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Cross Stitch Designs

I have recently been asked about the design process involved in the Tassel Dolly kits so here are a few of the original drawings which I converted to cross stitch. I hope you like seeing the originals. The process from conception to final production can take many hours and that is why they seem to have their own characters and enables me to create stories about their adventures. Dont forget you can follow these on the SpangleDolly Blog

Original Welsh Dolly designs

Ideas on how to Embellish your bag

Embellishing your project could be performed as you are knitting your bag by introducing a second yarn to the nylon cord (knitting with two threads at once) or after (surface design or free-forming). This project deals with the surface design. Surface design is great fun, quick and easy to perform, it can be changed or altered easily as the design grows. The design can be small or cover the whole bag.

Equipment: Medium size (5 to 8mm) crochet hooks, and /or medium size knitting needles (5-8mm), Large eye darning needle. Scissors,

Material.
Working with the colour and texture of your original piece (in this case the Tan Shoulder Bag), we select yarns, beads, ribbons, buttons, old broaches etc to complement and/or contrast with your bag. If you are short of a few pieces look at our adornments and yarn sections. We will also put together adornment packs on request - just send an email with your ideal colour combinations. (send an image or sample for the best match)

Theme
Ask yourself these questions as you are selecting your materials for embellishing:
Do I want the bag to go with the types of colours of my outfits?
Is there a special occasion which I need to design for e.g Wedding?
Do I want glitzy?
Do I want Chic?
Do I want fun/outrageous?
Do I want subtle/delicate?

Colours
The colour of the nylon cord greatly determines the selection of the other colours, however, the black and tan nylon cord bags are fairly neutral and work well with many colour combinations. Red nylon works best with other loud and brash combinations of colours and textures.
Lay your selected yarns and adornments out to see how they work together (you don't have to use them all). Twist yarns together to check how the colours look eg. eyelash yarn with bulky bouclé or ribbon yarn. It is surprising how different colours look when you mix them so twist them together and lay them out in curvy lines to show you what goes together best. This also gives you the opportunity to get ideas on the overall surface design. Remember that the bag is not a flat canvas, although straight lines can work in small sections, curvy lines are easier to work with and look better over the whole of the bag.

Textures
The more textures you select the more interesting your piece will be. Select from a full range of textures such as silk ribbons, shiny metallic yarns, beaded yarns, different weight (gauge) and thickness yarns. Select items that you can use to 'focus' on and work round. Similar to a painting, your eye is drawn to points of focus first and them works around appreciating the different colours and textures.

Methods:
In this department, anything goes! Just remember that the bag, if used everyday, can get bashed so loose materials can snag or get pulled off and lost so make sure you secure your design well. You can create sections of the design off the bag and sew or crochet them on after. If you are not experienced with the crochet hook, no problem as mistakes are rarely seen and if anything add to the design. So if you are a novice at crochet this is an ideal opportunity to have a go!
- Crocheted Embellishment
This is the best method to adopt as using the crochet hook allows you to catch a knitted thread from the bag crochet (chain, double or triple) for a few stitches then catch the thread from the bag again as you work along the knitting.
- Knitted Embellishment
Knit a section using your desired stitch (garter, moss, stocking, rib etc.) then darn or crochet the length on the bag. Try knitting with two threads at the same time to get a more interesting piece. Small wide sections or longer narrow sections are recommended. Small pieces are best as larger ones do not follow the cures and lay of the bag when finished and just looks too bulky.
- Sewing/Darning
Traditional stitches can be used, such as running stitch, straight stitch, to appliqué items or crocheted knitted sections to the bag. Buttons or broaches can also be sewn in.

Couching
Thick yarn or ribbon especially wide silk ribbon can be couched onto the bag by trapping the ribbon over a chain crochet stitch. (see example project)

Appliqué
Pieces of fabric can be appliquéd on the bag quite successfully, just remember to edge or fold over the rough edges of the material so that none is showing or alternatively fray the edge of the material to make an additional feature.

The Canvas
Large needle knitting is an ideal surface for embellishing. Roughly lay out or draw your ideas for your design before you start. A good way to start is with a curved line around the bag, this breaks down the areas into manageable areas from which to add your focus point(s).

Example Design

Step 1 - Select the materials

Step 2 - Start by crocheting or sewing a curved line around the bag. If the yarn is thin combine yarns. E.g. a metallic yarn with a thicker bouclé.

Step 2 - Sew in your focal points such as buttons or broaches

Step 3 - Create crocheted or knitted sections to add in. Knit or crochet long chains which can be curved round on themselves to infill blank sections in between focal points.

Step 4 - Appliqué ribbon or fabric to link focal point.

Step 5 - Infill gaps with buttons or other adornments.

Step 6 - Remember if you do not like a section of the bag you can always undo and replace.

Have fun!

Conversion Charts

Needle Conversion

Knitting Needle Conversion

US	Metric	UK
0	2mm	14
1	2.25mm	13
2	2.75mm	12
-	3mm	11
3	3.25mm	10
4	3.5mm	-
5	3.75mm	9
6	4mm	8
7	4.5mm	7
8	5mm	6
9	5.5mm	5
10	6mm	4
10.5	6.5mm	3
-	7mm	2
-	7.5mm	1
11	8mm	0
13	9mm	00
15	10mm	000
17	12mm	-
19	15mm	-
36	20mm	-
50	25mm	-

Crochet Hook Conversion

US	Metric	UK
B,1	2mm	14
-	2.25mm	13
C,2	2.5mm	12
-	3mm	11
D,3	3.25mm	10
E,4	3.5mm	9
G,6	4mm	8
7	4.5mm	7
H,8	5mm	6
I,9	5.5mm	5
J,10	6mm	4
K,10.5	6.5mm	3
-	7mm	2
-	8mm	0
-	9mm	00
-	10mm	000