A Year of Christmas Stitching - October Free Chart

There are certain sayings or phrases that remind you of someone. The one that I have used for the October's 'A Year of Christmas Stitching' design reminds me of my Dad. Every time I complained about having cold hands he would always say this to me....

According to him, having cold hands was a sign that you had a good heart!

Most of our 'A Year of Christmas Stitching' designs have been quick-to-stitch designs, but this one is super quick! You can literally have this stitched in one evening.

I have used red and blue thread for this design but you can use any combinations of colours ...it's such a simple design to switch colours, so use whatever your favourite colours are, or whatever threads you have in your stash. (And don't forget to share a picture of your finished stitching on social media #ayearofchristmasstitching and #tangledthreadsandthings....we love to see your finishes!)

So once you have stitched this design, what to do with it? Read on!

As you are probably aware by now, I tend to get a bit carried away with all the ideas in my head, so 'one and done' is not really my thing!

First I made a little hanging ornament....after all, who doesn't love Christmas ornaments? ;)

I trimmed the stitching to 8 squares from the outermost stitch on the sides and the base, then frayed the edges (there's a handy tutorial here for how to fray the edges) Leave as much as you can of the fabric at the top of the design. This is the part that will wrap round the wire hanger.

Once you have trimmed the design to size, you will need to back the design with something such as iron-on interfacing (this is what I used), or some white felt, or cardstock, so that you don't see the difference where there is one layer of fabric and two layers of fabric on the overlap. Fold the fabric over the hanger and secure with either glue, double sided tape or by stitching in place. Wasn't that easy?!!!

So, what else did I make using this design? Well, with the words 'cold hands' in the design it seemed the perfect design to make some hand warmers! :)

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I simply trimmed the design as above but also trimmed the top part of the design. I cut another piece of Aida the same size and frayed the edges to match. If you are hand sewing the pocket, it's easier if you don't add the interfacing!

I simply stitched the sides and base to form a small pocket and then popped in one of these little hand warmer inserts.

These little hand warmers make the perfect gifts for friends and co-workers.....and don't forget those hard-to-get-something-different teachers gifts! They are quick to make and everyone loves a handmade gift that's practical and that they will use.

Don't forget to make some hand warmers for yourself! Pop them in your pocket for cold days going to work or watching the kids sports teams....and with warm hands you can keep stitching!

-Rhona

Grab your free chart here:

AYOXS Oct

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