Susan Bates - Designing the “Very Merry” Patterns for StitchableCards

For this set of winter designs I used a palette of bright reds and greens which are traditionally associated with Christmas and the festive season. To expand the colour range I added shades of turquoise and gold and of course a snowy white.

Around Christmas time my mum often buys a poinsettia plant and I love their bright red colour.  They look lovely in a pot on the window sill and they brighten up any grey wintery day.

Strangely the yellow centres of the poinsettias are its flowers and what we think of as the flowers; (the red ‘petals’) are called bracts).

To me the shape of a single bract fits the circular stitchable shape perfectly.  The dark red backstitch adds detail to the yellow centre and the red ‘petals’ and pulls them into focus.

The leaves don’t have backstitch, making them easy to stitch.

 I’ve added a pale blue background to my design, as I liked how this subtle cool colour looks against the vibrant shades of red.

Cardinal birds are often thought to represent love and devotion, so it seemed fitting to place my little bird inside the heart-shaped template.

This bird is so recognizable, with his bright red and black plumage. He is often associated with winter and so in my design he sits on a branch amidst a snowy landscape. This light background helps him to stand out and accentuates his red feathers even more.

One of the things I love about the festive season is decorating the Christmas tree with lights, baubles and tinsel.

Baubles come in all different shapes and sizes - I find the retro-style teardrop-shaped baubles really pretty, so I decided to create my own one here, to make a colourful and fun design.

This teardrop shape fits nicely into the square stitchable template. I’ve decorated mine with spots, zigzags and stripes of colour.

To add extra detail I’ve created a simple border, with some stylised red poinsettia flowers in each corner and a simple line of blue stitching along the edge of the design.

Christmas is a time for visiting loved ones, so a bright red doorway festooned with a red and green wreath and surrounded by gift wrapped presents is a welcoming sight.

This design incorporates lots of shades of green and red, and is a cheerful image – it would make a great card to send to a loved one.

Whilst these designs use motifs traditionally associated with Christmas it’s worth saying, you don’t need to celebrate Christmas to enjoy them, as they are also associated more broadly with winter as well. So they would make lovely greetings cards to give to friends and family, even if Christmas isn’t your thing!