stir in a small amount of decoupage medium.) After about 8 or 9 coats the seams of the paper are not apparent on the surface and I'm ready to apply the final coat of solution. Before I apply the final coat I use super fine sandpaper to remove any bubble bumps and #000 steel wool to give the whole egg a light buff.

To prevent a decoupage finish from getting sticky in humid weather it is recommended that one give the egg a light coating of sealer. The manufacturer of my decoupage medium recommended that I wait at least 48 hours after the last coat and then apply Johnson's Pledge pump Furniture Polish. (I don't know if they still make it.) I lightly spray the egg with the polish and then buff it with a soft cloth. The polished egg is very slippery so I make sure I do this far from hard surfaces.

7. To add a hanger to the egg I first cut the ring of glue to remove the toothpick. (Using a mat knife, or box cutter, I cut perpendicular to the toothpick close to the top of the egg.) Then I tie a string (usually dmc perle #12) to the middle of a very short (about 1 cm or 1/2") pin and push the pin, sharp end first, through the hole. (If you can't find, or make, a short pin than you can tie a bead to the middle of the string. Ideally the bead will be just the right size that you will need to poke it through the hole. Then seal the bead in the egg with a generous application of glue.) Next I thread the string ends through a bead cap and a small bead. A small knot close to the bead holds it all in place and a drop of glue on the knot gives me extra security.

Pinwheel 2009

Some thoughts on Smocked Ornaments

2009-02-09T23:30:00.013-04:00

In December 2004 some acquaintances were looking for information on how to make smocked ball ornaments. When I couldn't find instructions online I decided to write some instructions for how I make these ornaments, complete with step by step pictures. I also made a few balls and drew the patterns for them. It had been many years since I had made these ornaments and my experiments were not very polished. Nonetheless I was encouraged to "publish" my instructions and patterns on the internet. The result is my website www.freewebs.com/bonimoo

My site doesn't have general smocking instructions. The following page does,

http://tipnut.com/smocking/

Also note that larger images of all the pictures on my site can be found in my smocked ornaments photo album.

I think the most confusing part of my instructions is where I discuss how wide to make the fabric strip. Let's see if I can simplify it. For my experiments I mostly used quilting cotton and balls that had a circumference of 7 1/4 to 7 3/4 inches. On that size I liked 96 pleats (or about 12.5 pleats per inch of circumference) best. My pleats were 3/16 inches wide so that made for a length of 96 x 3/16 inch (or 18 inches) plus seam allowances. One could use 12.5 pleats per inch on a larger ball, but gathering the top and bottom into a small enough circle to cover with a small button or bead cap could be challenging. Of course, a lot depends on the thickness of the fabric and, as you will see below, there are creative ways to finish the top and bottom of the ornament that don't require such a small circle.

After I completed the website I starting collecting sources of information about smocked ornaments.

Barbara Meger sells kits online. (Check out the photo gallery too.)

There are some beaded ornaments by Mimi Ahern in the book "Creative Smocking" by Chris Rankin. (They are not on the cover of every edition.}

Dianne Durand's "Complete Book of Smocking Techniques and Projects" has the instructions and chart for this ball ornament.

After I constructed my website I found the following instructions online:

Smocked ball.

Another smocked ball

Smocked Heart.

And a smocking guild has posted six Christmas ornament designs by their members.

The Spring 2007 issue of "A Needle Pulling Thread" magazine had these lovely smocked eggs.

There are two magazines, that I have never seen, that are supposed to have smocked ornaments. "Sew Beautiful" vol. 13 1999 and "Creative Needle" Sept/Oct 2004. (If you can confirm this let me know.)

Do you recognize either of these two ornaments? I would love to be able to add their source information to this list. The first is supposed to be in a Better Homes and Gardens soft cover book. I can't remember where I got the picture of the second. Quite likely it is from a magazine that was on auction at eBay. )I suspect that the tassel on the bottom may be the unravelled fabric. Someday I'll have to do any experiment and find out if may suspicions may be correct.) Any help nailing down these sources would be appreciated.

And finally I'll share two fabulous finishes that I found online. The beautiful red satin one I found on this flickr page. (If I could do neat spiderwebs like that I wouldn't have to shop around for bead caps etc.!) The second is a scissor fob that appears to be made from a single piece of wide eyelet trim. (If you recognize this scissor fob please contact me so that I can credit the clever smocker.)

Pinwheel 2009

Free Christmas charts.

2009-02-07T10:02:00.075-04:00

Some thoughts on Finishing Touches for Cross Stitch Ornaments

2009-01-16T11:30:00.035-04:00

Tassels, Tails, Twisted Cord ... and Bows

I often see the question "When I use Twisted Cord how do I tuck the ends into the ornament?" Usually my solution is to make the cording a little bit longer and turn the ends into a tassel or tail.

