I decided to start with the hotpad since it was flat and less lumpy than the tea cosy. I chose matching pansy patterns from a book I had in my reference library in the studio--Elizabethan Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet. Since it's stitched on a square grid and knitted fabric isn't square, I had to cut a piece of waste canvas and baste it to the hotpad. The canvas is 5" square, so that gives an idea of the total size of the hotpad. It's original size was probably about 6" square.
The stitches are worked over the canvas, then you wet the canvas and pull out the threads of the waste canvas. Easier said than done, believe me! The canvas dries quickly which means that the glue hardens. So there I am, sitting in a recliner with the hotpad on a towel and a wet paper towel covering the parts of the canvas I'm not working on with a small pair of needlenose pliers. Once you get half the threads pulled out, the rest goes easily, though.
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| Finished stitching, waste canvas trimmed away |
And just for fun, I added a few lines of lavendar and purple beads to the center of the design. Next up, stitching the tea cosy...
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