Kawaii (or not) Cupcake –Free Needlepoint Project

This little cupcake has the cute face of Kawaii and it shows off some great threads and textured stitches. It’s quick- to-stitch in your choice of colors. The design is simple but when you fill it with great textured stitches, you’ll get a lively project.

If you want to add the smiling face characteristic of Kawaii, it only takes a couple of brads and a backstitched smile.

Materials

• 5″square 18-mesh mono needlepoint canvas
• extra fine pen safe for marking canvas sucj as SC-UF from Pilot or Pigma microns from Sakura
• two skeins #5 Pearl Cotton in colors from the same color family
• one skein overdyed yellow or brown overdyed stranded silk or cotton
• two round black brads
• scrap of red floss or pearl

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Print out the cupcake outline. Click to get the full-size outline and enlarge by 200%. The cupcake shape comes from Petit Debutant and is used with permission.
2. Place the outline under the canvas and trace it using the pen. Do not trace the face.
3. Using your overdyed silk or floss, stitch the cupcake liner in Alternating Diagonal Gobelin, below.







4. Stitch the cupcake’s icing in Small Dragon Hide, below, using your two colors of Pearl Cotton. If you want your smile to stand out, do not use red or pink for the icing.





5. Add the face by inserting the brads for the eyes and using Backstitch to stitch the smile.
6. If you want to finish this as an ornament, stitch 2 or 3 rows of Tent around it. If you want to finish it as a picture, mark out the size of the picture on the canvas and add an open stitch for the background.

The design is so easy to stitch, you could make it in a bunch of different colors to give as gifts to everyone on your list!