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  • Writer's pictureRhona Norrie
    • 3 min read

Ideas on how to finish our March design

Hi stitchy friends,


by now you've probably stitched the March 'A year of Christmas Stitching' free design and are thinking about how to finish it. We've got some simple-to-make finishing ideas that will make your stitching look spectacular!


text about free chart and cross stitch card

If you haven't got the chart for this design you can grab the free pdf download here.


These are just a few ideas/suggestions of things you can make...you can copy what we've made or do your own thing! Remember to share your stitching ideas on social media using #ayearofchristmasstitching and/or #tangledthreadsandthings we love to see your stitching and finishing!


Cross stitched Christmas card with bauble and mini lights

The first thing we made was a Christmas card....everyone loves a hand stitched card and this design is perfect for making a stunning card suitable to send to male or female recipients.


All we did was cover a blank card with some red card, then cut some patterned paper so that there was a 5mm (approx) border of the red card showing. We used a scandi style design as it had the perfect shades of blue and reds to match the stitching. We then trimmed our stitching to 5 squares from the stitched border then frayed the edging. You can find a handy tutorial on how to fray the edges of your aida here. We then attached our stitching to some red card (the same as we used earlier) leaving a narrow border of about 2mm all round, then attached this to some white card leaving about a 1mm border. All that was left to do was to attach this to the card we had prepared earlier.


Close up of cross stitching on card

So now we have another Christmas card all tucked away ready to send during the festive season.


Cross stitched 'Noel' on Christmas card

And those of you who regularly follow us will know that we are avid readers and love giving books as gifts....and of course, a handmade bookmark is always included with the gift!


cross stitched bookmark with snowflake charm

This design was just perfect for making as a bookmark...and bookmarks are soooo easy to make and are wonderful gifts .....of course you can just keep it for yourself if you want!!!

All you need is your stitching (of course!) some felt, glue, and if you want, something to attach at the end of the bookmark. I love having a little charm or tassel hanging out from the pages of my book, but this part is definitely optional. If you'd like to add a tassel, we have a great tutorial on how to make one here, it's easier than you think!

And to save writing out a long description of how to make a bookmark, we have a YouTube video of the process and you can see it here. The only thing we did differently on this bookmark was that we added the snowflake charm before we glued the stitching to the felt.


Cross stitch ornament with big bow

The ornament finishing looks as if it would be very complicated....but trust us, it's not. It's really simple and you end up with a stunning ornament.


All you will need to make this ornament is....


  • 2 1/4 " (5.7cm) wide black ribbon approx 18 inches (46cm) in length

  • Patterned ribbon for bow at top (wired ribbon is best for this)

  • Felt

  • Scissors

  • Glue

  • Cutting mat

  • Small craft dowel rod (optional)

craft supplies to make a cross stitch ornament

How we made this ornament


  • We folded the ribbon in half over the dowel rod and glued the ribbon together. This was to make the ribbon a bit stiffer, so if you have thick ribbon you can omit this step. We cut a small inverted V shape in the ribbon at the bottom.


  • We then trimmed the design to 4 squares from the stitched border and glued this to some dark red felt which we then trimmed to approx 2mm from the edge of the stitching. We then glued this to the black ribbon we prepared earlier making sure that there was enough room for a big fancy bow on the top and that the stitching wouldn't be covered by the bow.


  • Make a fancy bow using the wire ribbon and attach to the top of the black ribbon. You can always use a pre-made bow or topper if you'd like...that's what we did!


  • All that's left to do is to attach a small loop of thread at the back of your ornament to use for hanging it on a hook on the wall.... and you're done!


Cross stitched ornament with fancy bow on top

One design, so many finishing options!


We hope you find these ideas helpful, but there are always lots of other ways to finish off your stitching....do whatever makes you happy! (And don't forget to share them with us!)


Happy stitching!

- Rhona and Eirinn


Don't forget to pin an image on Pinterest!





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