Plastic Canvas Ornament Instructions
Making Christmas tree ornaments out of plastic canvas, wool yarn, felt and metallic cord is a way of personalizing your decorating. While working with plastic canvas and yarn is a form of needle working, it is not as complex as needlepoint or cross stitch that is made with fabric and embroidery floss. The projects work up quickly, giving you a sense of quick accomplishment. When you are done, you have several new ornaments for your family's Christmas tree.
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Things You'll Need
- 7-count plastic canvas
- Large tapestry needle
- Wool yarn
- Plastic canvas ornament pattern
- Sharp, heavy duty scissors
- Gold metallic cord
- Colored felt (optional)
- Pinking shears (optional)
- Fabric glue (optional)
Instructions
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Cut the plastic canvas large enough for the pattern you plan to stitch. Thread the tapestry needle with a 36-inch length of yarn. Do not make a knot in the end. Instead, catch the end under the loops on the back of your ornament. Hold the end of yarn under your fingers and, as you make half stitches in this row, allow the back loops to "catch" the end of yarn, holding it in place.
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Stitch beginning at the lower left corner of your ornament with half stitches. The half stitch is made by coming up from the back of the canvas and bringing the needle down in the hole above and to the right of the hole you just brought the yarn through. Position your needle below the hole immediately under the hole where your brought the yarn down and bring the yarn back up to the top of the ornament again. Continue stitching until you complete the row or color indicated on the pattern.
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Run the tapestry needle under the loops on the back of the ornament and catch the yarn this way --- again, do not make any knots. Change yarn colors as indicated by your ornament pattern and continue stitching. As you finish working with one yarn color, run the needle under the yarn loops on the back of the canvas and cut the yarn. Pick a strand of the new yarn color and continue making half stitches.
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Cut the plastic canvas one grid away from the stitched pattern, taking care to trim each square neatly. At this point, you can stitch a duplicate ornament in different colors and whipstitch them together. Thread gold metallic cord onto your needle, then bring the needle from the bottom of the ornament to the top. Bring the needle back down and push the needle up from the bottom in the next hole. Continue whipstitching all the way around the outside of your ornament and run your needle under a few yarn loops on the back of the ornament. Cut the gold cord close to the last loop under which you slipped it.
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Cut felt in the shape of your ornament, using pinking shears. The felt backing should be 1/4 inch larger all the way around as you cut. Glue the backing to the back of your ornament.
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Cut a length of gold metallic cord approximately 12 inches long. Thread the end through the tapestry needle and bring the needle up through a center hole at the top of the ornament. Leaving about three inches on both ends, cut the cord and tie a secure knot so you can hang the ornament on a Christmas tree. (See Ref. 2)
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Tips & Warnings
If your children make ornaments to give as gifts, have them stitch their first initial on a second piece of plastic canvas that is cut to the same shape as the ornament so recipients know who made the ornament, according to DLTC Holiday Activities.
References
- Photo Credit traditional decorated Christmas tree with presents underneath image by Stephen Gibson from Fotolia.com
