Start with the details on her coat and pants by stitching in Wine, using Continental. Then, brighten things up by adding the highlights on her hat, boots, and the bow on her wreath in Bleach. You can use either Continental or Half-Cross, whatever is easiest for you to stitch.

Next, move to her hat and stitch it in Coral, using Continental.

Her face is next, stitched in Peach, using Continental. Continue to the hair with Fawn, also in Continental. Fill in her boots and gloves with Black, also using (you guessed it) Continental.

Finally, complete the woman by filling the main color of her coat in Salmon, using Basketweave.

Woman's Wreath

Onto the woman's wreath! Start with the center section of the wreath (lighter green) in Jade, using Continental. Fill in the outer section of the wreath (darker green) in Fir, using Continental. The two tones of green add extra depth to the wreath. Complete this area by stitching the bow background in Gold, using Continental.

Man

For the man, start by picking out all those crisp little details. Begin with the dark accents sprinkled across his hat, coat, pants, boots, and gloves in Black, using Continental. Then, add a pop by stitching the highlights on his gloves, hat, scarf, coat, boots, and the pompom on his hat in Bleach, again with Continental. Add in some color, by stitching his scarf in Periwinkle, using Continental.

Fill in the larger blocks by stitching his hat and pants in Midnight, using Basketweave. Finish up, by working his coat in Elephant using Basketweave.

Child

As with the Woman, the accents on the child's jacket coordinate with the color of his pants. We'll start there. Stitch the details on the coat in Forest, using Continental. Then stitch the pants in Forest, using Continental (or Basketweave).

Move down to the scarf, stitching in Robin's Egg, using Continental. Stitch the face in Peach, also using Continental.

For the pompom atop the hat, use Bleach and Continental. If you want a bit of extra texture, feel free to add French Knots at this step. Move on to the hat’s main color in Midnight using Continental. Finish up the small-ish areas by stitching the boots and gloves in Black, using Continental.

Don’t forget that charming green jacket! Stitch it in Jade, using Basketweave.

Car & Headlights

Car

Let’s shift gears to the car! As usual, we'll start with the smaller details so they really pop. Stitch the white highlights on the car in Bleach using Continental. Add the subtle shadows on the tires with Elephant, using Basketweave. For the black car details on the roof and hubcaps, stitch in Black using Continental.

Now it’s time to fill the bigger areas. For the tires, stitch in Black using Basketweave. Work the car windows, hubcaps, and bumper, all in Dove using Basketweave. For the body, I’d stitch the darker red accents of the hood and doors in Wine using Basketweave. Finally, fill in stitches of the main bright red color in Scarlet, using Basketweave.

Headlights

The headlights are up next. Begin by stitching the headlight on the car itself in Gold, using Continental.

Now, move onto the headlight beams. Stitch the darker yellow accents in Gold, using Continental. Fill in the main color of the beams with Butter using Basketweave. It's a nice soft glow to finish the front of the car.

Tree on Car

For the tree tied onto the top, start by stitching the ropes holding it to the car in Forest with Continental. Move on to the tree’s accents (darker green) by stitching in Fir, using Continental. The main color of the tree is Olive, and I’d fill that in using Basketweave.

Sign

For the sign, it’s best to keep it crisp and clear. Begin by stitching the white tree details in Bleach using Continental. Then, fill the main color of the sign itself with Fawn, in Basketweave.

If you're having trouble seeing the exact placement of the tree on the sign, or your stitching isn't looking quite right, check out this blog post. It includes a detailed stitch chart of the sign, so you can see exactly where each stitch should go.

FYI: This design used to have text on the sign, but I've switched to the picture of the Christmas tree to make stitching easier and to improve legibility.

Twinkling Lights

Light Bulbs

To capture that festive sparkle, work on the light bulbs first. Stitch the lightest yellow color in Butter with Continental, then add the darker accent color in Gold, also using Continental.

Light String

Next, run the white light string across the canvas in Bleach with Continental. This step anchors all your twinkling light bulbs.

Light Poles

The light poles add structure to the scene. Use Biscuit for the lighter brown tone and Fawn for the darker brown, both in Continental. The contrast will give these poles a crisp look.

Trees

Sometimes it can be hard to differentiate the greens of trees. I use a lot of the same color combinations across designs, so that the illustrations hang together well. I've made a visual guide to help you decode which tree colors go where.

Deep Dive: Decoding Tree Colors

Tree Stands

Start with the tree stands to ground your trees. Stitch the darker brown tone in Fawn with either Half-Cross or Continental. Then, fill in the lighter brown tone in Biscuit, using Continental.

Forest Green Trees

For the darkest green trees, begin by stitching the details in Black using Continental. Then, fill the rest with Forest in Basketweave.

Jade Green Trees

Start by stitching the details of these trees in Forest, using Continental. Finish by filling the main color in Jade using Basketweave.

Olive Green Trees

Stitch the accents of the trees with Fir, using Continental. The background (or main) color of the tree is Olive, which you’ll fill in using Basketweave.

Fir Green Trees

For mid-tone green trees, start with Forest for the details, using Continental. Then stitch the background in Fir, using Basketweave.

Name

You’re almost there! For the name, I actually change the order I stitch in.

I first stitch the lighter, main color of the name in Continental, using Bleach. Next, I stitch in the name accents (or shadows) in Gold, using Continental.

Here's a how-to video showing how I stitch our classic lettering style in Scarlet & Wine, but the same principles apply if you’re stitching a different colorway, or even a different font!

Deep Dive: Stitching Your Name >

I stitch one letter at a time and one color at a time. I tend to tie off between letters, just to keep everything super crisp. I think it’s especially important to do this if you’re stitching a name with a white background. It’s less important if you have a dark background behind the name because the thread tails are unlikely to show through. To keep things easy for myself, I just tie off between letters 🙂

Backgrounds

The big, simple blocks of color are often the very last thing I complete on any stockings. I think about it like filling in backgrounds after the details are completed.

Blue Snow Drifts

Stitch the light blue drifts scattered across the canvas in Robin’s Egg using Basketweave.

Road

Use Slate in Basketweave to fill in the road. This really ties together the whole wintry scene.

White Snow

White yarn can sometimes look thin because it’s not plumped by dye, so for the snow background, use Bleach in Basketweave.

If you notice the yarn is looking thin, you might consider adding an extra strand for better coverage. You'll want to test this to make sure there's not a noticeable texture difference between two strands and three strands. It's easiest to do this at natural design breaks (like different elements in the illustration).

If you see a thin stitch only here or there, you can just go over it again with another stitch at the end.

Night Sky