Feeling inspired to make an extra special Christmas card this festive season? In this week's blog post, we’re going to share how you can create a cross stitched Christmas card! It’s super simple and you can make as many cards as you like to send to your loved ones for a truly personal touch this Christmas.
YOU WILL NEED:
- A piece of aida or evenweave fabric (we recommend Zweigart)
- A needle (size 24 for 14 count aida and size 26 for 16 count aida)
- Threads (we recommend DMC)
- Double sided tape
- A blank aperture card
- A cross stitch pattern that's small enough to fit inside the aperture
1. CHOOSE YOUR CROSS STITCH PATTERN
Firstly, you will need to choose a pattern to stitch. Do keep in mind the size of the aperture of your card as this will determine the size of your cross stitch design.
You can use festive elements from Caterpillar Cross Stitch patterns that you may have previously purchased. If you are stitching on 14 count aida, you could stitch the gingerbread man or Christmas tree from Deck the Halls. Or how about Santa in a sleigh or one his reindeers from Dash Away?
2. STITCH YOUR CROSS STITCH DESIGN
Before you begin stitching, you will need to cut your aida or evenweave fabric to size. To work out the size you'll need, measure the aperture of the card. Then you will need to add on at least an extra 2cm (approximately an inch) to each side of the fabric.
Now you’re ready to start stitching! Make sure you start in the centre of your fabric so you have enough room to attach your design to the card.
3. PREPARE YOUR AIDA FABRIC
Next, you will need to cut your aida to size so that this fits nicely inside the card. This should be slightly bigger than the border of aperture, to ensure there is enough room to attach the fabric to your double side tape.
4. PREPARE CARD WITH DOUBLE SIDED TAPE
Now you will need to put the double sided tape onto the card. Start by measuring out how much tape you will need to fit around the aperture, and cut this before attaching to the card.
Then, you want to stick the tape around the borders keeping it as close the aperture as possible without it showing through to the front.
5. PLACE DESIGN IN THE CARD
Place your cross stitched piece so that the back of the piece is facing the inside of the card, checking from the front the design is central. Once you are happy with how this looks, you can begin peeling off the double sided tape one piece at a time. Lift up one side of the piece, peel the tape off and then apply pressure onto the fabric to stick this to the double sided tape. Repeat for all four sides.
6. ATTACH THE INSIDE FOLD OF THE CARD
As with the finished piece, you'll need to stick down the fold of the card so that this covers the back of your design. Again, measure out how much tape you will need for each side and then cut this before attaching to the card.
7. PERSONALISE THE FRONT OF YOUR CARD
This step is optional, but you can make your card even more special by adding some extra touches to the front underneath the cross stitch. Write out a festive greeting of your choice, add beads or other embellishments. You could even add some sequins, ribbon or buttons too!
All that’s left now is to write the inside of your Christmas card, ready for your loved one to open!
We hope you enjoyed our tutorial and it’s left you feeling inspired to create some beautiful cross stitched Christmas cards. Want to be the first to hear about our next blog post? Make sure to sign up to our newsletter, where you will also receive a FREE eBook of 7 cross stitch patterns and a discount code for 10% off your first order!