When one makes their own cording they can simply bind the ends together at the bottom of the ornament and then set them free to become a tassel. That is what I did with this three sided ornament.

Details of how I do this can be found on this blog page.

Twisted cord and tassel tutorial

When I use commercial cording I leave the cording ends a few inches longer and bring them together with a bead or bow at the bottom of the ornament. Here are a few of examples.

("Christmas Design 2004" from Told in a Garden, "Sweet Greetings Gingerbread" by Mill Hill, Jack in a Box from a Bernat kit.)

To see how I turn the ends of commercial cording into a tassel click on the picture below.

A description of how I add a bead to commercial cording is a bit further down the same page.

Sometimes I cover the two ends of the cording with a single tassel.

(From "Sam Hawkins' 520 Christmas Cross-stitch Designs")

Or I can make a tassel to cover each end. (If you click on the picture the instructions for this kind of tassel are halfway down the page.)

One could cover the ends with a piece of ribbon that is tucked into the ornament. I haven't done this over cording but I did do it over piping on this Lavender and Lace ornament. (You have to remember to not glue that section when you are first sandwiching the ornament together.)

("Christmas Madonna" by Told in a Garden.)

Tassels

There are also tutorials online that show how to make seperate tassels.

Here is one.

Or hover your mouse over the little pictures on this tutorial to see how to make a looped tassel.

Here is the fanciest tassel that I have made so far. There are two twisted and beaded cords on either side of the tassel. (I would be embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure out that the cording I used for the beaded part could could just be set free on the other side of the tassel.)

Bows

(From "Sam Hawkins' 520 Christmas Cross Stitch Designs".)

There are pages online that have links to tutorials on how to make just about every kind of bow imaginable. Here are two,

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/howtomakebows.html

http://www.offray.com/howto.html

They have some great tutorials but they don't seem to have the faux bow I frequently use.

Now I can knot the pink ribbon and tuck it neatly away at the back or make a wee pink bow on top of the white bow.

This pinwheel bow, from http://www.instructables.com/id/Pinwheel-Hairbow/
looks good on the top of ball ornaments.

Pinwheel 2009 and 2012

Some thoughts on Cross Stitch Block Ornaments

2009-01-15T18:35:00.013-04:00

I find that when I stitch small designs I have the impulse to make them into ornaments that have some thickness, ie. into block ornaments. (The one above is a Mary Engelbreit design from a Bucilla ornament kit. The reverse side has a black Scottie dog.)

So far I have made all of my block ornaments with a block of wood as the core. One could just as easily, or probably more easily, use blocks of Styrofoam. Here is one tutorial on how to make a No Sew Cube Finish. (On an ornament sized finish one can use ribbon, instead of fabric strips, to wrap around the top, bottom and sides.)

Here are a couple more of my block finishes.

From a Bernat design for sack ornaments.

From Sam Hawkins' 520 Christmas Cross-stitch Designs.

I've been told that when putting cross stitch over wood it is important to either seal the wood with paint or to cover it with paper or fabric. The fronts and backs on mine have padding. For the sides I lightly glued on strips of fabric.

The disadvantage of the wood, compared to the Styrofoam, is that you can't use pins to get the fabric nice and tight. To get around that you can either use a very quick drying glue, like Fabri-Tac, and give the sides a tug as you fold them over or you can sort of "lace" the front fabric to the back fabric.

I will admit that I found the corners on these block finishes a wee bit of a pain because I didn't want the multiple layers of fabric to show through the ribbon. With foam I think that I could have forced them into (dented) the foam a little.

Pinwheel 2009

Some thoughts on 3D (multi faceted) Cross Stitch Ornaments

2009-01-05T23:00:00.048-04:00

The first Multi-faceted (3D) ornament that I saw was Jean Farish's "Holly Band Ornament". The chart for this ornament, and very good instructions, are still available from this page. (The chart is also in Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments - 1998.) This one was stitched by Patsy (Bikermom).

Subsequently I have seen a few more in various issues of Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments. Such as Indigo Rose's Christmas Star (2003) and DebBee's Design's Scot's Bonnet Ornament (2005). This one by Cherished Stitches, called "Colonial Christmas", was in the 2007 issue. It was also stitched by Patsy (bikermom).

There is an interesting colour variation of it in this Webshots album.

Other

There is a free design for a three sided ornament on this blog page. And a nice cube ornament photos on this blog.

In 2008 I decided that I wanted to make a multi-faceted ornament as my annual ornament. I stitched four different versions before I settled on this 5 sided design. The center motif is adapted from a design in the Leisure Arts book "Sweeter than a Rose". The rest is my original composition and I call it my "Violets and Diamonds Ornament". (The other ornaments can be seen in this online album.) I stitched 19 of these ornaments on 28 count fabric. I decide to fold the stitched pieces over card stock instead of filling them with stuffing.

