With the addition of some charms, drop beads, and some other things, I got the tree trimmed. (My camera isn’t the best for close-ups, so please excuse the blurriness.)
Drop beads and charms can be delightful additions to your canvas and are really easy to apply. I used several drop beads and a snowflake charm on the tree.
Drop beads are like little pendants, typically they have a metal top with a loop on them for attaching. Sometimes they do not have metal tops but holes drilled through the pointed end. These two fake pearls are from my button jar.
Charms usually come with small rings at the top that are used for attaching the charm to the bracelet.
Both types of embellishment are attached the same way. First you must decide if you want to use a thread to match the background, or to match the bead or ring. Because these are ornaments, I chose to match the silver of the tops and ring.
Choose a fine thread. Holding the bead or charm down so it stays steady, bring your needle up through the ring, then over it, then into the canvas outside the ring. Do this several times to attach securely.
I had some pretty tube beads that I added. Attach them by bringing the needle out of the canvas at one end of the bead, sew through the bead and bring the needle back into the canvas just at the end of the bead. By bringing the needle in and out of the canvas just at the ends of the bead, the thread won’t show.
Last I glued on several flower embellishments. Embellishments that have no holes need to be glued on and must be done last. They probably should not be used on pieces that will get much wear. If you are going to use glued embellishments, do not stitch under them, this will keep things cleaner. I used super glue and put the glue on the embellishment, then pressed it to the canvas. Hold it there for a bit until the glue sets.
The final step was to add tinsel. Blending filament had been suggested to me, but it was so thin it almost disappeared. Instead I used #4 metallic in holographic silver (for maximum sparkle). One strand wasn’t enough to make it stand out, so I doubled it. Doubling #4 is better than using one strand of #8 because it will be flatter and tinsel is flat.
Mostly tinsel should fall in straight lines. Because I was adding this over other stitching, I didn’t always achieve that. While I like the look, if this is a concern for you take your time making these stitches.
I’m not a huge fan of tinsel, but more could be added.
I’m delighted with the tree and will be sending it off to the finisher soon.
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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