Christmas is only three days away, and I’m finishing up some last-minute projects, like these cute embroidered wool Christmas ornaments. Since I’m a grandmother now (and a crafty one at that!) I’ve decided to start a new tradition of making a handmade ornament for the grandkids each year. Since we only have two grandchildren so far, it’s pretty easy!
Lilly and Nicholas each got new Christmas stockings this year to match the rest of the family’s, so I thought it would be fun to make stocking ornaments, too.
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| Wool ornament, 3-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ |
Nicholas’ stocking has snowflakes embroidered on hand-dyed blue wool. For each snowflake, I drew three criss-crossing lines with a chalk marker, to give me a hexagon shape, then just started adding French knots and crossing lines. They’re not perfect, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. It just makes them look handmade, right?
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| Wool ornament, 3-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ |
Lilly’s sweet little pink wool Christmas stocking ornament has embroidered daisies, done with a lazy daisy stitch, surrounded by French knots. It looks like daisies in the snow, doesn’t it?
I added a monogram to the front side of each cuff and embroidered the date on the back.
I love knowing that, years from now, when 2011 is just a distant memory, Lilly and Nicholas will be hanging these ornaments on a Christmas tree and remembering their Grandma Leslie.
1 – Make a simple drawing of the stocking and cuff. (The cuff on mine measures 2-3/4″ wide x 1-3/8″ high. The stocking measures 3″ from the base of the cuff to the bottom of the toe, but the stocking piece extends up under the cuff about 1″.)
2 – Cut out the drawing to make a pattern for the stocking. The cuff can simply be measured and marked on the wool.
3 – Trace the pattern onto the wool, but don’t cut out the individual pieces yet. If you leave them as a larger piece, it’s easier to handle them while embroidering.
4 – With a chalk marker or disappearing marker, draw on the flowers, snowflakes, monograms, and dates.
5 – Embroider the designs using 2-3
strands of DMC floss.
6 – Cut out each stocking and cuff.
7 – Using fabric glue, lightly glue the edges of the stocking front and back together around the edges, leaving the top open. Don’t use too much glue, just enough to anchor the pieces together.
8 – Glue the cuff pieces onto the front and back of the stocking.
9 – Embroider the blanket stitching on the bottom edge of the cuff, front and back.
10 – Stuff the stocking lightly with polyfill.
11 – Make a hanger by cutting three pieces of 6-ply embroidery floss and braiding it together. Knot the ends and glue it in place inside the cuff of the stocking.
12 – Lightly glue the top edge of the front cuff to the back cuff.
13 – Blanket stitch around all the edges with 3 strands of embroidery floss.
2 Comments
I love your letters. What alphabet did you use?
I just drew them by hand.