Trimming the Tree – Garlands & Brads

My little tree is starting to look more realistic. I have added garlands and started putting on ornaments using the brads I bought.

Let’s talk about garlands first. In real life you can have garlands of many kinds, but two end up translating well to needlepoint. If you like fuzzy garlands, try Razzle-Dazzle from Rainbow Gallery for metallics or Legacy from Threadworx for non-metallic. Both are fringe yarns so they look very realistic. To my eye Razzle-Dazzle gets the nod here because it is a shorter fringe.

But in our house we use vintage beaded garlands from Germany, so I wanted a thread that looks like a string of beads. The best thread for this is Facets from Kreinik. It comes in two sizes; I used Petite, the smaller size. Kreinik also offers Micro-ice Chenille, a furry thread.

All lof these threads need to be couched onto canvas. You will need two needles — a large one for the garland thread and a smaller one for one strand of the thread to match either the garland or the tree.

Begin by bringing the garland thread out of the canvas on one side of the tree, allow it to hang loosely and bring it to the other side of the tree. Bring the needle back into the canvas and allow it to hang loosely.

Thread the other needle with the couching thread and bring it out of the canvas where you want the garland to “hang.” Loop the couching thread over the garland and bring it into the canvas. As you tighten the thread, the garland will pull up to the couching stitch, letting it “hang” at that point.

Repeat this process for each hanging point for each row of garlands.

Adding Brads

The package of brads I bought has two sizes of three different brads. I decided to use primarily the solid silver brads. Since there are two sizes of silver ornaments on the tree I used one size of brad for each.

Begin by inserting the brad into the center of each unstitched area. The metal points are thin and should go through a canvas hole with no problem. Turn your canvas to the back and separate the two points, pushing them apart and against the canvas.

When all the brads are inserted, you may want to use a single strand of floss, going through the back of the canvas to secure each point.

One last note about brads; they make an excellent choice for embellishment in needlepoint. Often their size is well-suited to the scale of needlepoint. They are also flatter than many other kinds of embellishment. Best of all, they are so easy to use.

Next time adding the remaining ornaments.