Happy Threads

Green and White flowers

Sunday 18 October 2009

It’s Sunday afternoon and we have just had the most lovely Sunday lunch with some really wonderful friends of ours.  We had salad, crusty roasted potatoes, meat cooked on the BBQ, some red wine and lots of laughs and conversations.  Friends are amongst the greatest gifts we can have in our lives.

I have also finally finished off the owl bookmark.  I stitched the bookmark using double canvas but I think all future bookmarks should be stitched using plastic canvas.  It will give a better result overall and the corners will be crisper.

To finish off the bookmark after you have stitched and stretched it you will need to do the following

Once you have stretched your bookmark you will need to fold over the edges of your finished piece by ironing down the edges of the canvas.  This can be done by ironing the ends of the finished work very carefully.

Iron down the corners of the finished work

Next cut out a piece of fabric of your choice and make sure it is wide and long enough to cover the back of the finished stitched needlepoint plus a little bit more all over.  Iron down the edges of the fabric and ensure it matches up to the finished needlepoint design.

Corners of backing fabric

After carefully piecing together the finished design and the backing fabric, carefully stitch the two together with the wrong side of the backing fabric facing the wrong side of the needlepoint design.  Stitch the two together with stranded cotton in a color of your choice.  I chose yellow.   When stitched together it should look something like this;

Stitched fabric and needlepoint

Once you have stitched the entire piece together finish it off by stitching the cotton in between the two pieces so there is no visible trace.

There you have it a finished bookmark to use and enjoy.  I have given my bookmark to my 9 year old son and he was really happy with it.

When it is finished it should look something like this;

Finished bookmark

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.  More free charts to come next week.

In the meantime enjoy your life and family and Happy Threading !

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