Materials needed:
Embroidery Hoop - 6" diameter
Cross Stitch Fabric - 18 count, 1 piece approx. 8" x 8"
Scissors for cutting fabric
1 Sheet Dressmakers Tracing Paper - approx. 4" x 4"
Rachel # B-5 (Royal Blue) & Rachel # B-18 (Sun Orange)-1 skein
each
Rachelette # A 20 (Gold)
1 Crochet Hook - size C-2
Black Magic Markers, one with fine point, one with medium point.
Pencil with blunt end
1 Darning Needle or Yarn Needle - metal
1 Tin of "La Vosgienne" brand of French pastilles or
bon-bons - found in most larger drugstores, variety or candy stores
(The tin measures 3" in diameter. Be sure to pick a flavor
you like!)
1 Ribbon - ½" wide, either velvet or braided 9-10"
long, in either gold to match the star or blue to match the background
color
Elmers Glue
Deco Cement or other all-purpose household glue that will bond
metal and fabric
4 - 6 straight pins
Instructions:
1. Print out the pattern of the star and cut away excess paper
to make a square approx 3 ½", with the star centered.
2. Lay out your cross stitch fabric on a smooth surface. Place
your tracing paper face down over the center of fabric. Place
star pattern face up over tracing paper. Secure edges of the pattern
to the fabric with a few straight pins, so the design does not
shift while you're tracing it. Trace over the star several times
with a blunt-end pencil to transfer the design to the fabric.
Once it has been transferred to the fabric, remove the pattern
and tracing paper and go over the lines again, directly on the
fabric, with a fine point marker, so the pattern lines do no fade
as you work over them.
3. Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop so that your pattern
is centered and adjust the tension so that the fabric is as taut
as possible. As you work the design, adjust the tension as necessary
to keep the fabric taut.
4. Use your darning needle to enlarge each hole as you work the
design, following the lines. Start with the star outline. After
enlarging the first hole, take your crochet hook and the Orange
Rachel thread. Hold the thread in back of the fabric, put the
crochet hook in through the front of the fabric into the hole
you have enlarged with the needle, "pick-up" the thread
from the back of the fabric with the hook, drawing the thread
through to the front, creating a small loop. What we will be doing
is adapting a rug hooking technique to create a sort of "miniature
hooked rug!"
5. Pull each loop out on top of the fabric to protrude about 1/8"
to 1/4" long. Holding down the first loop, repeat this procedure
of enlarging the next hole with your needle and then drawing the
thread through the hole from the back with your crochet hook.
Create the loops, in sequence, following the outline of the star
pattern. Be sure to hold down each previous loop as you pull the
next one through, otherwise you may unravel the previous loop.
You can make this easier by making the loop longer when you pull
it out (1" or more), holding it down and then pulling it
to the shorter length specified after the next loop has been pulled
to the front.
6. After you have completed the star outline, use the Gold thread
to fill in the center of each diamond shape making up the star,
in the same manner. You do not need to make a loop in each and
every hole in the fabric. Just create enough loops to fill in
each diamond pattern making up design so that the color fills
in the shape and you cannot see the fabric underneath. Creating
a loop in every other hole should be enough to do this.
7. After you have filled in the entire star, lay your hoop and
fabric face up on a flat surface. Take the cover of the tin and
place it over the star so that the star is approximately in the
center of the tin cover. Then place your thumbs on the tin, one
on each side and grasp the edges of the hoop on either side with
your other fingers. Lift up the fabric with the tin over it and
hold it up in front of you (with the back of the fabric facing
you) toward a window or a light. You will see the outline of the
tin edges through the fabric. Position the tin top so that the
star design is centered within the round tin edges. Then holding
the tin top securely in position over the fabric, lay it back
down on a flat surface. With a fine point marker, draw around
the outline of the tin top on the fabric, to mark the outside
border of the design.
8. Now you can begin to fill in the background "night sky"
with your blue thread. You can continue to use the same technique
of hooking and creating loops to do this, or you can fill in the
background with a variation of the Satin stitch, called the Long
and Short stitch. Begin at the edges of the star design, working
out toward the outside edge. If you are using long and short stitches
to do this, use the darning needle, threaded with the blue thread,
to stitch with. For a diagram and instructions for making the
variation of the Satin stitch called the Long and Short stitch
see the Kids' Project for making the Flower Power Pouch at
http://www.caron-net.com/nov99files/nvkdf.html
9. Fill in the background up to about 1/4" from the edge
of your marked outline. If you are using loops for the background,
continue to do so right up to the very edge of your circular pattern.
If you are using the Long and Short stitch, as you work toward
the round border, try to shape your stitches to the round contour
of the outline as you work. For the last 1/4", use a chain
stitch to complete the outside edge, covering your traced outline
as you work. For a diagram and stitch instructions for the chain
stitch, refer to the Flower Power Pouch Project (web address above).
10. You now have a miniature hooked rug! Remove the fabric from
the embroidery hoop and lay it face down on a flat surface. Use
the Elmers Glue to run a bead of glue around the last stitches
of the outside border, on the wrong side of the fabric. This will
keep the edges of the fabric from unraveling when you cut the
fabric. Wait for the glue to dry and then with your scissors cut
around the design, leaving about 1/4" of unstitched fabric
all around the edge. After you have cut out the design, use your
scissors to make small cuts from the edge of the fabric to the
edge of your stitched design all around the whole circle. Make
a cut about every 3/4". This will help the fabric to lay
flay over the edges of the tin top when you glue your design in
place.
11. Take your tin top and place it face up on a flat surface.
Cover the entire top with a thin layer of Duco Cement. Then cover
the back side of the fabric, over your stitching, also with a
thin layer of Duco Cement. Place your design in position over
the tin top, moving it around as necessary to align all the edges,
so that they match the same outline as the tin. When the design
is in place, fold over the extra fabric around the design and
press it flat against the sides of the tin to secure it. The Duco
Cement dries fairly quickly, so over the next 5 to 10 minutes
just keep pressing down your design on the top and along the sides
firmly, everywhere, until the glue begins to set.
12. Once your design is secured to the top, go over all the extra
cross stitch fabric that has not been stitched with a dark blue
or black magic marker, with medium point, to color the unstitched
fabric. That way, if your design is not aligned exactly right,
darkening the edges will cover any small areas that might not
be stitched exactly to the edge of the tin and the top of the
sides around the tin, before you attach the ribbon to the sides.
13. With the Duco Cement, lay a thin film of glue all around on
the sides of the tin (over the extra fabric folded over the sides
and the metal lip below it). Then take your ribbon and place it
around the sides in a circular manner till the ends meet. Cut
the extra ribbon off as close as you can to join the two ends
seamlessly and press down to secure until glue dries. If you are
unsure where to cut your ribbon, cut your piece a little longer
and trim it after the glue has dried. You can the touch up the
ends and press them down with more glue for a "seamless"
fit later.
13. When the border ribbon is set and the glue has dried, place
your tin top over the tin bottom. With or without the candy this
will make a beautiful, unique and useful holiday gift or something
special for you to keep your own treasures in (that is, after
you finish eating the candy!). Your Brilliant Christmas Star,
set against the deep night sky will shine on, and on and on.
Other applications for your miniature "hooked" design include lining the bottom with some cork, cit to the same size to make a coaster, to decorate some piece of clothing or a bag or as a rug for a doll house. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
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