Weekend Project

DIY Red Cross iphone Cross Stitch Case 


One obsession of my boyfriend's that I fully support is his love the red cross symbol. So, for christmas I made him this phone case. I don't often cross stitch, but after seeing a the cases at Purl Soho I wanted to give it a try. The case kit comes with a needle, a few thread colors, and some pretty lame patterns (think teddy bears and sports cars). I wanted a more masculine color scheme and a pattern that he would like. My inspiration came from an old military trunk in our bed room.

This project will take more than a weekend probably. I made this over a week or so and just enjoyed zoning out stitching it. My boyfriend has been using the case and while it has matted the stitches down from being in his pocket all the time, and is a bit darker now, it still looks pretty good. I do wish the case was a little firmer though. I really enjoyed making this (especially designing the pattern!), so maybe I need to make one for me too.

You'll need:
My pattern, see below
Leese Cross stitch case (comes with needle or 24 Tapestry needle)
DMC embroidery thread (535 gray, 347 red, 3051 green)
Scissors
Thimble

1. To start each piece of thread, knot the end of an arms length of 3 ply thread.  Start with red thread and locate the center point on the case (the yellow square on the pattern). Starting from the center out, use the tent stitch, which is basically one diagonal half of a cross stitch, and start stitching the large cross. Starting at the center makes it easier to count stitches and follow the pattern.                                                                                                      
2. To end a length of thread tuck your needle under a few stitches on the back side of the case and then cut the excess thread close to the case.
3. Stitch the circle, then the top and bottom bands (gray areas on pattern). Make sure to leave space for the little red cross on the bottom band. 
4. Stitch the small red cross in a 2 ply cross stitch. It's raised, and makes a nice detail.
5. Fill in the rest of the canvas in with 3 ply tent stitches. 

Note: If you want to make traditional cross stitches use a 2 ply thread. I used a tent stitch because the weave of the plastic mesh felt too tight, and I struggled with cross stitches. I tried 3 ply cross stitches on the very bottom rows (see pic below). It felt too tight and looked messy to me. Less thread would help, so try 2 ply.  

Another note: Once you're stitching you'll notice that the pattern is missing a row of stitches along the outer edge. I scanned the grid from the packaged directions provided by Leese, but since the outer most part of the weave was not intended for stitching it's not on the gird. BUT, I found that I could stitch through this part. It's a bit harder to push the needle through, so try using a thimble.  I liked that the stitches now covered the entirety of the case without a bit of the weave showing on the outer edge.

So, you gonna try this or what? I wanna see if you do!

p.s I thought I was so clever with my "Weekend Projects" title, but I guess it's been awhile since I've been to Poppytalk, cause they have a recurring feature of the same name. I really like having a weekly DIY project to share, so then what do I call this recurring feature on my blog?! Halp!