As we slowly start to emerge from the lockdown of the last few months, it’s a great time to be finishing projects and starting something new. In my previous post about how to finish off cross stitch we talked about hoops, bookmarks and backing boards and in this post, I want to show you how to finish cross stitch ornaments, bags and cushions.
They’re all great ways to put to use the projects you’ve worked so hard on and make unique hand-made gifts that are sure to be treasured.
Making ornaments isn’t just for Christmas. You can turn cross stitch projects into lovely ornaments for birthdays, Easter or other occasions too. Just use your imagination! This method works best for smaller projects that have been worked inside a square design.
You’ll need:
• your finished piece of cross stitch
• a piece of cotton fabric the same size as your finished cross stitch
• some stuffing (polyester or other)
• 8” piece of ribbon
• scissors
• needle and cotton thread (to sew by hand or on a sewing machine)
First, count away from the edge of your design by about 1-2 inches. This is the amount of border you’ll need to make the seam for your ornament and gives you a guide for where to cut. Carefully cut out your cross stitch piece and fold your ribbon in half to make a loop. With the loop facing downwards from the mid top edge of your cross stitch square, sew across the ends of the ribbon to hold it in place.
Now, with right sides together, place your cotton fabric and cross stitch piece on top of one another. The ribbon loop will be sandwiched inside. Sew by machine or backstitch by hand all around the edge of the squares, approx. 0.5cm from the edge of the work.
Make sure you leave a gap of a few centimetres and then turn your work the right side out through the gap. Iron lightly then fill with your polyester stuffing and carefully hand sew the gap closed.
You could make an entire advent calendar this way, or with just a little tweak on the theme, you could turn cross stitch pieces into mini lavender-filled cushions and place in drawers or hang in wardrobes.
Photos above @ydintisvajoniupieva
Turning a cross stitch design into a cushion can be done in a similar way to the ornament above, but it has the added dimension of needing a zip so that you can put in a cushion pad. You need to measure really carefully and put some light fusing or backing material behind your cross stitch work so that your cushion will hold its finished shape well. You can even add on other details like a colourful pom pom trim!
Photo above @anjanettefoote
You’ll need:
• your finished piece of cross stitch
• a piece of cotton fabric the same size as your finished cross stitch or add approx. 1.5cm allowance for a slightly looser cover
• some polyester stuffing (or similar)
• zip
• scissors
• needle and cotton thread (to sew by hand or on a sewing machine)
For an easy-to-follow tutorial to make your cushion, try this video, but substitute one of the pieces of fabric for your finished piece of cross stitch.
Photo above @jacquip
For a previous Christmas stitch-a-long, I turned the final Deck the Halls cross stitch project into a wall hanging. You can follow the full video tutorial to do the same just here.
I hope you have fun transforming some of your finished cross stitch pieces using the methods above. Which projects have you finished recently? Why not share them in our Facebook group (here) where you’ll also meet some lovely fellow stitchers and pick up plenty of new ideas and tips.
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