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Prairie Schooler Santa Questions

For those of you who have done Prairie Schooler Santas or even if you haven’t but have advice . .

I know the real answer to all the of these questions is this: Do whatever makes me happy. But would you please read my questions and give me your thoughts? I don’t want to start this and be unhappy with my results and I’d like to make a lot of these santas and I’d like them all to be the same size.

As far as I know, they’re 75 x 57 stitches.

  1. Done on 18 count linen (called for fabric), Prairie Schooler says they will be 4-1/8″ x 3-1/4″. That tells me that they’re stitching over one thread, right?
  2. Stitching over 1 thread on 18 count linen will produce the same size project as stitching over 2 threads on 36 count linen, right? OK . . horrible analogy and hate me for it but . . when I’m stitching over one thread on a linen with bigger holes . . I can hardly even type this . . it reminds of a rather obese person on the beach wearing a string bikini. The threads kinda get lost and I don’t see a crisp “X” (on the cross stitching . . not on the obese person). Honestly, I haven’t been to a beach in so long and I haven’t seen an obese person in a string bikini probably ever except on gross cards and I don’t even know why I’ve seen those so please . . just answer my question and don’t let your mind wander! 🙂
  3. If I used the 18 count and stitched over 1 or 36 count and stitched over 2, the stitched area would be 4-1/8″ x 3-1/4″ would make a good pillow size but if I used maybe 20 count and stitched over 2, the piece would be 7-1/2″ x 5-3/4″. That’s larger than I would want for a pillow but I was thinking I could use styrofoam and make them into “cubes”. You can see how Denise finished Jack here. I could stick them anywhere and they would be easy to pack (but so would pillows).
  4. Do I want to stitch them all on the same color linen? I think I want to make them all the same size but maybe different linens might be cute . . maybe?
  5. Any other thoughts you may have would be appreciated.

I had a piece of 20 count Evenweave that was a little sample from XJu in a recent linen order.

  • Stitches on the left: 2 stands over 2 threads. These would be big 7-1/2 x 5-3/4. On 20 count, I can stitch it without a magnifier so this would make a great travel project (and you know how much I travel . . NONE!!)
  • Middle stitches – 2 strands over 1 thread. This looks bulky and doesn’t show crisp “x”s to me.
  • Right stitches – 1 strand over 1 thread. Think . . string bikini. The threads disappear into the holes.

The only ones I’m happy with are the 2 strands over 2 threads.

I have a large piece of 18 count Aida that I must have ordered for this project. I may stitch a bit on it and see what I think.

I’m sure I’m overthinking this but help would be appreciated. This is pretty much a long term commitment with all these annual Santas and I’d like to be thrilled with my choices.

Thank you!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Well like you, I prefer the two over two the most. The other ones don’t do justice to cross-stitching to me, they are just too small. Good luck!!

    • I’m a 1 over 2 – don’t like using 2 strands ever!

  2. My 2 cents for what it is worth (because you know I’m not a linen stitcher so can’t give opinions on that). Yes you are absolutely right 36 count linen is equal to 18 count aida. The 18 count Putty Khaki Davos which is called for for all those yearly santa ornaments is evenweave and when I look at it compared to 18 count aida – the holes look larger to me (but I’m also looking at hand dyed aida so it has shrunk a bit). I had gotten some of the Davos but then decided I didn’t really like the color if it. I decided I preferred the mottling of hand dyed aida better. I plan to do mine on various pieces of 18 count hand dyed aida – not all the same color. I did one last year as a gift on 18 count aida one over one. You can see it here
    https://justquiltin.wordpress.com/2021/12/18/snowshoeing-santa/
    I may try my next on one 20 count aida to see how I like that size. Some of them will be for me to keep and some will be gifts so I’m not real concerned about mine all being the same size.

    • I love that one. Thanks! So you’re finishing them differently too? Thanks for those ideas. Now that I think about it, I think they would look better on different colors and maybe different sizes.

      • I may finish them differently. I don’t really want them for ornaments on a tree for myself but am thinking about finishing them on boards similar to the one I did and then they could be hung as ornaments or propped up somewhere or I would thread a ribbon thru the wooden board and hang several one below the other on that ribbon to hang off the end of a quilt rack with a christmas quilt on it or something. I don’t really have space (or storage) to display a bunch of pillows, etc. so something flat would work best for the ones I want to make for myself.

  3. Hi, I recommend checking out the blog called Stitching Dreams, also on Instagram. She’s done many Prairie Schooler Santas and might be able to give you a tip. Different topic—it must be hard to receive complaints about something you’re sharing for free, but I hope you won’t let one gripe about ads affect your decisions. Your blog, your time, your choice. Even though I became a reader due to cross stitch, I love reading about your bargain shopping and Oscar too. Thanks for sharing!

    • Thank you so much for writing! I appreciate your thoughts. I will look for Stitching Dreams and probably learn much!

  5. I have done a lot of them. I did them on 18 Davis at the time. Two strands of thread. I love how they look. If I were to do some now I would probably used a linen that would come out to the same size and still use two strands. I just like the look of 2 strands. Have fun. Hugs,

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