Following several requests I charted the design I used for my "Violets and Diamonds" ornament, without the center design from the Leisure Arts book, and put together some notes on how I made my 3D ornaments. They are available using these links:

Violets and Diamonds 3D Ornament

Notes on finishing my 3D ornaments

In 2008 I also stitched a three sided, Three Kings ornament. The design is adapted from a chart in "Sue Cook's Christmas Cross Stitch Collection". Each King was stitched on 22 count fabric and folded over padded card stock before being slip stitched together. (I used polyester fleece for padding.)

In the fall of 2010 I stitched 18 similar ornaments, but this time I used three short pieces of twisted cord to cover the seams. A tutorial about their construction can be found on the following blog page.

Three sided ornament tutorial.

Pinwheel 2009 and 2011

Some thoughts on stitching Cross Stitch Ornaments

2009-01-05T12:24:00.054-04:00

Skip to 'Stitching in a Mat'
Skip to 'Using a grid (gridding)'
Skip to 'Stitching with a Single Strand'

Stitching in a Mat
Since 1995 I have been using a Mat when I stitch an ornament. The first time was quite by chance. I wanted to stitch something that I thought might be too big for the flexi-hoop frame that I wanted to use. So I stitched the outline of the design on the fabric, cut a hole the shape of the flexi- hoop in a piece of box board and placed it over the fabric. It was a good fit so I taped the fabric to the box board and started stitching.

I used that mat to stitch about two dozen ornaments that year, and dozens more in subsequent years. I have found that I prefer mats over hoops or frames because:

1. The fabric stays flat so there are no creases to press when you are done.
2. It slips into a ziplock (then pocket) to make a more portable project.
3. I find it lighter and less tiring on the hands than a frame or hoop.
4. I find it easier to finish the thread ends when the fabric flat than when it is in a frame or hoop.

I have made many stitching mats since then. I find that box board is not as thick and stiff as it used to be so I usually suggest that people buy a small mat from a dollar store, or cut one from mat board or illustration board. A single thickness is usually adequate. Here is a picture of a more recent one.

("Secret Visitor" by Ellen Maurer-Stroh as a WIP)

I cut my mats a little bigger than the fabric and the openings a little bigger than the stitched area. I use masking tape to fasten the fabric to the mat board. (One can always cut off the taped part later if they are worried about the adhesive.) If I plan to reuse a mat over and over I will put some packaging tape on the back side of the mat first. Then when I remove the masking tape it doesn't shred the card board.

Recently I discovered that I could also make an sufficiently rigid stitching mat using a greeting card. The key was taping the three open edges together. To maximize the rigidity of the mat I left the card full size and cut the opening as small as possible. I used a mat knife to cut through both layers at once so that the openings were identical.

(In retrospect I should have covered the ink inside the card with some tape. No ink transferred to the fabric but next time I wouldn't take the chance.)

I had a choice between stitching with the front or back of the card facing up. This time I chose the front.

Forget me Nots Bookmark adapted from Victorian Cross Stitch Border.
http://www.cross-stitch.co/flowers/victorian-cross-stitch.html

Sometimes when I am stitching an ornament I find that I can fasten the working copy of the chart to the mat. I usually use a small binder clip but paper clips (and maybe even bobby pins?) work just as well. It sometimes take a bit folding to get it to a manageable size...

...but I can move it around as I work my way around the design.

More recently I was using a greeting card for a project that I will stitch 19 or 20 times. I grew weary of removing and replacing the masking tape, on the outside of the card, and it occurred to me that I could use the sliding binding bars that are usually used on report covers.

This is what I mean by binding bars and they are available in office supply stores.

I cut two bars to make four shorter bars and slipped them over the four sides of the greeting card.

I didn't need a bar on the folded side but I used it anyway because it made all of the sides uniformly rigid. I could have left if off if I wanted to clip my chart to the folded edge, but I found it more convenient to just slip one edge of the chart under one of the binder bars.

Using a grid (gridding)

That first project where I used a mat was also the first project where I stitched some guide lines on the fabric before I did any cross stitching. On the next one I used sewing thread to stitch a 10 by 10 grid on the fabric. I noticed that having a grid certainly cut down on the errors, and I really don't enjoy fixing errors when I am stitching 22 Xs per inch with a single strand of floss.

Since then I have refined my gridding technique several times and I now have a few methods that are quick and easy to do.

