Winter wonderland
How to manage the similar
colour threads
To keep track of different shades of the same
colour, it’s worth taking the time to pre-cut
your lengths of thread and arrange them on
a labelled thread sorter, before you begin
stitching. You can make your own by cutting a
length of card, punching holes down one side
and writing the colour codes next to each
hole. To make sure
you can distinguish
between them as
you’re stitching, it’s
also a good idea
to stitch in natural
light whenever
you can.
Cross stitch in two strands
DMC Anchor Madeira
Z B5200 1 2401 white
T 326 59 508 dark pink
q 335 38 506 pink
S 718 88 707 magenta
Y 741 304 202 dark tangerine
i 742 303 114 tangerine
; 74 5 3 0 0 111 y e l l o w
{ 905 257 1412 green
U 947 330 205 orange
H 975 355 2303 dark ginger
l 976 1001 2010 ginger
b 3326 36 606 light pink
c 3609 85 710 plum
9 3819 279 1610 lime green
v 3827 311 2012 light ginger
Backstitch in one strand
- –––– 3371 382 2004 brown
French knots in one strand
O B5200 1 2401 white
Mill Hill seed beads
00128 yellow
00165 Christmas red
02066 yellow green
STITCH COUNT 150 high x 146 wide
DESIGN AREA 14 HPI (28-count evenweave)
- 27x26.5cm (10¾x10½in)
SKEINS NEEDED 3xB5200 (white), 2x975 (dark
ginger)
This design was stitched using DMC stranded cotton and Mill
Hill seed beads on 28-count evenweave over two threads of
the fabric
Gingerbread mansion key
O
O
O
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m like a
magpie when it comes to all things sparkly
and seed bead related. I just can’t resist
adding them to my designs – whoever said
less is more is wrong when it comes to
embellishments.” Shannon Wasilieff, designer
How to stitch the design on aida
This design is worked on evenweave fabric, but if you are not
experienced at using evenweave, you might prefer to use aida
instead. The design is worked mainly in whole cross stitch, which
work just as well on aida as evenweave. The only areas of the design
that might be tricky are the fractional stitches. You will need to pierce
the centre of the aida block to make the fractional stitches so, for this
project, it is best to use a crewel needle, which is sharper than the
tapestry needles that are usually used for cross stitch.