I've had this design floating around in my head for a while and I finally got around to making one. It's fun to take a well-known product and translate it into a different material. Avery has been making manila gift tags forever. With some cream-colored felt and red embroidery floss you can easily make this twist on an ironic original, too!
You will need:
-Cream or off white felt
-Embroidery needle and red embroidery floss (I used DMC #321)
-Disappearing ink marker
Optional:
-Sewing machine with off-white thread
-Hole punch
-Grommet the same size as the hole punch
Step 1: Print this pdf, cut it out, and trace the pattern onto a piece of felt using a disappearing ink marker. Cut the shape out of the felt and make the hole. I used a small hole punch but it'd be easy to improvise with a few small snips from sharp fabric scissors.
Step 2: With a sewing machine, stitch around the perimeter with a 1/8" seam allowance. If you don't have a sewing machine you can skip this step and eyeball the embroidery. The sewing machine stitching merely strengthens the felt a bit and gives you a pattern for the decorative stitching.
Step 3: Following the path of stitches you just created, use two strands of red embroidery thread to create the border. Use the holes made by the sewing machine to keep the stitches even. It helps to hold the piece in front of a light or a sunny window. Down in one hole, up through the next. . . Leave a bit of floss hanging at the beginning so you can make a tiny knot when you've gone all the way around the edge.
Step 4: Using a light table or sunny window, trace the XO pattern onto the felt with the disappearing ink marker.
Step 5: Back stitch the X and the O with three strands of floss, making sure to keep the back as clean as possible. I embroidered one line of the 'X' using tiny knots at each end on the back, and then I completed the 'O' in the same way.
Step 6: I had a few grommets sitting around so I used a silver one for the hole. This is completely optional!
Step 7: Take a 6" piece of the same red embroidery thread (the full 6 strands) and knot it on each end to avoid fraying. Fold it in half, tuck the middle through the hole in the felt and loop the knotted ends through. Now you're ready to tie it to your present!
I have other ideas for felt and embroidered gift tags, so stay tuned!
XO (ha!) Karin