For a complex project I grid the 10 by 10 lines to correspond to the chart. The way I do it doesn't take a long time; I can grid a 70 x 70 project in less than 10 minutes. I use a running stitch that goes over the equivalent of 10 stitches and under the equivalent of 10 stitches. Starting at the upper right hand corner I use my needle and thread to count the first vertical line very carefully and then I count over 10 for the next line. (I double check the first line before proceeding.) For the second and subsequent lines I don't need to count. I just run my needle along the thread and line up my running stitches with the first line.

This way I only need to count the first vertical line and then count over 10 between lines. As long as I prevent myself from counting all the other running stitches I can grid very quickly. (And when cross stitching I seldom make an error that results in me having to remove more than 5 stitches.) For large projects one doesn't have to grid the whole project before stitching. For my Jim Shore Countryside project I just grid one 49 by 59 square and stitch it. Then I grid the next square and stitch it. Some people tell me that for big projects they grid an area of 50 stitches by 50 stitches and stitch it. Then they will grid and stitch an adjacent area.

Sometimes I just grid a box approximately as big as the design. Again I stitch over 10 and under 10 so that the running stitches correspond to the grid on the chart. When I am cross stitching the design I can run my needle lightly along the threads to find my spot. (For illustration purposes only I have marked the 10 by 10 intersections with a blue dot.) It is faster to grid a project this way but I notice that with this method my errors may exceed 5 stitches.

Some people only grid the center lines and the outside edges. If your running stitches correspond with the 10 by 10 grid of your chart you can run your needle along the threads (or use counting pins) to find the intersecting points. (For illustration purposes only these points are shown with a blue dot.)

(I have to say that when the 10 by 10 grid on the chart is uncentered, the way this one is, I will use a red pen to draw new grid on my working copy so that the center lines are on the 10 by 10 grid.)

Thread for gridding When I first started gridding I found that the sewing thread would sometimes produce balls of fuzz when the embroidery floss passed adjacent to it. It was also hard to remove if it had been split by the cross stitching. If you grid with sewing thread I suggest that you remove it before you sew adjacent to it. Some people like fishing line for gridding, but I found that it was hard to see. For me, the perfect gridding thread is Sulky Sliver Metallic thread. (Note that Sliver, not "Silver" thread comes in 24 colours.) It doesn't get fuzzy, it can't be split, it is easy to see and it bends easily around corners. I also find that if I leave it in until the project is complete it still slips out easily. In fact, I can sometimes reuse the thread to grid my next small project.

There is at least one fishing line type product sold specially for gridding. It seems to have all of the advantages of the Sulky Sliver but the Sliver is less expensive. They also have a youtube video about gridding. On the video they grid the vertical and horizontal, which I find unnecessary, but I do like how they leave a little curve in the thread when they start a new row. This is probably dictated by the stiffness of the filament but it is something that someone can choose do with other threads. That way if the gridding thread get snagged it will just pull up the slack instead of distorting the weave of the fabric.Click here to see the youtube video.

There are people who have never gridded that cannot see the sense of it. To each their own, but my own is mostly stitching 22, 25 or 28 stitches per inch with a single strand of floss. Over the years I have decided that I would much rather spend 10 minutes making nice long running stitches in a new piece of fabric than even 3 minutes trying to neatly remove tiny stitches.

Stitching with a Single Strand

When one wants to make finely detailed cross stitch ornaments they often end up stitching single strand over one on 22, 25 or 28 count fabric. One of the challenges of stitching with a single strand is that you don't have the luxury of using the loop method to start a thread. When I started stitching single strand on 22 count hardanger, in 1995, I soon found another way that works for me. Many years later I found out that this is known as a knotless waste knot. More recently, when I starting stitching single strand on 25 and 28 count, I realized that I could also finish threads in a similar manner.

After I finish the last stitch of a thread I bring the needle and thread up again two rows DOWN and about 1/2" to 3/4" away in the direction I am working.

To start my next thread I insert the needle two rows ABOVE and 1/2" to 3/4" away in the direction I am stitching. I bring it up where I want to start and pull the thread through until there is about a 1/2" of the tail on the top.

I make my first stitch and carefully pull until I notice the tail starting to move.

Then I continue stitching so that the thread ends are caught in the back of the next stitches. To make sure that I don't miss the thread I want to catch I sort of drag the needle up the back of fabric until I reach the hole I am seeking. After about 4 or 5 stitches I can flip the fabric over and cut the threads. (Though this time, because they are out of the way at the end of a row, I would probably just leave them for later.) Now I'm going to break my *rule* and show the back of my stitching.

Note that starting and stopping this way catches two threads and although one might think that this would leave a big bump I have not found this to be the case. If someone wanted to avoid catching two threads at once they could leave their starting thread to the left, where it would get caught on the return trip, or it they were already on a return trip when they were starting the thread, it could be left where it would get caught by the next row of stitching.

