Suspended banners

Linen Christmas banners with cross stitch design - Let your creative mind celebrate Christmas by decorating your home with a banner. This is a classic and it is easy to do. Four stitches, three straps, two cups of tea , one pompon et voilà hang it on the door!
counted cross stitch banner cut to dimensions and stitching straps - Choose a margin between 2.2" and 3"according to the size of the design. On the model shown(Four candles and happy New Year), which is small-sized (88 x 68 stitch count), I took a margin of 2.2", and for the model Under the Christmas tree (147 x 151 stitch count), I preferred a margin of 3".
- Apply the same margin to the right and to the left, then on the top add a margin of 3.3". For the bottom apply the chosen margin plus 3.3" to make the V shape.
- Cut the embroidered work.
- Cut, in the same linen, a piece with the same dimensions.
(To convert the dimensions in cm from the picture I used: dimension in cm/2.54=inches)
straps to suspend the Xmas banner sampler - Cut 3 rectangles of 1.8" x 2.8" in the linen scrap.
- Fold down the two long sides toward the center. You obtain a rectangle of dimensions 1.4" by 2.8".
strap made from linen scrap - Again fold down edge over edge the long sides.
strap made from linen scrap - Stitch the straps on both edges.
Fold down in half the strap and pin it to later fix it on the counted cross stitch banner - Fold down the strap by the middle and fix it with a pin.
positionement des pattes de fixation sur la bannière de bonne année au point compté - Put one piece of linen on top of the other with the embroided design turned inside.
- Place the 3 straps on the top in between the 2 linens. Center one strap and position the 2 others on each side with the loops directed towards the V bottom.
stitch the Christmas banner - Stitch the banner at 0.3" from the edge. Don't forget to keep open about 3"at the bottom of the banner in order to turn it inside out later.
- Cut the angles and turn inside out the banner.
Cut the angles and turn inside out the banner four candles and happy New Year - Finish your work by closing the banner with pins and by stitching it.
Ironing and adding a pompom at the bottom of the banner - Fix a pompon.
- Iron the banner with a thin white cloth in between the iron and the linen.
Add red ribbon on the pompon for the counted cross stitch project

- Little variant: You can wrap around the pompon a thread of the same colour than the sampler.

  Author: Marielle Zang Pujol                    Copyright,Marielle Zang Pujol, 2008-2009 - All rights reserved