Mini-stockings and Ornaments: Design Your Own!

It's still December, but I'm already thinking about/working on things for spring, including eggs - as these need to be finished to show in January. The lace I've worked on for the last few years (addictive, it is) has been on my mind for adorning eggs - with pretty white lace on pastel backgrounds in "Easter" colors. Also, pretty "lace" flower trims.

The models I have finished are, of course, for Christmas - but the lace trims are the same. You can see how very simple it is to create your own ornaments for any season by just combining different trims, techniques, and stitches.

The "Jerie" stocking has the floral lace trim dividing the body from the cuff, and diagonal ric-rac and lace on the heel and toe. The body is simply "Double" stitch.

The two smaller mini-stockings demonstrate the use of simple vertical "chains" with beaded jewels. Again, a very simple technique with pretty threads is very effective - and so much less expensive to do than the painted canvas. (including mine - as I would charge quite a bit for the time it takes to stitch paint these things onto canvas.)

The only kind of "counted canvas" I can tolerate is the kind I count directly onto canvas with my Sharpie or Pilot drawing pen - so I won't have to think while I stitch. It's an easy process that anyone can do - and mistakes can be dotted out with white acrylic paint.

This drawing on canvas is a mini-stocking on 18 mesh canvas, and it's about 3" across the top of the cuff x 5 1/4" high. It would be proportionately larger, of course, on 13 mesh. I stitch count where it indicates, but have found that it works to simply draw the rest of it (trace it onto the canvas very carefully). The reason for this is that the lace trim needs to be centered and symmetric. You can see the marked center top - there are 27 stitches on each side of the center thread. I have marked the "cuff/body" division also, and have placed one flower for you to show the centering process.

The canvas drawing of the actual flower trim shows two different sizes. The larger flower may have the flowers drawn together with one tiny leaf to separate (#1) or with a leaf between the flowers (#2). This was used on the "Jerie" stocking.

Another thing you might try is to simply do a round ornament with the flower trims. I enjoy using the Kreinik metallics for outline, and maybe Caron Rachelette or Rainbow Gallery Petite Frosty Rays for the petals. A variety of stitches could be used - "bump" stitches, or simply slanted ones that are nice and puffy, as well as sparkly.

You already have my circle tutorial in an earlier post - try it on different diameters. Also would work very well on eggs!! I have two different sets of ornament shapes for sale on my web page as downloadable e--patterns for creating these things - as I enjoy experimenting, myself, with stitches and materials. Many many possibilities for creativity here!!I

Incidentally, I have found the best way to print these out is to click on the picture to enlarge, then click "File/print preview" - and then print!