A Year of Christmas Stitching - May
I'm reliably informed (thanks to Google!) that there are only 238 days to Christmas! :)
If you have been stitching along with us from the start of the year, you're well under way with your Christmas stitching....and if you've just joined us you can still access all the previous charts and you'll soon be caught up with us. Today we'll add another design to your collection.
So... Santa needs to know if you've been naughty or nice, and if you've been naughty he'll leave you a lump (or two!) of coal. And where does Santa get all his coal? The North Pole Coal Company of course!
When my children got too old for a stocking at the end of their bed on Christmas morning, 'Santa' would leave them a bag of coal instead. Tucked inside their bags of coal were all sorts of chocolate goodies! We still carry on this tradition even now! (I'm a sucker for Christmas traditions!)
This month's free chart is another design that can be adapted to use whatever colors of thread you have in your stash, and since it uses only one colour, you don't have to worry about what colour of thread you pick - any colour will work.
Changing the thread colour changes the look of the design, and so does using different a color of fabric. For this example shown above, I used black thread and stitched the design on an oatmeal fabric as I wanted an 'old' look to my finish.
There's a detailed post here on how to finish your stitching with a ribbon wrapped hoop if you want to finish your stitching in a hoop like this...
The great thing about wrapping your hoop with a ribbon is that there are so many different colors of ribbon available that you're sure to find one that matches your thread colour...of course you could also go for a contrasting colour if you wanted.
Once you have wrapped your hoop you can finish off the back of the hoop by following this tutorial here.
Adding a small bow and a length of ribbon for hanging completes this little ornament!
Simple but oh, so effective!
And if you're feeling a bit adventurous, why not make your North Pole Coal Co. stitching into a little coal gift bag like this...
I used an 18 count oatmeal fabric so that the finished design would be smaller so that I could make little bag to put some 'coal' into it.
Isn't that cute? Of course, there's no coal inside only chocolate goodies :)
If making a bag like this seems too daunting for you, you can always stitch the design and cut it to size and attach it to a pre-made gift bag.....the result will still be the same - a cute bag for 'coal'!
This is a fun way to brighten up a gift bag and is great for giving gifts to teachers, neighbors and those oh-so-awkward teenagers!
We love to see your stitching so please share your pics on social media and remember to use #ayearofchristmasstitching and #tangledthreadsandthings so we can all see your wonderful work!
Happy stitching!
- Rhona
AYOXS May
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P.S Don't forget to check out our Etsy shop where there are more Christmas designs!