We’ve challenged three designers to use only the materials given to them to create an autumn key fob. Read on to see how they got on…
Did you enjoy stitching our squirrel keyring? Now you’re a dab hand at key fobs, you’ll love this cute idea using an aida band! We asked our three designers this month to come up with a keyring. Our designers could only use the seven shades of stranded cotton stipulated, and had to work their design onto aida band for a quick finish.
Take a look at their fab results below – we’ve featured a chart for each one so you can stitch your favourite! We hope this will inspire you to join in too – turn the page to see what our challenge will be for December – we’ve listed everything you need to take part.
THE CHALLENGE
• Zweigart cream aida band, ref: Z07002/0003/2.5; 25.5cm (10in)
• Seven shades of stranded cotton (shown above)
• Key fob finding 2.5cm (1in)
THE RULES
• Create a design for a key fob
• The design should be no wider than 10 stitches
• Only the materials above can be used
• Be creative as possible!
CHERYL McKINNON… FOREST FRIENDS
The lovely oranges and browns reminded me of an Autumn woodland, so here are some cute forest animals - and the little pop of teal brightens the design! Two animals are flipped, so it looks good from any direction!”
FIONA CROUCH… SQUIRREL TRIO
I live on the Isle of Wight, which is famous for its red squirrels. As soon as I saw the colours for this challenge I knew that was the animal I had to bring to life on this little key fob.”
AMANDA BUTLER… LITTLE LION
This project was certainly tricky with regards to the width, trying to make an animal fit and still look like an animal was the hardest part. After going through a multitude of ideas I finally settled on a happy little lion.”
Make a… key fob
Step 1
STITCH the key fob design onto the aida band, using two strands of stranded cotton for the cross stitch and one for the backstitch and French knots. Stitch from the centre out, and depending on which design you are stitching, try to position the design so that you have whole animals either side of the fold – although this is not possible for all designs. Repeat the design on the other side of the aida band if you wo
