Do-it-yourself cross stitch bookmark

We will walk you through the process of making an embroidered bookmark based on Patterned needlework fabric "Dandelion" sample.

Start with selecting the threads. Leftover threads from your Mom’s or Grandma’ kits will do just fine. Because a double stitch completely fills out a fabric cell, you can pick a color that’s darker or lighter than printed. It won’t be visible beneath the embroidery.

Do the cross-stitch part first. Then, move on to backstitch. We used single-thread long stitches to do the backstitch on our dandelions (see image).

When done with the embroidery, go ahead and sew the bookmark together. Cut off the bottom part, that is, the fragment with notations. Then, fold the sample along the dotted lines and align the reverse side with the front side (see image 3). Cut the fabric precisely along the cells.

Use buttonhole stitch to sew the two parts together. You can learn the essentials of buttonhole stitch technique from our article. You might want to fasten both parts with one or two pins in the middle in order to prevent the fabric from moving as you sew. For lacing, we used the same dark-gray color that we embroidered the dandelion with. Refrain from using the darkest color from the palette otherwise the contrast may end up too sharp and the slightest imperfection of the stitches will strike the eye. Don’t use a color that’s too light either as it will appear blurred against the overall background. Keep in mind that buttonhole stitch is an integral part of the embroidery and the decorative finish.

Embroider the folded parts of the bookmark around the perimeter using buttonhole stitch – you will get a durable seam and a decorative element at the same time. We decided to additionally enlace the gray buttonhole stitches with a single black thread so that our dandelion composition becomes a more solid piece. To do it, you need to fasten the thread and enlace the stitches on the front side without sticking the needle out to the reverse side (see image).

After the two long and one short side have been embroidered, you can put a piece of white cardboard in between. This way, your bookmark will be more solid. You can also use a sewing machine to sew the bookmark together with zigzag stitch, in which case be sure to use contrasting color thread for the seam. This will ensure the piece has finished look.

Now that the bookmark has been sewn together, you can make a lace. Fasten three threads in the center and weave a pigtail. Once the pigtail is long enough (we got a 6-cm one), tie a knot and cut off redundant threads, leaving a tassel of 3 cm.

The bookmark is now ready!