free chart

A miniature embroidery on a small scrap of hand painted linen

 

Embroidering miniatures is a great way to use small scraps of fabric instead to throw them away.

keep calm cross stitch miniature

With a textile paint or dye you can also change the colour of your fabric (you can get an incredible variety of colours using just the three primary colours!).
In this case I’m going to use a red textile paint to recolour an ivory linen that has been left over from another embroidery project.

hand painted linen tutorial1

You can use a brush or a sponge to apply the paint, depending on the effect you wish to achieve.

hand painted linen tutorial2

After painting, leave to dry for a few hours. Then fix paint by ironing on the wrong side of the fabric for 5 minutes.
… Now the fabric is ready to be embroidered!

hand painted linen tutorial3 - stitching miniature

To make a really tiny cross stitch miniature, stitch over one thread of your evenweave fabric instead of two.

Here is the chart for the “KEEP CALM and CARRY ON” motif:

keep calm free cross stitch chart

Model stitched on a 32 count linen using one strand of white cotton over one thread of fabric

Free cross stitch project: Little treasures

Jewelry box / cabinet

LITTLE TREASURES
A cross stitch design by Valentina Sardu

Recommended fabric
25 count ivory evenweave fabric, stitched over 2 threads

Recommended threads
Cross stitch in 2 strands: terracotta (DMC 356 / Anchor 5975) and dark red (DMC 498 / Anchor 1005)
Backstitch in 1 strand: terracotta (DMC 356 / Anchor 5975)

Jewelry box / cabinet - cross stitch pattern from "Burato" by A.Paganino

The repeatable cross stitch pattern is from the model book “Burato. Libro de recami” by Alex Paganino.

Jewelry box / cabinet - free chart 1

Jewelry box / cabinet - free chart 2

Jewelry box / cabinet - free chart 3

Jewelry box / cabinet - free chart 4

This alphabet is used for personalizing the top of the jewelry box, but it would also work as an alphabet sampler:

Jewelry box / cabinet - free chart: alphabet

____________

… From our Bookshelf …

Alex Paganino
Burato. Libro de Recami

ISBN 9788875473310
EURO 24.OO

Click here for MORE INFO.

DIY Tutorial & Freebie: cross stitched photo album

cross stitched photo album - 1

What you will need:

  • For the outside cover: 4 squares of thick cardboard; 2 squares of wadding (batting) of the same size; 2 pieces of evenweave fabric (one embroidered, the other plain) large enough to cover the cardboard pieces
  • For the inside: 11 sheets of thinner card stock or paper (the same height as the outside cover, and twice as wide)
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • PVA (white craft glue) diluted with water, or double sided tape
  • Needle and thread
  • A long piece of ribbon
  • A small charm (optional)

cross stitched photo album - 2

COVER

Start with the front cover: glue a piece of batting to a square of cardboard and allow to dry.

cross stitched photo album - 3

Stitch a cross stitch design of your choice on one of the fabric pieces. Place the embroidery right side down and place the cardboard backing, batting side down, in the centre.
Apply glue or double sided tape all around the edges of the cardboard.
Fold the fabric corners over the glued area.
Fold the sides of the fabric over and press.
Sew the corner mitres together to make them  neat and flat (use regular sewing thread).
Repeat the same steps for the back cover.

cross stitched photo album - 4
Sew or glue the ribbon in place leaving a space between the covers sufficient to hold the necessary pages, and glue the remaining two squares of thick cardboard over it.

cross stitched photo album - 5

INSIDE PAGES

Cut 11 or more pieces of card stock the same height as the outside cover, and twice as wide.
Fold each piece in half.

cross stitched photo album - 6
Using glue or double sided tape, fix the folded pieces together to create an accordion-style fold as shown below.

cross stitched photo album - 7
Glue the first accordion page to the front cover and the last page to the back cover.

cross stitched photo album - 8
Close the book and make a bow with the ribbon. Add a charm of your choice.

cross stitched photo album - 9

Our model was stitched on dark red 28 ct. Lugana evenweave fabric using DMC floss.

The cross stitched letters are from the book “Vintage Cross Stitch – Alphabets”

cross stitched photo album - 10

Right-click on the image below to get our free chart!

free-chart-LOVE-ajisaipress

____________

… From our Bookshelf …

Alphabets - Abécédaires - Alfabeti

Vintage Cross Stitch
ALPHABETS / ABÉCÉDAIRES / ALFABETI

ISBN 9788875473174
EURO 24.OO

Click here for MORE INFO.