Of course this method doesn't suit every application so here are some other tips.

Previously, when I stitched single strand on 22 count, I would most often finish a thread by tunneling under every second stitch. That way I wasn't trying to pull on the same stitch from both sides and there was a bit more give. Finishing threads vertically provides even more give since you are only pulling on one stitch in each row.

To finish off threads under even smaller stitches there are other things that one can try. If one stitches both legs of each stitch, the / and the \, before stitching the next stitch then there will be a slightly longer diagonal stitches on the back that one can tunnel under when it comes time to finish a thread. Also, when one has the opportunity to finish a thread at the left edge of a block of stitching there will be vertical threads, between the end of one row and the beginning of the next, that span two rows. These are easier to tunnel under.

Pinwheel 2009 and 2010

Some thoughts on Cross stitch Ball ornaments.

2008-12-30T13:14:00.046-04:00

I think the first Cross stitch Ball ornaments I saw were in the Leisure Arts Book "A Christmas to Remember". I was intrigued. The ornaments were constructed from four sections of fabric on Styrofoam balls. (These photos are from the book.)

Later I saw, and was in awe of, this Mistletoe Kissing Ball in another Leisure Arts book called "Merry Christmas ABC". Again, this one was constructed from four pieces of fabric but this time the sections were not all the same width. (These photos are from the book.)

When I asked on 123 Stitch MB about Cross stitch Ball ornaments Phyllis W. shared a template that she had for a four piece one. For this ball the four pieces are on the bias and joined at one end. Phyllis also shared a N*O*E*L one that she had stitched almost 30 years ago. The pattern, "Kissing Ball", was by Jeannie A. Martin. (Copyright Linda Dennis of The Finish Line.) It has 8 sections on a 6" ball. Phyllis says that there was also a very pretty design with mistletoe boughs on every other petal.

Since then I have also found photos of some lovely Cross stitch Ball ornaments by In a Gentle Fashion. The first is a Nativity series and the second is a Christmas Ball series. It says on the website that the latter are made of 6 panels.

I found some online instructions to make a Cross Stitch Ball. The author, Martha Beth Lewis, refers to a Christmas Ball project in the December 1995 issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine. I have learned that this ball was designed by Linda Palmer of In Gentle Fashion and it is similar to the ones in the Christmas Ball series. Lewis says that there were no detailed instructions in the magazine so she developed a way of doing them using diamond shapes. I haven't tried her instructions, but she says that the trim she uses covers any gaps between the fabrics. (Click here for these instructions.)

There is another very good tutorial online that shows someone constructing a six piece ball ornament. She used machine embroidery, instead of cross stitch, but the method would be the same. (click here for tutorial)

A couple of years ago I played with some prototypes of Cross stitch Ball ornaments and finally in 2008 I stitched and finished one. I used a design by Ellen Maurer-Stroh called "Christmas Greetings" and I stitched the design twice on one rectangular piece of 22 count hardanger. Then I cut the "petals" for the ball, leaving them attached at the "equator", like the yellow lines in the bottom picture diagram below. (Each petal is 1/2 the circumference of the ball tall and 1/4 of the circumference of the ball wide.)

Along the way I figured out a couple things. The first thing I figured out is that stiff fabrics, like aida, will probably not mold as well to the curves of the Styrofoam balls as will evenweave fabrics. The 22 count count fabric that I used was from Zweigart and by dampening the edges I did manage to mold it to the shape of the ball. The packaged 22 count that I used a couple of years ago did not mold as well. If one did want to use a stiffer fabric than I would recommend that they try to use a design that could be stitched on the bias. Or that they choose a design that would allow them to use 6 or 8 sections.

I also discovered that if you want to wrap wide trim around the balls than the ribbon needs to have a lot of give. Some upholstery trim will work and bias strips of fabric may work too. I ended up using fold over satin elastic (5/8 inches wide) and upholstery trim.

I have made some adjustable templates for the petal shapes (lens shapes) that one uses to cover Styrofoam balls. Click on the link below to find the page about them.

Lens Templates

Long after I put together this blog page I found this lovely three piece redwork ornament. The ornament uses the template for a 6 piece ball but only uses three pieces.

The blog where I found the photo is not in English but there are lots of step by step photos.

http://lovebiser.livejournal.com/128415.html

(This red work ornament inspired me to make my own three sided ornaments.)

Of course, there is more than one way to cover a ball with fabric. Here are two examples that one may be able to adapt for ornaments.

"A Patchwork Garden Pincushion Ball" by Twisted Oaks Designs

Ball made from 12 pentagons from "Jo Verso Cross Stitch Cards and Keepsakes".

