Craft Project - Primitive Framed Snowman Stitchery Picture

A very good friend of mine just adores handcrafted snowman items and uses them to decorate her home every winter and Christmas season. I decided that I wanted to make her something unique for her holiday gift this year and this is what I made.

This framed snowman stitchery project will take you one afternoon to make and even a beginner can make this one. The project requires no machine sewing as it is done with simple hand stitching. If you don't have a pattern, you can find one in a child's coloring book or look for printable coloring pages on the internet that you can print out and use for free.

Materials Needed

barn red 8" by 10" wooden photo frame

double mat set (I selected off-white and barn red) with a 4" by 6" opening

piece of tea-stained muslin fabric measuring 8" by 10" in size

8" by 10" piece vanilla colored card stock

embroidery hoop

embroidery needle and black embroidery floss

3 1/2" by 5 1/2" pattern (I got mine from a coloring book)

disappearing ink pen

sharp scissors

wax crayons (optional)

For this project, you will need to find a pattern that you like. I was able to find mine in a child's holiday coloring book. If the pattern you like is large in size, you can scan it into your computer and shrink it to the size that you want. You will want to iron your tea stained piece of muslin fabric before you begin to remove any creases.

Step 1: Using a disappearing ink pen, trace the outline and details of your pattern onto tea-stained muslin fabric. Once it has been traced, color in any areas that you want to add a little color to, with your wax crayons. I chose to color in my snowman's gloves, scarf and ear muffs. Once this has been completed, place your muslin fabric into your embroidery hoop.

Step 2: Using black embroidery floss (3 strands) hand stitch your pattern outline onto your fabric. Try to make sure your stitches are even in size and don't pull them too tight.

Step 3: Remove fabric from the embroidery hoop and mount it onto a piece of 8" by 10" card stock. (I selected the card stock that scrapbooker's use because it's acid-free).

Step 4: Layer your finished piece of work along with the double mats into the wooden frame. Make sure your fabric is pulled tightly so that there are no wrinkles.

You can decide if you want to hang this piece on the wall or if you want to sit it on top of your mantle.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania who enjoys crafting, scrapbooking, and cross stitching. You can visit Shelly's online craft blog called Passionate About Crafting at http://passionateaboutcrafting.blogspot.com for free craft project ideas and tips. You can find a photo of the completed project on her blog at http://passionateaboutcrafting.blogspot.com/2009/11/craft-project-framed-snowman-stitchery.html