Makoto Oozu | Mr X Stitch

Quick Cross Stitch Pendant You know when you buy stuff and then find it again years later? Yeah. During a lockdown clear out of my craft drawers I found some funky copper look pendants I think I bought at a bead fair about 10 years ago. Remember buying these? Nope. Me neither, but aren't they fabulous! They are nice and deep so of course my first thought was to put some sewing in them but I thought fabric might be a bit flimsy. Then I remembered I had some leftover plastic sheet in my drawer you can use for cross stitch - again, bought years ago. Never throw anything crafty away people, you could make a quick cross stitch pendant! This little copper frame is crying out for some lovely cross stitchy goodness inside it! Perfect. So I measured it up and cut it to the right size for the pendant. The frame used the perfect 12 by 12 stitch piece of plastic The square pendant gave me a perfect 12 x 12 square to sew in. So I turned to a fun book a friend bought me a few years ago, Mega Mini Cross Stitch by Makoto Oozu. It’s a book full of fun little cross stitch patterns. This book is a great source for tiny patterns of all kinds from animals to technology There were some very cool patterns of retro electronics but sadly they were slightly too big to fit the frame, so I settled on a little French Bulldog and got stitching. The plastic is 12 count and I used four threads at a time to make the dog appear as 3D in the pendant frame as possible. Just a few stitches makes such a big impact Look at his little face coming together! When he was finished I used some double sided tape to stick him in the frame. I used Gorilla Glue Heavy Duty Double Sided Mounting Tape - there was no way that dog was ever going to move, it was so strong. The tape is also quite thick so it meant the dog stood out a bit from the back of the frame. It is also invisible so you cannot see it through the holes which were unfilled. I did think about filling those holes in, but I like having them visible to make it more obvious that the dog is stitched. A happy finished dog in his new dog house And here he is. Say bonjour to Louis the French Bulldog. Isn’t he a cutie. And he took less than an hour to make once I settled on a pattern. You've got to love a quick craft. It would make a great last minute gift for a friend. The finished quick cross stitch pendant! And he's made a big friend already :-) If you only had a tiny square like that to stitch in, what would you put in there? Cost: Plastic sheet: Scraps so free, a sheet costs about £2 so I used about 20p worth Pendant: A quick google suggests you get 10 for £2 so 20p Threads: From existing stash so no cost If you also wanted to buy the book it is still on Amazon at a cost of £8 Total: 40p without the book, £8.40 with the book Best cake for this project: Pound cake (because it’s such a cheap make) Best song for this project: Hound Dog by Elvis ----- Over to you! What quick cross stitch craft projects have you completed lately?