Poinsettia Cross-Stitch

My Poinsettia Cross-Stitch picture was one of the Christmas projects featured in the 2014 Holiday issue of Craft Ideas magazine. This year, I'll be using the picture as part of my Christmas decor. If you'd like to make one of your own, click here for the link to the instructions and chart on the Craft Ideas website. You better start stitching soon--Christmas is just 23 days away!

Christmas Gift Roundup

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Christmas countdown can begin! If you're like me, you like to make as many gifts as you can--they're much more personal, and it's a much more pleasant experience than braving the crowds at the mall.

Since I began this blog almost two years ago, I've shared many projects that make great little gifts. I'm re-sharing nine of my favorites here that use a variety of techniques--sewing, crochet, embroidery, and paper crafts. Click on the name of the project below to visit its original blog post.

1. Tiny Tree Pins: These cute little Christmas tree pins require minimal sewing skills. They're a great way to use up felt, buttons, beads, and other baubles from your sewing basket.

2. Crocheted Bangle Bracelets: They look luxurious, but they're inexpensive and easy to make from metallic embroidery floss and thrift-store bangles.

3. Flowery Fabric Pendant: No fancy embroidery here. You just accent a pretty piece of fabric with back-stitch and beads, and then mount it in a pendant setting.

4. Crocheted Paillette Necklace: If you can crochet chain stitch, you can make this necklace. Just add pretty paillettes--which are oversize sequins--onto loops of chain stitch made from embroidery floss.

5. Felt Daisy Pillow: Probably the most challenging project of the bunch, but very much worth it if you like to sew. I keep this pillow out year-round because the color palette suits every season.

6. Crocheted Icicle Garland: Another easy-to-crochet project made from embroidery floss (probably my favorite craft supply). It's just a long rope of chain stitch embellished with "crystal" ice drops.

7. Upcycled Tablecloth Sachet: I made this lavender-filled sachet from a tablecloth my mother embroidered. You can make a similar design by upcycling any vintage linens you have on hand.

8. New Year's Inspiration Jar: I can't really call this a craft project, but it's a great gift for anyone of any age. It's a decorated mason jar filled with 52 printed quotes to offer a weekly does of inspiration in the new year.

9. Embroidered Pine Balsam Sachet: The tiny pine trees on this sachet are stitched on Aida fabric with wintry green embroidery floss. The pillow is easy to sew from felt (no fraying!). Pine balsam filling makes it smell like a fresh Christmas tree.

So there you have it--nine of my favorite gift-worthy projects. If you don't see something you like here, browse through the blog--there are dozens of ideas to choose from.

Cross-Stitched Woodland Sachet

This project combines two of my favorite things--cross-stitching and the scent of pine. I made bunches of cross-stitched woodland sachets like this one a few years ago and gave them as gifts. It's a simple project that uses just four colors of DMC embroidery floss, a small piece of 14-count Aida, a scrap of backing fabric, and a ribbon for hanging. And a few scoops of fragrant pine balsam, of course!

You can follow the chart below or click here to download a free printable chart. Because the design is worked mainly in straight stitches and back stitches, I didn't use symbols on the chart. The pattern uses only four colors of floss--red, brown, and two shades of green--so I think this "stitch" chart is pretty easy to follow. (I hope you're not confused by those little stitches on the birds; they're just quarter and half cross-stitches.)

To stitch the design, start with a 3-inch-by-7-inch piece of 14-count white Aida. Begin your stitching at the center of the fabric (the arrows on the chart indicate the center of the design). I used two strands of floss for all stitching. When the embroidery is complete, press the piece face down on a padded surface. Cut a piece of backing fabric (mine is bright green) the same size as the Aida piece and pin it to the embroidered Aida, right sides facing.

Sew the edges together, leaving an opening at the bottom for turning. I made my lines of stitching two Aida squares beyond the cross-stitched border of the design all around. At the top of the sachet, I sewed a length of green gingham ribbon between the fabric layers to make a hanging loop.

Trim the edges and corners of the fabrics, and then turn the sachet right side out. Fill it with pine balsam, and then whipstitch the opening closed. Now your woodland sachet is ready for hanging--on a Christmas tree, doorknob, or anywhere in your home you'd like to add some Christmas color and fragrance. 

Woodland Sachet   ©2015 Kathleen Berlew

This design originally appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of Crafts 'n Things (now Craft Ideas) magazine. Click here to see the chart and directions on the CI website.

Oak Leaf Name Tags

Thanksgiving is only a week away, so your dinner plans are probably well underway. While you're choosing recipes and shopping for good things to eat, set aside a little time to make something pretty for your Thanksgiving table. Even if your gathering is small, place cards make guests feel welcome and special. These oak leaf name tags are easy to stitch from felt. Vellum leaves printed with guests' names give them a personal touch.

Each name tag starts with two oak leaf shapes (mine are about five inches tall) cut from fall-colored felt. Use three strands of embroidery floss to create veins on one leaf from each pair. I used chain stitch, stem stitch, and split stitch to create different textures. When the embroidery is complete, pin each embroidered leaf to a plain leaf and sew the edges together with running stitch. For the stems, fold a small piece of baby rick-rack in half and sew it between the two pieces of felt at the base of the leaf.

For the name tags, cut smaller leaf shapes from vellum paper. Use permanent marker to write a name on each one and punch a hole at the base of each leaf.

To assemble the name tags, just slip the rick-rack stems through the vellum holes. I love the way the color and texture peek through the vellum! When it's time to set the table, place a leaf at each setting so guests know where they're supposed to sit. And when your Thanksgiving gathering is finished, your guests can keep their name tags and use them as ornaments in their own homes.