Finally, there are the balls that have the cross stitch designs framed by fabric or ribbon. There are the ones from the ASN book "Easy Cross Stitch Folded Star Ornaments". I made some of these in 1992 but I would rather share pictures of two very nice ones I saw for sale on ebay.

I have recently noticed that there is a second book of these ornaments. It is currently only available as an e-book download. The first link below will show you a close up of the covers and the first page. The second is the web page where one can order the book.

http://www.hchltd.com/CrossStitch/FoldedStarOrnamentPREVIEW.pdf

http://www.hchltd.com/CrossStitch/

And there are ornaments where the cross stitch design is framed by pleated fabric. This egg shaped ornament comes from an needlework project by Associated Talents.

In 2011 I made mock ups of some ball ornaments where the cross stitch is (or could be) framed by smocked, pleated or slashed fabric or ribbon. To see the blog pages about these projects click on the photos below.

Pinwheel 2008, 2010 and 2011

Circular Padded Ornament Tutorial

2008-12-28T12:15:00.013-04:00

Adapted from Told in a Garden's "2004 Christmas Free Design". Stitched on 22 count hardanger with a single strand of floss.

First I determined the size for this ornament. I used a circle template but one could also use a compass, or household items, to draw circles on paper and then hold them over the stitched item against a bright window.

I used the circle template to mark two circles on the backing board. (I like to use illustration board or thin mat board but I've read that comic book board is a good thickness too.) I cut out the two circles. I centered one of the circles on my stitched piece and cut the fabric approximately 1/2 inch from the circle. I repeated this process for the backing fabric.

I applied glue stick to the backing boards and pressed them down on my padding. (I like to use thermolam, baby fleece or dense quilt batting.)

When the glue was set I cut the padding around the circles.

Using a long piece of thread I basted two lines of stitching around the fabric circle, approximately 1/4 inch from the edge. On the second circuit I made sure that I matched stitch for stitch. (I like to go around twice because the fabric draws up more evenly and it doesn't relax too much as I tie the knot.)

I centered one of the padded circles padded side down on the wrong side of the fabric. I pulled on both ends of the gathering thread until the fabric was pulled tight to the backing board. I knotted the threads together and cut them about 1/2 inch from the knot. Then I repeated the process with the stitched piece of fabric. I placed four pins at the top bottom and sides of the stitched design, all the same number of threads from the edge. Then I shifted the stitched piece until it was well centered.

The stitched piece was quite tight on the backing board but I decided to lace the back of it to tighten it up a little bit more. (I also could have tightened it up by placing quick drying glue, like FabriTac, under the fabric edge and then pushing the opposite edges towards the center of the back.) I knotted one end of the thread to the fabric near the bottom of the ornament and made a small stitch in the fabric near the top of the ornament. I made the next stitch to the right of the knot and the one after that to the left of the second stitch. I continue in this manner ...

...until I arrived back at the knot. I gently pulled the thread tight, checked the front of the ornament to make sure that it was still well centered, knotted the thread to the fabric and removed the pins.

If I had wanted a hanging cord that emerged from the center of the ornament I would have now glued it to one of the backs.

I applied a line of glue to the folded over fabric. (I don't apply glue to the center of the ornament when I am gluing the ornament "sandwich" together. That is because the gathered fabric makes the ornament thicker at the edges than it is in the center where there is no fabric. If I forced the centers to stick together I would be making the ornament a little concave at the center.) I used Fabritac glue and I applied a generous amount, but not so much that it would ooze out the sides when I assembled the ornament.

I pressed the two ornament halves together, placed them on a flat surface and applied weight to the top. (If I had used white glue I might have used clothespins around the edge instead.)

When the glue was well set I wrapped the cording around the ornament and cut it to a length that would give the ornament a bit of a tail. I prepared the ends of the cording and used a pin to mark the center of it. Click here to visit the page where I explain how I finish the end of commercial cording. I stuck the pin into the gap in the top center of the ornament,

then moved the cording out of the way while I used a toothpick to apply glue to the gap along the top half of the ornament. I used a clean toothpick to remove any excess glue, pressed the cording into the glue and inserted pins just below the end of the glue. I removed any visible glue with another clean toothpick and left the ornament to dry.

When it was dry I removed the pins then used a toothpick to neatly apply glue to the gap all the way down to the base of the ornament. I pressed the cording into the glue and stuck two pins into the cording. I used a clean toothpick to remove any visible glue and left it to dry.

I knotted the two pieces of cording together using a length of Perle #8,

and left the two ends of the thread vertically on the ornament.

I fashioned a "faux bow" from organdy ribbon and pinned it together at the center. I placed it on top of the knot in the thread.

Then I tied the Perle thread in a bow over the organdy faux bow and removed the pin. I placed a drop of glue on the center of the knot. I threaded another length of Perle thread onto a tapestry needle and poked it beneath the cording at the center top of the ornament. I removed the needle, tied a knot and trimmed the cord above the knot.

