Updated February 1, 2022.
Come stitch with me to make an adorable stitch sampler Christmas Tree.
Because there are 12 stripes, it’s a good Winter project & you’ll have it done in time to meet Christmas finishing deadlines.
There will be a new stitch on Tuesdays and Fridays. With plenty of options for finishing touches, this will be a decoration you’ll enjoy next year and for many years to come.
The inspiration is those striped Christmas trees made from Washi tape, similar to the one pictured here.
You will use the green threads you have on hand and stitch a new stitch for each stripe.
Today we’ll go over the basics and Friday you’ll get your first stitch with two stitches each week for six weeks. After that, we’ll finish up the tree by stitching the trunk, getting ideas for presents, and giving you options for borders.
Picking Threads
Even though the inspiration tree is chartreuse, red, and white, our tree will be in shades of green. That’s so we have more color options when it comes to adding detail to the design.
Because green is a popular color, you probably have plenty of threads to use. Your tree will look best if you use a fairly narrow range of color and value. Pick either yellow-green, green, or blue-green as your color. Pull out all your threads in that color.
Divide them into piles by value: light, medium, and dark. One should be bigger than the others, that will be your main value. Pick 8-10 threads in this color, more if you have them.
To this add a few more threads from the other two piles. You’ll use these as accent colors. You can also, if you like, add one red thread and/or one white thread to act as “poison” colors.
Cutting and Marking the Canvas
So that there is plenty of room for decorations cut a 14″ square of 18-mesh mono canvas. You will need an extra-fine marker that’s safe for fabrics, such as a Pigma Micron, and a 12″ ruler as well. If you are using 13- or 14-mesh canvas, cut it 16″ square and start about 3″ from the top center.
About 4″ from the top center of the canvas, color an intersection, this will be the top point of the tree.
The sides of the tree have a slope of 2:1, meaning they go down two threads for every one thread they go over. You’ll find it easiest if you just mark the intersections as you go along. Because each stripe is 12 threads wide, the total height of the tree will be 144 threads or 8″. Mark the intersections for the sides only and count. Because only every other intersection is marked, you will have 72 marks.
Once both sides are marked, use your ruler as a guide to mark the outside lines.
Because I always worry I counted wrong, I do not draw a line across the bottom of the tree, nor do I mark each stripe.
The stripes will be stitched from top to bottom, so marking them is not necessary.
Remember to look for new instructions on Tuesdays and Fridays.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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