Happy Spring!Spring brings to mind Easter and new life. To celebrate the coming of spring, try your hand at the following two projects. The first is a cross stitch Easter egg. The second one celebrates new life with a framed cross stitch record of a child's birth.
Easter Egg
To celebrate Easter, try making this cute cross stitch egg with your favorite Easter or spring design. Coats Corrente has some beautiful egg designs and an egg shape pattern.
This is what you'll need:
- Your favorite stitched design centered on 5"x 7" white Aida cloth (my finished bunny measures about 2.75" high by 2.5" wide on 14 count Aida, the background stitches were extended to fit the egg pattern);
- 5"x 7" cotton print fabric;
- 24" of 1/16"-wide satin ribbon;
- 13" of satin cord;
- sewing thread; fiberfill; potpourri (optional);
- egg shape pattern (approximately 5.25" high by 4" wide, this includes 1/4" seam allowance)
First, create your egg pattern on paper and cut out. Center the pattern over your cross stitch design, pin and cut out. Using the egg pattern, cut out the print fabric for backing. With the right sides together, pin the design fabric and print fabric together. Sew around the egg leaving a 2" opening at the bottom. Turn right side out. Stuff the egg with fiberfill. If you wish, add some potpourri for a sweet-smelling egg. Turn the raw edges under 1/4" and slip stitch closed. Tack the cord around egg at the seam line, overlapping the raw ends at top. Cut 6" from ribbon and tie into a bow. For hanger, fold the remaining ribbon in half and sew to top of the egg in front of cord. Sew the bow to top of the egg in front of the hanger.
Celebrating New Life
One way to let your children know that you cherished the day they were born is to create a cross stitch piece with their name and birthdate. This would also be a great gift for a newborn grandchild, godchild, niece/nephew, cousin, or friend.
Find a cross stitch alphabet pattern and graph the child's name. Center the birthdate below the name. You could also stitch a small design above, below or to the side of the name. The size of this project will really depend on the alphabet pattern you choose and the length of the name/birthdate. It's important to graph the design first, so you get an idea of the finished look.
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