I`ld share the tutorial and pattern. Also some common tips and tricks about plastic canvas.
I've been wanting to make something like this for a while.
Almost no experience, but there was a great volition to make such one by own design. It was rather self-challenge to deal with this task. I've formulated such conditions (whims):
a small house with nearly realistic proportions, nice complex-shaped sloping roof, with good tile texture, so it will be useful, not only decorative. I think I did it :)
I drawed pattern based on what threads colors I had and were available. It's turned out the roof to be the hardest part of task. There was a huge number of sketches until I definitely liked it.
Also I worried that the monotonous brick walls would seem boring, so I filled them with a lot of little items. And in order to entertain and comfort myself, I've encrypted into these details some interesting things and episodes from my childhood .
Feel free to use this template for any non-commercial use. By this guide you can make a Tissue box or a Piggy Bank Box.
The finished house sizes are 16 x 12 x 13cm. You can change the colors as you wish. This is how it will look like if, for example, you "repaint" the roof:
Template & Pattern
This template involves two A4 sheets of 14-Mesh Plastic Canvas (it means 14 squares per inch). As usually, such sheets made with perforating 115x153 holes. At the template Orange shows the walls, the roof and the chimney are Blue, the bottom and the locks are Green.
Spoiler contains the list of parts (totally 27 items)
In case to make a tissue box, then the roof will be sewn to the walls, and the tissues are supposed to be loaded from below. The bottom opens like a gates. To avoid these doors hanging, 4 small rectangular locks need to be sewn at the corners on the inner side of sashes so that they protrude a couple of cells.
In case you make a piggy bank box, don't cut the sashes in the floor. The roof just will be put on like a lid on a box, and the locks are also not needed.
How to cut
First, you need to mark the pattern on the sheets. The bad idea to use pencils or a marker – it is hard to see, smudges easily, and the remains of ink in the holes can later stain the embroidery. It is better to make an outline with an ordinary thread according to the shape of the details. To make it easier to count and not get lost, focus on the highlighted circles along the contours of the parts at the template. Be sure to firmly tie the ends of the threads that outline each detail, otherwise they will slip out and interfere with cutting.
For the best result, I recommend cutting the plastic canvas with long scissors and under a magnifying glass. The cut line should be directed not through the middle of the holes, but a little outside, about a third from the outer edge of the hole. Thus, the nicks along the edges of the cutten parts will be a little deeper, it will facilitate embroidering on the edges. That's why there are at least two squares between the parts at the template.
I wanted to make the body shorter than ordinary tissue boxes, and I decided to shorten the length, and to fit the tissues fold the stack of them in a wave-shape. In this way, the house should be more compact, and the space under the roof will be used.
When all the parts were cut out, to make sure that everything was OK, I assembled the whole structure with baste and test with a pack of tissues.
Everything is working! It can be embroidered!
Threads
I insert three strands into the needle for 14th count canvas. They say that on the 14th count you could embroider with two threads, but I like better three. The comfort length for me is about 50-60 cm. I cannot give an exact colors key chart, because half of them were noname. The known colors are subtitled on the pattern. I calculated the consumption approximately, remember something like 1 cm of threads (triple) per cross. Whith a plastic canvas threads consumption is a little more than whith ordinary fabric due to the thickness of the material.
Pattern
I have my own way for patterns. I save the general picture + a separate file for each color, where this color is highlighted, and everything else is semitransparent. It seems to me that it is more convenient, clear and visually
There is no bottom in the pattern because it only needs to be hemmed around the contour in one cross-stitch row with any color. Lockers can be attached and sewn in any way.
The embroidery method
Cross-stitch as you like! The main principle feature is edge processing. I will describe exactly how to do it later.
Аctually, it is much easier and more pleasant to embroider on a plastic canvas than on fabric, it is convenient to hold in your hands not cumbersome hoops, but a small dense piece and turn it back and forth. However, because of this, it is easier to confuse the direction of the crosses. Another disadvantage is that it is a little more difficult to fasten the thread end, but small pliers at hand help.
