A Make For Love: Cross Stitch Hearts Bunting

Hello lovelies,

Happy February!

Oooo I love the notebooks Jenny made in last week’s post . Isn't she ever so clever? I have my very own Jenny notebook (I didn’t enter the giveaway although I was tempted - tee hee!) which I am going to use as my next ‘ideas book’ and I am sure I’ll need it soon because the ideas fairies have taken up camp again in my busy brain.

Do you remember me talking about them before in this post? I am happy to have lots of ideas, but it does mean that I am becoming a little bit indecisive about what I should do next. But hey, I am happy to be doing what I love to do, so I’m not complaining and as you know I am being kind to myself (see this post). I am trying to calm down that sense of urgency, write all my ideas down and be happy that they are there for that time when the ideas fairies have a little holiday! Jenny and I love using the hashtag #somanycraftsolittletime for this feeling that there is so much we want to try and not enough time to do it. In fact, we have a whole pinterest board with this very title, full of craft projects we have found on pinterest which we would love to have a go at!

My newest obsession is cross stitch. If you follow us on Instagram, you will know this….

I’ve been popping into this fab local Aladdin's Cave Haberdashery to drool over and pick up supplies much to the amusement of one of the owners. I mean embroidery floss??? I could buy all the colours!....

This tutorial was always going to be a cross stitch project due to my new found over excitement about this craft, but it started life as a few other things (you know...the ideas fairies..blah blah) before it became bunting. I am not a big fan of Valentine’s Day but I am a huge fan of love, hence the hearts!

What you need is:

 Free Pattern - Download Free Cross Stitch Bunting Hearts Pattern

14 point aida cross stitch fabric measuring approximately 24 x 24 cm.

8 different colours of embroidery floss - I used approximately 330 cm of each of the following colours in DMC 25 plus an extra 1 m of the colour you would like to use to hang the bunting: 208 purple, 554 light purple, 602 pink, 727 yellow, 563 pastel green, 964 pastel blue, 754 peach, 648 silver grey.

Needle.

Embroidery hoop - I used a 7” (18 cm) diameter hoop.

White card measuring approximately 18 x 12.5 cm.

Double sided sticky tape.

What you do is:

Place the Aida into your embroidery hoop towards the right of the fabric. You will have more aida to the left of the hoop.

Cut approx 110 cm of the first colour of embroidery floss (doesn’t matter which) and split it taking two threads (it has 6). You will use 2 threads throughout this project.

If you are new to cross stitch like I was only a few weeks ago, follow the instructions for the first 2 rows of stitches below. If you have cross stitched before follow the pattern on the template and join us a bit further along!

Before we begin with the stitching, I should warn you that it might sound complicated but it is just tricky to explain and the actual process is quite straight forward and hugely addictive once you have done a few rows, so bear with and keep going!

With cross stitch you need to look at 4 holes in the aida as a square. Stitches are usually made by making a cross in this square by stitching diagonally. In this tutorial, I talk about these holes in terms of their position in that square. For example, bottom left, top right etc. The other thing to note is that each square shares a border with the next, so bottom and top right of one square will be the bottom and top left of the next…….....stay with me peeps!

Start by threading the needle and working from the back of the hoop to the front, pull the thread through the starting hole in the Aida carefully leaving a tail of about 9cm, which you will thread through the stitches at the back to hide it later. You are starting with the pointy bottom (tee hee!) of the heart which comprises of two ¾ stitches.

Place the needle back through the Aida on the diagonal from bottom right to top left (of a square) and then bring it through to the front again this time at top right position.

Now take it down again just underneath the middle of that diagonal stitch (not in any of the corners).

Now repeat with the adjoining square to the right, starting bottom left (from back to front), then top right (from front to back), top left (from back to front) and finally into the middle of the diagonal you have created.

Bring the needle from the back to the front of the Aida at the beginning of the second row at bottom left, taking it from front to back at top right. Repeat along this row until you have 4 diagonal (half) stitches.

Come back up through the fabric at bottom right of this 4th stitch and down again at top left, making the cross. Continue working back along the 3 remaining stitches to complete this second row.

Now follow the pattern on the template repeating the method for row 2 for the rest of the heart.

Your thread will run out during stitching. Hide the ends by sewing them along and under the stitches at the back.

You can now move on to the next colour. Note that you should leave a border of unstitched Aida around each heart so that you can cut out the rectangle that will be become the bunting. Each heart will have 2 squares at the bottom, 5 at the top (*) and 3 at the sides when cut out. (*See note below - in hindsight I would leave 6 rows at the top)

You will need to unscrew the embroidery hoop to move the fabric at some point so you can stitch all 8 hearts. I did this after I had stitched the first 6.

When all 8 hearts are stitched, remove the Aida from the embroidery hoop. You may need to press it slightly with a warm iron to remove any creases made by the hoop. Carefully cut out each heart with border as per the measurements above.

Don't they look sweet already?...

I popped an orange heart into the pic above because I like a 3 x 3 grid (!) but I didn't use it in the final bunting.

Cut 8 rectangles of card measuring 48 x 43 mm. They will be slightly smaller than the heart rectangles.

Place double sided sticky tape along the 2 long sides of the card rectangles and peel. Stick onto the back of each heart towards the bottom, leaving ‘spare’ fabric at the top. There should be a line of holes to sew the thread into in order to hang up the bunting. (*Note:  Aida frays at the edges, therefore, in hindsight I would cut the hearts out with an extra row of holes at the top so that the thread is sewn into the 2nd line of holes)

 

Decide which colour order you would like your hearts to be in and taking your extra embroidery floss (already split so you have 3 threads), sew along the top of the first heart using the holes in the Aida. Leave a tail of approx. 26 cm to the left of this first heart and move on to the next. Pull the thread through, leaving a gap of about 1cm between the 1st and 2nd hearts. Repeat until you have sewn all 8 hearts onto this thread.

All done! Hang up and admire your work or gift it to someone you love and have them admire it! Doesn't it look cute?

I’ve slightly fallen head over heels for these little love hearts. They feel like little love tokens and I’m dying to make more and just hand them out to friends, family and perhaps strangers too……...I’m off to dream up more projects, probably cross stitch related! Have a wonderful weekend lovelies!

All the love

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxx!

Comments

[Kelly]

Now you're talking something I can do! I have a storage box filled with all sorts of lovely floss and one major project that got abandoned years ago. (still on its stretcher) I almost pulled it out for Anne's challenge, but I was afraid of overextending myself since I'm of the #somanybookssolittletime contingency.

You've certainly sparked my interest in at least digging through my closet to see what's still there!

I like how you've wrapped your floss around the labeled wooden pegs. Too cute!

[Two Crafty Brownies]

Thanks so much Kelly. Ooo do have a dig. Id love to see all that embroidery floss!! Im slacking on the book front but would love more time to do that too! Have a fab weekend love, Lucy xxx

[Anne Donald]

Hi Lucy
I am finally catching up on some blog reading, after 1st:the flu, 2nd:stitches in my leg that got horribly infected, then 3rd: packing up and moving out of our house!!
I love your x-stitch bunting - but as all my embroidery threads are now in storage, I will have to wait to make some!
Love to you and Jenny, I hope you both have a great weekend!!

[Two Crafty Brownies]

Hi Anne, tee hee! I think I was commenting on your blog as you were commenting on ours! Thank you lovely, really hope you are properly on the mend. Have a good weekend, Lucy xxx