Wildflower Fox Design ID: WF0000105KIT Let it Snow

Kit Includes: You will Need: • One full skein of DMC Floss • Iron

• One John James size 5 needle • Ironing-board or equivalent

• One square of fusible • Sharp Scissors stabilizer

• One 100% Cotton 8x8 square with printed pattern • (only in HCDL Take & Create kit)

Thank you for choosing a Wildflower Fox design. This guide will walk you through allofthe steps and techniques used to stitch this pattern. The information in this guide is merely a suggestion so please feel free to make changes to colors, stitches or techniques to make it your own. There is no right or wrong way to stitch this pattern, so relax and have fun!

Copyright, 2019 Wildflower Fox. Shopwildflowerfox.com / @wildflowerfoxink / #wildflowerfoxemb Tips and Tricks • Have good lighting. Good lighting is essential when you are stitching. It helps you see the pattern on the fabric, your stitches & eases the stress on your eyes.

• Keep your hands clean and avoid eating when you are stitching. Clean hands will help keep your work from looking dingy.

• Sometimes you will need both hands to do a stitch, and some stitches just take more practice to master. If you can, sit at a table when you are first getting started. That way you can set the hoop on the table and have both hands free to manipulate the stitch. With practice you will learn to use the hand holding the hoop to assist with stitches without putting the hoop down.

• Try to keep your stitches a uniform size on straight sections. On curved sections start shortening your stitches before you get to the curve and this will help blend it together.

• Pull each stitch with the same amount of tension but don’t overdo it. Too much tension will pucker your fabric. Not enough tension will leave your stitches looking sloppy.

• If your thread gets twisted while you’re stitching, drop the threaded needle and let it hang freely until it unwinds.

• Always start and stop each section of embroidery, and avoid running your thread across the back from one section to another. Extra runs of thread can show through to the front of the fabric so avoiding them keeps your embroidery looking cleaner.

• Trim excess thread and waste knots as you go. This will help avoid getting tangles on the back.

• If you make an error, simply un-thread the needle and pick out the unwanted stitches.

• If you are unable to pick the stitches out you will need to use an embroidery scissors and cut any unwanted stitches out. Using a pair of tweezers is helpful for getting the stitches out of the fabric. You can also use a little bit of tape to pick up any fuzzys left behind.

• Remove the fabric from the hoop when you are not stitching. This helps prevent hoop marks in the fabric. Also remove your needle from the thread and put it in a safe place. Loose needles are dangerous to children, pets and bare feet.

• To iron a finished project, place a soft towel down on the ironing board first. Placethe finished piece face down, this keeps the stitches from being crushed. Thenplacea pressing cloth or clean flour-sack dish towel over the back to protect the fabric. Mist lightly with water if needed and always iron the back side of an embroidered piece. Embroidery Stabilizer - This kit includes one square of fusible stabilizer.

Using a stabilizer is not required when doing hand embroidery, but a stabilizer will firm the fabric and improve stitch quality. For best results a stabilizer is recommended with this fabric.

Fuse the stabilizer to the fabric with an iron before you begin stitching.

To ensure your iron stays clean you can put a pressing cloth or old flour-sack dish towel over the top of the stabilizer before pressing. (Pressing cloth not shown)

• Place your fabric face down on a flat heat-safe surface (ironing board or equivalent).

• Press lightly with a hot dry (no steam) iron to remove any creases.

• Next center the stabilizer SHINY SIDE DOWN over your fabric. The shiny side is adhesive and must be in contact with the back of the fabric.

• Using a dry iron on its hottest setting press the stabilizer to the fabric.

• Starting in the center hold the iron on each section for 8-10 seconds, working your way outward.

• Be sure to get the edges. Getting started in 3 easy steps 1. Hoop your fabric

▪ Open the adjusting screw on the hoop almost all the way.

▪ Separate the hoop into two rings.

▪ Lay the inner ring on a hard surface.

▪ Place the printed fabric print side up on top of the inner ring and center it as best you can.

▪ Slide the adjustable ring over top of the fabric.

▪ The fabric should now be sandwiched between the two rings.

▪ Tighten the adjustment screw about halfway.

▪ You want the fabric tight like a drum. So begin gently pulling the fabric from the back side, all the way around.