Note. Another way to make sure that a circular ornament is well centered is to poke a pin through the center of the stitched design and the center of the padded back. If the pin is left in place until back is laced or glued then the ornament will stay well centered. For an oval ornament it is better to baste the center lines of the stitched piece and align them with center lines drawn on the back of backing board. (Photo to follow.)

Pinwheel 2012

I have been asked where I get circular and oval templates. Circle shapes can be easy to find around the house. Ovals can be more challenging. Both can be easily drawn if you know what size you want and you have MS Paint on your computer. The sequence is as follows:

Open MS Paint.
Choose Image, then Attributes
Choose inches or centimeters and fill in your dimensions
Click OK.
Click on the Ellipse on the tool bar
Place the cursor on the bottom right of the white rectangle.
Click and move the cursor to the top left corner of the white rectangle.
Click again.

You should now have a circle or oval ready for printing. (First check your Page Setup to make sure that it is set to fit on 1 by 1 pages.)

Finally, sometimes an elongated circle may accommodate your stitched piece better than an oval.

(Adapted from Mill Hill kit "Sweet Greetings Gingerbread".)

Pinwheel 2008

Some thoughts on padded ornaments

2008-12-26T22:19:00.075-04:00

(From Dimensions kit "Christmas Keepsake Ornaments".)

Flat padded ornaments can be made in square, rectangular, circular, oval or more complex shapes. The assembly is basically the same "sandwich" but for each one there are different tricks to make sure that the finished ornament is straight, centered and unwrinkled. Below I have links to tutorials about several common shapes of padded ornaments but first here's some general advice.

1/ It you are using something other than the cross stitch fabric for your backing piece choose a fabric that doesn't compete with the cross stitch project. Tone on tone prints are usually a safe bet.

2/ Take steps to make sure that your ornament will be straight and centered. For square or rectangular ornaments you can mark the lines where you want your fabric to fold by either pressing a crease or by basting some running stitches. For some shapes basting center lines on the stitched piece and lining them up with center lines drawn on the back of the backing board may work better. For round ornaments a pin stuck through the center of the stitched piece and the center of the padded backing board is all that is required.

3/ When you fasten the fabric to the back of the mounting board make sure that the fabric is pulled nice and tight. You can most quickly accomplish this with double sided tape or a quick drying glue like Fabritac. But if you don't have either you can lace the fabric edges, just like you would for a piece that you wanted to frame. If you use regular glue you can use clothes pins to hold everything nice and tight while the glue cures.

4/ Don't apply glue to the center when you are gluing the ornament "sandwich" together. Just apply the glue to the edges. Some parts at the edge of your ornament may have 6 layers of fabric. The center of your ornament will have none. If you force the centers to stick together you will be making the ornament a little concave at the center.

I have been asked how I decide what shape of padded ornament I will make. When it isn't obvious I will put the stitched piece against a bright window and cover it with a piece of paper. Then I lightly sketch some different shapes.

Squares and rectangles are not my favourite shapes for padded ornaments because I like to make perfectly mitred corners and crisp cross stitch fabric does not like to be mitered. Click on the next photo to see my notes on Square and Rectangular Padded Ornaments.

My favourite padded ornament are ones where all the angles are more than 90 degrees. When I choose pentagon, hexagon or octagon shapes I can fold over all the edges and I don't have to fuss with mitred corners.

Sometimes the cross stitch design is already one of these shapes, like the ornament at the top of this page or this snowflake ornament design by Tor Rhuann Designs.

And sometimes I crop or add to the original design so that I can make 6 or 8 sided oranments.

(Santa & Baby is adapted from a Bucilla kit. The Magi is adapted from a design in "Sue Cook's Christmas Cross Stitch Collection".)

Click on the photo below for my Octagonal Padded Ornament Tutorial.

I also enjoy making circular and oval padded ornaments. Click on the photo below for my Circular Padded Ornament Tutorial.

Pinwheel 2008 and 2012

My other Ornament Finishes, to date

2008-12-26T15:45:00.010-04:00

As well as cross stitch I have used smocking, tatting, wood work, patchwork and decoupage to craft my annual Christmas ornaments. Here is a "contact sheet" view of some of them. If you would like to see bigger images you can visit my smocking album or my other crafts album and click on the individual pictures. You can also visit my Smocked Ornaments website.

Pinwheel 2009

My Cross Stitch Ornaments, to date

2008-12-26T15:21:00.021-04:00

Here is a "contact sheet" view of most of the cross stitch ornaments that I have made since 1989. Some have been stitched only once or twice but others have been stitched 20 or more times. If you want design/ designer information for any of them you can visit my flickr cross stitch album then click on the individual pictures. For information on how I finished them visit Illustrated Index to Tutorials and Notes.

