To Make a Miniature Needle Point Christmas Stocking (in a range of dollhouse scales) You Will Need:
- 42 HPI Silk Gauze or a suitable sized linen for your chosen scale. Worked on 42 holes per inch silk gauze with a single strand of embroidery thread, the Christmas stocking chart works out to roughly one inch by one 1/4 inch in size. For a 1:24 scale stocking you will need 84 HPI silk gauze, for a 1:6 scale stocking, you can use 22 count linen or another flexible canvas.
- Felt - or scrap of lightweight ultra suede. This is used to make the back of the Christmas stocking. A two inch square in a color similar to your needlepoint background is best.
- Needle - the size of your needle will depend on the size of your canvas or gauze. I used a #28 tapestry needle for the 42 count silk gauze.
- Embroidery Threads - the chart shows the specific DMC colors I used. They included a dark brick red, black, white, mid grey, gold, mid brown, and dark green. Very small amounts of each are needed.
- Sharp Scissors - to trim threads and gauze.
- Card Frame - to hold your silk gauze firm while you work. My frame had a two inch by 1 1/2 inch rectangular opening over which I taped my gauze. Choose a lightweight card, a suitable size for you to hold. (roughly 4 inches square is fine).
- Paper and Pencil - to make a template for the stocking back.
- Good Work Light - very fine gauze is almost transparent and hard to see in poor or dim light. I work in daylight whenever possible.
- Magnifying headband, flexible mounted magnifying lens or chest lens - Very small stitches are much easier to do if you have magnification.
Printable Chart - the chart for the Cabins in the Woods needlework Christmas stocking is available as a pdf (acrobat reader) file.
To Mount Your Silk Gauze in a Frame: - Cut a rectangular opening in a piece of medium weight card to suit the size of silk gauze you will be using. The opening for my frame measured two inches high by 1 1/2 inches wide. Lay your piece of silk gauze over the opening in your card, lining up one straight side of the opening with a straight line of your gauze, leaving 1/2 inch of extra gauze overlapping the card on all four edges of the opening. Use masking tape to stick one side of the gauze in place over the opening. Gently stretch your gauze across the opening, taping it down on the other side. Repeat the stretching and taping for the top and bottom of your piece of gauze. If you will be working in larger scale on a heavier material, use a small embroidery hoop. As you gain more experience working with gauze, you may be able to use it without a frame, but a frame makes it much easier to manage for a beginner.
