Following Instructions Pays Off!

Stitching pretty Christmas ornaments is fun and rewarding, but you have to do something with them when the stitching is done, right? I mean, they're not doing anyone any good packed away in the "completed stitching" box.

I've finished stitched Christmas ornaments before, but never thought they looked as good as they could. So I took an informal "class", meaning that I devoted some time to watching (and paying attention to) a Youtube video by Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher. This particular video is called "Floss Tube Finishing School - Pillow Ornament W/Cording.  Going into that "completed stitching" box, I found exactly what I needed - my little finish of "Cardinal Winter" by Little House Needleworks.

And here's the result of following all of the steps provided in this tutorial.

There's just something about finishing an ornament that's so satisfying. It's like a "look at what I did!" moment. And now I can actually use my stitched piece for what it was intended - an ornament!

Adding cording that you made yourself is an extra added touch. It's easy to make when you have a Kreinik Custom Corder. This little device allows you to take ordinary embroidery floss and make your own custom cording. 

Yes, it's easy, and yes, it works. Just look.

And even though I tried very hard to be a good student, I did have a bit of an issue. My cording came out too short and I had to improvise a bit for the hanger. I probably just didn't measure correctly. That's where that "measure twice and cut once" advice comes in!

Vonna's video is easy to follow and very detailed. You'll learn all of the tips needed to make a beautifully finished ornament. And she shows you how to make the cording. It's all there, from start to finish. So give it a try. Go on. You will be glad that you did.

An Ornament Finish

I finished this cute little chart, "Be Merry" by Little House Needleworks, a few months ago.  And now it's a completely finished ornament!  Everything used in this finish was from my stash.  I really like when it works out like that.

For the front, I cut a piece of heavier cardboard to the correct size and centered the stitched piece on it.  The excess fabric was folded in the back making an effort to have as little bulkiness as possible.  Everything was taped up with double-sided tape. 

Taking a look through my fabric stash I found a good coordinating fabric.  I did the same folding and taping technique to the back and used a lighter weight cardboard.  I have some comic book backing boards that are perfect for this.  I found this idea somewhere on Facebook and was happy to find a good, inexpensive board that's easy to cut to size.  Who knew?

Then I took the back and front and applied some Alene's Tacky Glue.  Carefully aligning both pieces, I stuck them together and gave them a few hours to dry.  I put two heavy boxes on top of them during their drying time.  More rummaging through my ribbon and cord box proved successful when I found some red and gold twisted cord and some sheer ribbon for a little bow.  I used some more Alene's to apply the cording.  Yes, you can also stitch this on, but I've had lots of luck using glue without too much slopppiness.  A cute little bow on top and a teeny gold snowflake are the perfect finishing touch!

When I have a successful finish like this, it makes me want to make more ornaments!  It's so satisfying to complete a project in a relatively short time.  This little ornament will be a gift even though it is so tempting to make it mine!