▪ You want the tension on the fabric to be the same all the way around so your pattern is not distorted. Use the outer circle on the printed pattern to gauge this. If it is round then your tension is good. If it is egg or oval shaped your fabric has been pulled more in one direction than the other.

▪ When your fabric is where you want it and taut in the hoop, finish tightening the adjusting ring.

▪ If your fabric starts to after you begin stitching, adjust it again and tighten the adjustment screw more.

2. Prepare your Floss

▪ From the numbered end of the skein pull about 12 - 15 inches of floss from the skein and cut it. A ruler is not needed for this, about an arms length of floss works well. Shorter lengths of floss are easier to handle and less likely to twist andknot.

▪ This floss is 6 strands twisted together. Gently separate the floss into 3 sectionsof2 strands. The floss may start to twist around itself so go slowly until you get thehangof it. Here again shorter lengths of floss help. 3. Threading Your Needle.

To do this cut a clean end of thread and pinch it between your thumb and forefinger, leaving only a tiny bit of thread exposed. Then push the eye of the needle on to the thread. The needle eye should slip between your thumb and forefinger slightly.

If you have trouble threading your needle, you can try enclosing the thread ends into a small piece of tape. Then cut the tape to a point and thread the needle by pulling the tape through the eye. Trim the tape from the end of the thread and discard.

Pull three or four inches of floss through the needle. You will have one very long tail offloss and one short tail of floss.

Your First Stitches

Starting: There are a number of ways to secure thread when you begin stitching. For this pattern a simple knot works well. Tie a knot or a double knot at the long end of your thread before making your first stitch. Be careful when stitching close to this knot so youdon’t catch it with your needle.

Ending: On the back side of the fabric you can either wrap your thread around a previous stitch and tie a knot, or you can weave a length of thread under several previous stitches. Stitch Guide

Back Stitch Start on the back side of the fabric and bring your needle up through 2 6 the fabric at 1 then down through at 2. Bring your needle up through 4 at 3 and back down at 4 in the same hole as 1. Each stitch is made by moving forward on the back side then back to the previous stitch on top. 1 3 5

Fly Stitch 1 Start on the back side of the fabric and bring your needle up through 2 the fabric at 1 then down through at 2, leaving a loop. Come up at 3 1 3 4 with the needle over the loop, pull the thread to a V shape. Go down 2 at 4 to anchor the V shape. 3 4 5

Note: This stitch requires two hands to complete. French Knot 2 Start on the back side of the fabric, bring your needle up through the fabric at 1. Keeping the needle point close to the fabric at 1, wrap the thread around the needle 2 or 3 times. With the needle point resting on 2 pull the thread taut and down to the needle point. Then bring 1 the needle down in 2 right next to 1 but not in the same hole.

Eyelet or Star Stitch Start on the back side of the fabric and bring your needle up through the fabric at 1 then down through at 2. Bring your needle up through at 3 and back down at 4 in the same hole as 2. Work your way 2 & 4 around the star shape always starting your stitch on the outside and ending it in the middle of the star.

3 1

Smyrna Cross Stitch The Smyrna Cross Stitch looks similar to the Eyelet Stitch but instead 3 of having a hole in the center the thread goes all the way across 2 making an x over a +.

Start on the back side of the fabric and bring your needle up through the fabric at 1 then down through at 2. Bring your needle up through at 3 and back down at 4. Continue around. 5 1 4

Use the long and short stitch to fill large shapes. You can use one Fill Stitch or long short stitch color or multiple for different shading. Starting at the top or bottom of a shape, create a row of parallel stitches varying the length. Next work a second row of long stitches into the short stitches of the first row, passing the needle through the stitch above. Continue working rows until the shape is filled.

When filling circles be careful not to go to far out on the sides orthe circle will start to look more oval. If you are having trouble keeping your stitches straight, use a ruler to draw parallel lines in. Basic Instructions

E

A

B C

D

Two or three strands of floss is recommended for this project.

• A - Diamond Shapes: 2 Strands / Back Stitch

• B - Arms with V Shapes: 2 Strands / Fly Stitch

• C - Dots: 2 Strands / French Knot or other embroidery knot.

• D - Text: 3 Strands / French Knots (and/or) 1 Strand / Fill Stitch

• E - Small Snowflakes: 1 to 3 Strands (depending on size / Eyelet Stitch or Smyrna Cross Stitch

It does not matter what order this pattern is stitched in. The steps for each section are outlined in more detail on the next page. 1. Choose an arm of the snowflake and start at the outside and work your way to the center.

