Hello! Our craft for November was using floss. This month we dabbled with some embroidery stitches on different materials (a pillow and knitted beanie), wrapped wooden letters with floss and made some friendship bracelets with our kiddos.
Here’s a quick Q&A of our floss adventures:
What did you want to get out of this project?
K: When I think of floss projects, I immediately think about embroidery. All kinds of embroidery! And that really excites me. I remember making my first cross-stitched penguin in my 6th grade cross-stitching group and enjoying the process so much. The repetition of making the stitches was calming to me. The counting of stitches in a particular color and then moving onto the next was fun. And at the end, this image on fabric magically appeared that you made yourself! That feeling of pride can pretty much sum up any handmade craft! So for floss this month, I knew I wanted to try some sort of embroidery and continue to practice my skills in that area. I have this very graphic reindeer pillow cover from Ikea that was desperately needing some pizazz added to it and so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do that.
M: My goal for the month was to use floss in different ways. My daughter and I made friendship bracelets and it was such a special moment for me. It brought back memories of learning how to make bracelets when I was her age and to see the awe in her eyes was magical to witness. I also wrapped floss around wooden monogram letters I found while browsing the Dollar Spot at Target. A total spur of the moment craft idea! I want to use these letter ornaments on my kid’s trees this year, so I customized them with floss in their favorite colors. I’m super excited to surprise the kiddos. More to come soon!
Did you enjoy the process?
K: I really did. I began by sketching out my embroidered design onto the pillow. Once I was happy with the look of that, I picked out my color scheme. I tend to stick to the basics in my holiday decor around the house – reds, greens and neutrals. So that was the direction I decided on with this pillow as well. Starting with the ornaments on his antlers, I used satin and chain stitches to fill in my design. For the scarf, I alternated between 3 colors and used the satin stitch again. It really couldn’t have been easier. I have plans on continuing the design to create some trees in the background using a stem stitch. Possibly a project for the winter! For now, the pillow will be teamed up with my Santa pillow that I love so much.
M: Yes! I have never used floss on anything knit before, I primarily have used felt or wool. I’m still in a neutral phase right now so I chose a camel colored basic rib-knit beanie cap as my base color. This was my first time trying to embroider over knit stitches. It was easier than I thought and a really fun project. I didn’t have a true plan or design in mind, just made it up as I went. Right now I like the simplicity of the slight added color on the cuff. That isn’t to say I wont keep adding to the stitches in the future or add a fluffy pom pom!
Would you do it again?
K: Yes, yes, yes! Floss is such a staple in crafting and always will be. I enjoy it so much and have more projects in mind for the new year.
M: I can’t imagine not working with floss again! It’s been my go to thread since I was a child and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I’d really like to continue to experiment with different stitches and materials.
Happy crafting, friends!
– Katie & Maghan