Bird Family Cross-Stitch Pin

Another cross-stitch pin this week! This one has a colorful little family of birds on it. I stitched it on 18-count white Aida with DMC floss: Rose #335, Turquoise #597, Chartreuse #703, Topaz #725, Medium Rose #899, Dark Navy Blue #939, and Light Blue Green #3813. Click here to download and print a copy of the chart.

I design my cross-stitch charts with a software program called Pattern Maker for Cross-Stitch. When I like the way the design looks, I print it out and start stitching. I almost always make adjustments to the designs when I make them for the first time, so I just mark my changes on the hard copy and update the file when I'm finished.

Like the other pins I've featured on my blog, this one uses a setting from the Etsy shop Kailea. I put together this picture tutorial to show you how I mount my embroidery in the settings. First, I iron a small piece of fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the embroidery to stabilize it. Next, I center the back plate over the embroidery and trace around it with disappearing fabric marker. I cut along the line with sharp scissors and place the embroidered fabric piece in the frame and fit the back plate over it. The pin back then fits on top of the back plate, and I use nylon-nose pliers to clamp the prongs over to hold the backing in place.