2. Start by outlining the diamond shape with a back stitch. Then stitch the center line of the diamond, by going from top to bottom.

3. Complete the first fly stitch.

4. Add the french knots to both tips, then complete the next fly stitch.

5. Finish the arm by completing the fly stitches. Your needle should enter the center of the snowflake from the front of the fabric.

6. To stitch the short arm, create a french knot at the tip. Then bring the needle up from the back just under the french knot being careful not to catch the knot with your needle point. Then make one long stitch and enter the fabric at the center of the snowflake again.

7. Work your way around the snowflake completing one arm at a time. This snowflake was stitched with two strands.

1. Start with the center ring of squares. The center is two squares with diamond corners. Using the back stitch, stitch one square all the way around and then the other. 4 2. Next stitch the outer ring of boxes. 3 3. Starting at the bottom of the diamond, back stitch around the diamond. Make one stitch, then complete the fly stitch but anchor the fly stitch by bringing your needle down at A. Next stitch the cross bar just above 2 A. Then bring your needle back up through the fabric 1 at A and create one long to the center of the snowflake.

4. Complete this arm the same way, but instead of a A short stitch at the bottom of the diamond, stitch from the top of the diamond to the center of the fly stitch.

This snowflake was stitched with three strands. 1. Choose an arm of the snowflake and start at the outside and work your way to the center.

2. Start by outlining the outer most diamond shape with a back stitch, do not stitch any of the diamond center lines yet.

3. Add the french knots to both tips, then complete the fly stitch.

4. Outline the next two diamonds with a back stitch.

5. Then from the back bring your needle up through the fabric at the center of the snowflake. Create one long stitch from the center of the snowflake to the tip of the outer most diamond.

6. To stitch the short arm, create a french knot at the tip. Then bring the needle up from the back just under the french knot being careful not to catch the knot with your needle point. Then make one long stitch and enter the fabric at the center of the snowflake.

This snowflake was stitched with two strands. 7. Work your way around the snowflake completing one arm at a time.

There are a few ways you can stitch the lettering.

• You can outline the letters with a back stitch.

• Use a fill stitch to fill them in.

• Use french knots for a snowball look.

• Or you can leave them un-stitched.

This example was done with fill stitches on “let it” and french knots on “snow” The little snowflakes dancing around the larger ones can be stitched with either an eyelet stitch or Smyrna cross stitch (double cross stitch). The difference between the two is the eyelet stitch has a shared center but the Smyrna stitch extends from one side to the other without a center point.

In this example the smallest snowflakes were stitched in one strand of floss and the larger in two or thee strands.

Both Eyelet and Smyrna stitches were used in this example.

Displaying Your Finished Work

There are a number of ways to display a finished embroidery piece.

You can leave it in the hoop, make a small quilted wall hanging, or mount it in a frame, just to name a few.

This piece looks great finished in the hoop. You can leave the hoop with its natural wood finish or decorate it for a unique look.

The hoop shown here was painted with white and light blue, then set in an embroidery hoop display stand to make it look like a snow globe. (Display stand available at most craft stores.)

You can also put the adjusting hardware to the top and add a bow and string to hang it on the wall.

Paint, stain, tape or fabric are all fun ways to decorate a hoop. For best results stitch the project with a plain hoop. Then remove the outer hoop ring and apply any decorative product. After the hoop is dry re-hoop the fabric and finish the back. Finishing the Back.

You will need a 30 inch long piece of sewing thread or a single strand of embroidery floss.

To finish the back start by trimming the corners, leaving about an inch of fabric.

Starting with your needle on the backside of the fabric. Bring your needle up through the fabric about a quarter inch from the edge. Leave a three or four inch tail of thread to the inside.

Continue to stitch a loose running stitch all the way around the hoop. Try to stay about a quarter of an inch away from the edge of the fabric.

When you get back to your first stitch, pull the tail thread and the needle thread together. This will gather and bunch the fabric. Tie the two ends of thread together with a secure knot. Cut off any excess thread.

You can use a little steam along the edges to help it lay flat.

Add Some Sparkle

To make your piece really pop try adding a few sequence or seed beads.

For a more subtle shimmering effect try a specialty thread for floss.