Advent Calendar 2023 – No. 4

By on 3. December 2023   /   Advent Calendar, blog, embroideries, tips and tricks   /   Leave a comment

Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene
Vessels for the Gifts

The vessels for the gifts are made with wrapped Chain stitches (coton à broder No. 20) and Blanket stitch eyelets (coton à broder No. 25).

as well as with Chain stitches and wrapped Back stitches.

At the end, the vessel body is filled between the fingers with Satin stitches.

Advent Calendar 2016
Advent Calendar 2017
Advent Calendar 2018
Advent Calendar 2019
Advent Calendar 2023 – Outline Designs
Advent Calendar 2023 – Prep Work
Advent Calendar 2023 – Hairstyles and Facial Features of Wise Men
Advent Calendar 2023 – Hands

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Advent Calendar 2023 – No. 3

By on 2. December 2023   /   Advent Calendar, blog, embroideries, tips and tricks   /   Leave a comment

Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene
Hands

The hands of all three Wise Men are embroidered with wrapped Back stitches (coton à broder No.25). It makes sense to wrap from the inside to the outside on the way to the fingertip,

to lay the thread around your fingertip

and embroider the downward stitches from the outside to the inside.

Turn again at the base of the finger.

In this way you can achieve well-formed individual fingers.

If the hands are shaped so that the fingers lie together, work Back stitches up to the base of a finger and wrap them on the way to the tip up to the vertex. Then continue working with Back stitches. In the end, all that remains to be wrapped is the thumb, fingertips and the side of the palm.

Advent Calendar 2016
Advent Calendar 2017
Advent Calendar 2018
Advent Calendar 2019
Advent Calendar 2023 – Outline Designs
Advent Calendar 2023 – Prep Work
Advent Calendar 2023 – Hairstyles and Facial Features of Wise Men

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Advent Calendar 2023 – No. 2

By on 1. December 2023   /   Advent Calendar, blog, embroideries   /   Leave a comment

Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene
Hairstyles and Facial Features of Wise Men

As usual, the outlines have to be embroidered first so that the lines don’t fade in the meantime.
It is advisable to start with the delicate parts, as precise lines are particularly important here. The order of the figures is up to each individual.

Many of the following pictures do not show perfect embroidery. On the one hand, the stitches during the work process and with the translucent outlines always look messier than those of a freshly washed and well-ironed item. On the other hand, my stitches are becoming more wobbly due to age, and I also had to embroider quickly so that the project could be finished on time. Nevertheless, I show details in close-ups.

The first Wise Man gets hair from wrapped Chain stitches (coton à broder No. 16)

and a profile of wrapped Back stitches (coton à broder No. 25).

Likewise the second Wise Man, whose turban outlines are embroidered with Chain stitches (coton à broder No. 16).

If you want to avoid the working threads on the back traveling from one part to the next showing through,

you have to embroider each facial detail with a short single thread, knot the ends of the thread on the back and trim them.

For the hair and face of the third Wise Man, coton à broder No. 20 is used.

Advent Calendar 2016
Advent Calendar 2017
Advent Calendar 2018
Advent Calendar 2019
Advent Calendar 2023 – Outline Designs
Advent Calendar 2023 – Prep Work

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Advent Calendar 2023 – No. 1

By on 30. November 2023   /   Advent Calendar, blog, tips and tricks   /   Leave a comment

Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene
Prep Work

My project should be used as a window picture/curtain. Therefore, the fabric must not be too tightly woven. 20 tpcm linen would work well, but I’m late with the realization of my plan and for the processing of very fine linen I need more time. That’s why I opt for the 13.5 tpcm linen (Weddigen #160). In order to be able to use filling patterns effectively in the detailed figures, I choose the larger motifs. The entire pattern strip measures 103cm X 30cm. My window is 128cm wide.

The curtain should span the entire width. A circumferential hem of 4cm width + 1cm fold is provided. Since there should be about the same distance between the embroidery and the hem on all sides, I cut the fabric to 137cm X 64cm.

The basic line and the longitudinal centre axis are marked with short Running stitches.

Since I transfer the drawing with an iron-on pattern pen, it must be arranged in a mirror image.
Of course, you can also use pens with water-soluble or heat-soluble ink.

I transferred the overall pattern in one go.

You could also transfer and embroider the motifs singly and build up the design gradually. Then it is advisable to start in the middle and work the way up to the edges. Thus, while working, you can decide whether you want to embroider just one or two wise men or just one or two shepherds.

Advent Calendar 2016
Advent Calendar 2017
Advent Calendar 2018
Advent Calendar 2019

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Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene

By on 24. November 2023   /   Advent Calendar, blog, new books, new download products   /   2 Comments

Advent Calendar 2023 – Nativity Scene

After a few years’ break, I would like to present an Advent calendar again. This time I’m showing a nativity scene.

It is a compilation of figures of the holy family, shepherds with sheep and wise men. The eleven motifs are arranged linearly in my embroidery.

The layout is shown below, with which you can put the individual figures together to form an overall pattern similar to my embroidery. The cutting frames and the intersection points are included with each motif.

Since each figure is drawn separately, one can arrange the scene individually.

Each motif is given as an outline in two different sizes.
Size I
The combination shown above results in a pattern of approx. 73.5cm X approx. 21cm.
Size II
The combination shown above results in a pattern of approx. 103cm X approx. 30cm. The embroidery seen here was done in size II.

A designer’s draft for Schwalm whitework was modified by a graphic designer to perfect the overall composition. This is how a beautiful, sophisticated and coherent design was created.

The varied embroidery leaves room for your own creativity. It’s fun to work out the individual characters. If you have any difficulties in some details, I will help you with suggestions, instructions and lots of pictures. The Advent calendar awaits you from December 1st with detailed descriptions.

So that you too can embroider this unique project, I offer a document. It contains the reduced pattern that fits on one page, a reduced plan for putting the individual motifs together to form the overall pattern and the individual figures in two original sizes on 19 pages.

You can either download this document

Nativity Scene
Advent Calendar 2023
line drawings
19 pages
Text: English
3.35 MB file size
€19
(incl. 7% sales tax)
(€17,76 for customers outside the EU.)
Shop

or order as aprint version.
In the print version, the individual figures are printed on high-quality tracing paper. The cutting frames and the intersection points are included with each motif. This makes putting the groups of motifs together very easy.

Nativity Scene
Advent Calendar 2023
line drawings
19 pages
Text: English
€24
(incl. 7% sales tax)
(€ 22,43for customers outside the EU.)
Shop

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