The details of large roof slopes require attention when embroidering, they have a narrow isthmus, andto avoid accidentally damage the details in this place, it is worth put on a "splint" there. Apply and sew a wasted needle along the edge of the rectangular cutout from the reverse side.
For the piggy-bank, the walls must be embroidered to the very top so that with the removed lid they have neat look, and for the tissues you can ignore the upper edge pairs of rows, so they will be forever covered by bargeboardes.
Note! After filling with embroidery, the plastic canvas stretches a little, by about 1.5-2% of the size.
This happens not because of the volume of the threads. If you use a double thread instead of a triple thread, the same thing will happen.This happens due to repeated pushing of the needle through each hole.
You would take this into consideration if you are designing three-dimensional items. This is especially affect on long parts such as the cylindrical wall of a round box for example.
Due to the fact that the fully embroidered walls were stretched a little, the bottom became shorter for two squares compared to the corresponding walls, and as a result, the bottom perfectly fit inside the rectangle of the walls, and after sewing on it becomes absolutly invisible if looking from the side. Therefore, the color for the bottom part contour does not matter.
How to process the edges of parts
Embroider the orthogonal edges as usual cross-stitch: first on one direction along the entire edge by half cross (it will be like spiral wrapped along the edge row). Then go back direction to complete the full crosses, fixing the thread in the edge nicks and pulling thread firmly so that it does not slip. This method is suitable for a single-colored edges, here it is the contour of the bottom, the edges of the roof parts and the lower edges of bargeboards.
And where the pattern has multicolored edge, getting to the edge with a certain color it is worth making sure that the edge crosses are well stretched, and the second half of cross stitch should not be done immediately, but through something else, at least hook it from the revers side through something, otherwise the loop will slip off.
Partial diagonal cutted squares are ebboroided as it turns out by fractional stitches. Depending on their size there will be either a half-cross stitch or just 1-2 stitches from the corner hole. The main thing is that the volume of the threads is enough to cover this little piece.
Also it's better not to fasten the strands immediately after emboroid the edge, take the thread away along the backside surface. Twice or tree times run the needle underneath several completed stitches on the back in the different directions before trimming.
How to sew joints
To make a good joint, match the fully emboiroided parts edge to edge and sew with a single similar color thread in a zigzag way gradually tightening. Fix the start of the thread at the reverse side with an ordinary knot. Then make one connecting stitch per each cross, alternately clinging the needle by the the edge crosses on each side.
If everything is done correctly, the thread used to sew the joints becomes completely invisible.
Pay attention when sewing the parts together, they would not shift. They must clearly match by the pattern cross to cross. Such unwanted shift can happen if you tighten too much.
You can see in the photo my chimney is a little skewed by this reason :)
How to assemble the house
For Tisue Box:
1) Step One. In any order:
• sew the parts of the chimney together
• sew the walls together
• make the main ridge by sewing together two big roof slopes
• sew together two pairs of smaller roof slopes
• sew in pairs 4 Λ-shaped bargeboards: two large and two small
• sew the fasteners to the bottom flaps from the inside (don't do that for piggy-bank box)
2) Step Two. Sew bardeboards to the corresponding roof slopes.
3) Step Three. Insert the chimney into the roof opening and sew the joints from inside.
4) Step Four. Make the roof valleys by sewing small roof slops to larges.
5) Step Five. Complete the roof by connecting the ends of bargeboards at the corners.
6) Step Six. Put the roof on the walls and sew along the perimeter through the walls, step up one cross-row from the lower edge of bardeboards. On the front side, make small stitches for one cross long, and on the reverse side you can step with large stitches. (Don't do this step for piggy-bank box)
7) Step Seven. Sew the bottom last.
And for a piggy-bank box the final step will be to line it with felt on the inside.
That's all!
I hope you find this tutorial useful, the translation is clear and the terms are correct.
Any questions or translate tips are welcome to the Comments.
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