Pinwheel 2009

Boxes for Ornaments : Gift Boxes from Greeting Cards, Photos, Postcards and Card Stock

2008-12-26T12:39:00.055-04:00

Every year as I am crafting ornaments to send near and far I am also pondering how I am going to package them. Some years I knew that I could easily slip them into a greeting card. Other years found me wandering the aisles of the grocery store looking for just the right sized boxes. (By Christmas Day my cupboards might hold a box of loose light bulbs, or loose envelopes of pectin.)

In 2004 my annual gift ornaments were Mill Hill Diamond ornaments. As I was stitching them I was thinking that they were just a wee bit too thick to slip into a greeting card. Then it occurred to me that I could easily fold a greeting card to accommodate the ornament. (My quilting ruler made this a very quick project.) That year my gift boxes were made from a 4" by 6" greeting card. They looked like this:

My illustrated (pdf) instructions for these boxes (that open at one end like a cereal box) can be seen or downloaded from this link: Flat Box from Greeting Card.

In 2005 my annual ornaments were Smocked Ornaments made from remnants from one of my Mom's square dancing skirts. In keeping with the recycling theme I folded boxes from recycled 5" by 7" Christmas cards. (Note that two sides of these boxes will show the back of the card.) These boxes looked like this:

My illustrated (pdf) instructions for these boxes can be seen or downloaded from this link: Boxes from Greeting Cards.

In 2006 my annual ornaments were Washi (decoupage) Eggs. In keeping with the "dairy" theme I fashioned greeting card boxes into a milk carton shape. They looked like this:

(No instructions for these as they are the same as the 2005 boxes with two of the top flaps up.)

In 2007 I stitched some ornaments that needed a flat box. This time they were just the right size to make a candy box type box from a 5 x 7 inch greeting card. They looked like this:

I didn't make any instructions for these boxes because I found a tutorial for similar ones at: http://www.craftypod.com/?p=285

It later occurred to me that photographs and postcards would make a great tops for this type of box. Here is one I whipped up from a postcard. (The bottom is made from a card stock rectangle that is cut slightly smaller than the postcard.)

Note that in order to show all of the inscription I placed the tabs on the outside of this box.

In 2008 I stitched 15 sided three dimensional ornaments. I knew that these ornaments would be too big for a greeting card box and I wanted to make a box that would keep the tassels from getting bent. I ended up folding five sided boxes from 8 1/2" x 11" card stock. They looked like this:

My illustrated (pdf) instructions for these boxes can be seen or downloaded via this link: Five Sided Boxes.

In 2010 I used three sided boxes, that were really more of a wrap than a box. I made the prototype (second from the top in the photo below) using a recycled greeting card but made the rest using sheets of card stock.

The tutorials for making these boxes can be found on this blog page.

Bonus Tutorial

I also found a tutorial to make a pillow style box from a greeting card. Click on the photo to see the tutorial.

Here is a pdf for another template for a pillow style box. (You can shrink/ resize it with a photocopier.)

Pinwheel 2008, 2009 and 2010

Quick Ornament Finishes (With instructions)

2008-12-26T11:15:00.042-04:00

No Stitch Bias Tape Ornament Instructions

This is a fairly fast ornament finish for circular or oval shapes. It doesn't require any sewing and you can use bias strips or fold over satin elastic.

(Mouse, from "And Even a Mouse" by Lori Birmingham, uses a bias strip of fabric. Santa, from Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs, uses fold over satin elastic.)

My illustrated (pdf) instructions can be seen or downloaded from this link :

No stitch bias tape ornaments

Mason Jar Lid Ornament Instructions

I have thought of doing ornaments with mason jar lids for many years but I didn't like the options for finishing the back. One morning, in the wee hours, I figured out that the best way is not to have a back. Since it will have two sides you can use two stitched pieces, or you can use fabric for the back opening.

( From "Scottish Adventure" which can be found at: http://novalee02.over-blog.com/article-18932185.html )

My illustrated (pdf) instructions can be seen or downloaded from this link:
Mason Jar Lid Ornament

Adapted from design in Cross Stitch Crazy magazine. (2004)(Similar design Xmas Penguins can be downloaded from www.lucieheaton.com)

Adapted from design in CrossStitcher magazine.

Mason jar lids are available in standard (70 mm) and wide mouth (86 mm) in platinum and gold coloured finishes. They come in the standard size in gingham, fruit, vegetable and poinsettia designs.

Because there is a possibility that the lids could rust I recommend that the finished ornaments are stored with silica gel packs, like the ones that often come with shoes or medications.

Pinwheel 2008