Christmas Tree Straight Stitched A7 Card

 

Classic fir tree shape shape is composed of patchwork sections

and trunk of closely-spaced straight stitches. 

Use three holiday colors of perle cotton no. 5 (or 6-ply floss) 

and darning needle to make the stitches, 

then mount on front of card base for 5x7 card. 

(Or be creative and select preferred colors.) 

Also included is an up-arch two-part banner. 

Employ “print & cut” features to create

 the “merry christmas” banner’s front panel. 

(Plain banner shape also included for customizing with 

stamp or hand-penned sentiment.) 

(This tutorial is under construction.

Please return soon to view the complete

stitching and assembly guide.)

ASSEMBLY:  1. Identify and cut the shapes:

A front panel with stitching holes 

(2 to glue in a stack for strength)

B card base, side fold

C star accent

D banner front panel (print & cut "merry christmas" shown)

E banner base with double point ends

Also shown is 3 selected colors of DMC no. 5 perle cotton:

off white, red 666 and green 702

2. Prepare the front panels by poking through ALL holes

using the tapestry needle that will complete the stitching,

or a "tool" formed from an un-bent standard paper clip.

3. Apply glue to the underside of selected front panel,

then position it over top of second front panel,

taking care the align outer cut edges as precisely

as possible, and also . . .

. . . using the paperclip tool to push through

randomly-selected holes in critical places in

the pattern to ensure that the stitching holes align.

Immediately place the glued-up stack under a heavy

flat object such as this thick book volume, with something

heavy on top.

4. Obtain tapestry needle size 24 (or the finest blunt end

needle that can be threaded with the no. 5 perle cotton.

Allow the panels to be pressed for several hours or 

overnight, to help prevent warping or curling of shapes

glued together with liquid adhesive.

Cut a length (36-38 inches) of green perle cotton and

thread needle, leaving a several-inches long tail

at end threaded through eye.

5. For demonstration purposes, this sample project

will begin stitching at lower left hole.

Reverse the panels and attach the long tail to

the backside near to the beginning hole.

(This is the "tying on" process.)

6. Insert the needle from back to front through

first hole . . .

. . . and draw through fully to the front, allowing

the tape anchor to hold tail in place on backside.

6. Move up across the section (refer to the thumbnail

at the beginning of this post to see the direction of 

the straight stitches of this section), then insert needle

into first available hole. Pull needle and yarn fully through

to create the first "long" straight stitch.

7. To reduce backside bulk and economize on thread,

insert needle into the next neighboring hole that

completed previous straight stitch, and pull thread through.

8. Move across section again to insert needle in hole

next to first insertion hole to complete straight stitch #2.

9. Continue in the same manner to create the long

straight stitches on front side of panel, with short

"connector" stitches . . .

. . . on the backside.

10. When the first section is completed, string

the needle and thread across and upward to insert

needle in lower left "first" hole, to begin the next

section which uses the same color.

11. Move downward to insert needle into the lowest

hole in the sequence along the opposite side of

section to create the first long straight stitch

of this section.

12. Continue in the same manner to fill in

straight stitches in the sequence.

13. When the thread in the needle is used up,

at a time when there remains a convenient length

anchor a tail. Remove needle from thread, trim excess

away to leave approx. 1/2" final tail, then anchor

to panel's backside with a small piece of cello tape.

14. Continue to complete sections, moving

to next closest section, until all same-color

sections are complete.  Anchor off as described

in Step 13 when sections are completed.

Here is the panel with

green straight stitches in place.

15. Here is the panel with

green and red straight stitch sections in place.

Refer the image in Step 17 to see 

all straight stitch sections in place.

16. Use print & cut tools and procedures to complete

and cut the banner front shape with "merry christmas"

printed on selected white or offwhite card stock.

Position banner front onto banner base, aligning cut

edges that match up.

17. Position and attach the star accent above the stitches 

"point" of tree. Position and attach banner with 

punch holes aligning with matching holes in panel.

18. Position and attach the card panel onto

front of folded card base.

Here is the completed card.

Christmas Tree Stitched Wheels A6 Card

Ten stitched partial or complete “wheel” motifs in four rows 

create the Christmas tree silhouette with simple cross-stitched trunk. 

Stitching holes allow for 3-ply floss stitches to be added 

as “spokes” through center holes. 

Optionally add colored jewels or studs to cover centers.  

“Print & cut” front panel includes printed words “MERRY CHRISTMAS” 

across bottom. Middle overlay creates a narrow contrast border. 

Card measures approx. 4.63” wide x 6.25” tall when folded. 

Pattern and quantity of stitches is simple enough 

for children to help stitch. 

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut the shapes:

A side fold card base

B offset accent panel

C front "print & cut" front panel with stitching holes

D tree shape with star overlay

2. Follow basic "print & cut" instructions to prepare

and print the white cardstock panel page, then . . .

. . . position the page on the cutting sheet . . . 

. . . and cut the front panel shape with the "MERRY 

CHRISTMAS' printed words.

3. Prepare the stitching hole punched shapes by

using a tool (such as this un-bent paper clip)

to push through all "chad" cut outs that may still

be attached or in pre-cut positions. Brush off

all "crumbs" possible.

4. Position and attach the star overlay.

5. Position and carefully align the tree shape

on the front of front panel so that all the stitching holes

align as exactly as possible. Use the punch-out tool

to help with alignment, if necessary, then attach in place.

To assist the shapes to attach well and remain flat

and not warp or curl during the liquid adhesive

drying process, press flat on a flat work surface using

a heavy flat weigh such as this large, thick book volume,

possibly with something heavy on top.

6. Select the 6-ply embroidery floss color for the wheel

tree accents.

Then separate out three plies and line up the lead ends,

straighten out the lengths so there will be no tangling.

Thread lead ends through eye of blunt-tip tapestry

needle size 24 or equivalent.

7. Determine where you will begin stitching;

sample project begins at top wheel.

Use a small strip of cello tape to secure the tail ends

near beginning point. 

8. Insert the needle through the first hole to begin

the first wheel unit. Suggested starting point is

top wheel lower left outer hole.

Pull thread all the way through

leaving no slack. 

9. Insert needle down through center wheel hole.

10. Continue the stitching UP through the next up adjacent

stitching hole, and down through the center hole,

and repeat until all stitches in top wheel are complete,

as shown here. Thread ends on backside.

11. Move downward to the closest unstitched wheel

and continue to stitch. When floss length is completely

used, finish with needle on backside, trim ends to

.75"-1" and secure with small cello tape strip.

12. Re thread another set of 3 strands of floss,

and tape ends near re-start position.

13. Continue to complete the wheels stitches.

14. NOTE that there are two stitching holes

that are shared by the adjacent wheels

on second, third and fourth rows.

15. As stitching is completed to mid-point of

bottom row, move down to complete the trunk

cross stitches: first complete the slant stitches

in one direction across top row, then work back

across row to complete the slant stitches of same row.

16. Complete the trunk cross stitches, then . . .

. . . move back up to complete the final wheels.

When stitching is complete, finish with the needle

and floss on the backside, tape off and trim floss.

17. Position and attach stitched panel securely

on accent panel with narrow margin exposed

all around.

18. Position and attach the front panel assembly

onto the front panel of card base with even margin

exposed all around.