Joy Stitch Guide & Finishing

This charming ornament from One Stop Needlepoint came with materials but no instructions or pictures. As I said in my review of the kit, here’s the stitch guide and finishing instructions.

You’ll need to stitch and finish this ornament:

• 1 card Rainbow Gallery Crystal Braid CR08 (gold)
• 1 skein Planet Earth 6-strand silk Sizzle 108 (red)
• strong-hold white glue, such as Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue

Please note: The stitches on this model are not those on the company’s website. If you would prefer to use those stitches and threads, use the threads provided in your kit and stitch the letters in Tent Stitch and the background in Diagonal Mosaic using four strands of floss. Finish as instructed here.

Stitching the Ornament

Stitch the letters in Four-way Continental, below, using Crystal Braid.

Stitch the background in Virginia, below, using three strands of Planet Earth silk. Stitch the inside of the “O” in Tent Stitch.

Finishing the Ornament

If you stitched your needlepoint on a frame and it is square, you can begin to finish. If not, block your needlepoint first. Dry blocking is recommended because red dyes often are not colorfast.

Trim the unstitched margins of the canvas to between 2 and 5 threads of the stitched area. At each corner make a diagonal cut to one thread outside the stitched area.

Using the padded board, Center the board on the wrong side of the needlepoint. Using your glue, draw a line of glue along one long side. Press down the needlepoint onto this and hold until it adheres. Repeat this process on the other long side, below.

You may have to add more glue or glue again to make it stick, that’s OK. The amount of resins in the different white glues varies greatly, so your glue may not work as well as mine. If possible find a glue with lots of resin.

Repeat the process with the short sides, below. Turn over to check finish and adjust if necessary. Let dry.

You’ve got your needlepoint attached to the padded board but now you need to make the corners neat. That’s where those diagonal cuts come in. You can easily fold the corners to the back and glue them. Remember to hold until the glue adheres. Your needlepoint piece is finished and ready to go onto the pre-made back, below.

Weigh the needlepoint under something heavy for an hour or two, preferably overnight, until all the glue is dry.

Run a thin line of glue around the needlepoint and press it, centered, onto the finished backing. Be sure to cover the staples. Weight again to let dry. You can see the completed ornament at the top of the post.

This stitch & finishing guide will be available free as a PDF beginning next week on my Napa Needlepoint (look under products, then stitch guides) and Needlepoint Stitch Guides sites.