Begin with the dark gray beard accents in Elephant using Continental. Then stitch the beard, hair, and eyebrows in Dove using Basketweave. Next, add the eyes in Black with Continental. For the accents on the face and ears, use Biscuit with Continental. Stitch the spectacles in Gold using Continental, and add the mouth and cheeks in Rose with Continental. Finally, fill in the skintone in Peach using Basketweave.

Santa's Suit

Start with the dark gray glove accents in Elephant using Continental. Then add the dark red suit accents in Wine, also with Continental. Fill in the main red color of Santa's suit with Scarlet using Basketweave. Finally, stitch the fur on the suit and gloves in Bleach using Basketweave.

Santa's List

For Santa's list, stitch the line accents in Biscuit using Continental. Then fill in the main color of the list in Cream using Basketweave.

Tree

Next, I would move on to the little Christmas tree. Start with the ornaments—stitch them in Cream and Gold, both using Continental. Then add the dark green tree accents in Forest with Continental. Finally, fill in the main tree color in Fir using Basketweave.

Pro tip! You don't have to tie off between every tiny stitch, if you're using the same color. I am a pretty lazy stitcher, so I usually do not. I do all the stitches for a given color at once, and then tie off when I'm done. I'm just careful to leave enough yarn on the back so the canvas isn't getting distorted by pulling too tightly on the back. It should be just a bit slack on the back.

Desk Area

Now for the cozy desk scene with all its delightful details!

Pro tip! You don't have to tie off between every tiny stitch, if you're using the same color. I am a pretty lazy stitcher, so I usually do not. I do all the stitches for a given color at once, and then tie off when I'm done. I'm just careful to leave enough yarn on the back so the canvas isn't getting distorted by pulling too tightly on the back. It should be just a bit slack on the back.

Santa's Letters

Stitch the letter accents in Cocoa using Continental. Then fill in the main color of the letters in Rose using Basketweave.

Hot Cocoa

For the mug of hot cocoa, start with the marshmallows in Bleach using Continental. Then stitch the mid-green color on the top of the mug handle in Fir with Continental, and add the dark shadow on the bottom of the handle in Forest, also with Continental. Next, stitch the brown hot cocoa in Cocoa using Continental. Finally, fill in the main mug color in Mint using Basketweave.

Cookies

The cookies have colorful sprinkles that are perfect for adding some fun texture! Start by stitching the green sprinkles in Mint, the pink sprinkles in Rose, and the red sprinkles in Scarlet, using a Half-Cross stitch.

I would stitch a bunch of the dots at once, without cutting your yarn in between. If you want to take the stitching to the next level, you can use French Knots for the sprinkles instead of the Half-Cross stitch. Honestly, there’s no need to decide now, you can stitch them in Half-Cross for the time being and come back in at the end and put French Knots over the Half-Cross stitches 🙂

Next, add the dark cookie accents in Cocoa with Continental. Then, fill in the main cookie color in Biscuit using Basketweave. Finish by filling in the cookie plate in Fir using Continental or Basketweave.

Desk

Once the letters, cocoa mug, and cookies are complete, fill in the main desk color in Cocoa using Basketweave.

Gifts

There's no right way to do the gifts. You can stitch from top to bottom, or left to right. You may want to tackle every stitch of one color first, or you may want to complete each gift car one by one. I would probably do a couple of details here, then a full gift there — moving around the canvas stitching whatever looks fun :) Regardless of how you choose to stitch, here's a guide to tackle it in a logical way.

Gift 1 — Yellow & White Striped — Leftmost, Top

Start with the dark green gift tag in Forest using Basketweave. Then add the white stripe accents in Bleach with Continental. Stitch the mint green ribbon and bow in Mint using Continental. Finally, fill in the main yellow color of the gift in Gold using Basketweave.

Gift 2 — Pink & Red Diagonals — Leftmost, Middle

Begin with the dark red bow in Wine using Continental. Then stitch the red diagonal stripes in Scarlet with Basketweave. Fill in the pink background color in Rose using Basketweave.

Gift 3 — Cream, Red, Green Dots — Leftmost, Bottom

Start with the white stripes on the gift box top in Bleach using Continental. Add the red dots on the cream box in Scarlet with Continental. Then fill in the green box top background in Fir using Basketweave. Finally, stitch the main cream color of the bottom part of the gift box in Cream using Basketweave.

Gift 4 — Red & Wine Dots — Box Under List

Stitch the dark red dots on the gift in Wine using Half-Cross. These dots are another great spot for French Knots if you want to add extra texture! Then fill in the main red background color in Scarlet using Basketweave.

Gift 5 — Green & Pink Plaid — Bottom Box

Start with the white bow and ribbon in Bleach using Continental. Then add the pink plaid accent lines in Rose with Continental. Finally, fill in the dark green main color of the gift box in Forest using Basketweave.

Gift 6 — Pink Pompom & Green — Middle

Stitch the pink pompom bow in Rose using Continental. You can add French Knots on top for a fluffy, dimensional effect! Then add the wine ribbons around the box in Wine with Continental. Finally, fill in the main mid-green color of the gift box in Fir using Basketweave.

Gift 7 — Red & Pink Crosses — Rightmost, Middle

Start with the hole of the gift tag in Wine using Continental. Then stitch the Christmas tree on the gift tag in Forest with Continental. Add the ribbon that the gift tag is hanging from in Mint using Continental, followed by the yellow bow in Gold, also with Continental. Stitch the pink cross accents in Rose with Continental. Finally, fill in the main red color of the gift box in Scarlet using Basketweave.

Gift 8 — Green & White Waves — Top

Begin with the red bow and ribbon in Scarlet using Continental. Then stitch the white waves in Bleach and the mint green waves in Mint, both using Basketweave.

Gift 9 — Yellow Box, Red Dots, White Stripes — Rightmost, Bottom

Start with the holly berries in Wine using Continental. Then add the mint green holly leaf accents in Mint with Continental, and the dark green holly leaves in Forest using Basketweave. Next, stitch the red thread leading to the gift tag and red dot details in Scarlet using Half-Cross. These dots are perfect for French Knots if you're feeling fancy! Add the pink gift tag in Rose with Basketweave, and the white accent lines in Bleach using Continental. Finally, fill in the main yellow color of the gift box in Gold using Basketweave.

Name Area

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 🙂

Name

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

I first stitch the lighter red, main color of the name in Continental, using Scarlet. I keep every letter separate, without long, connecting thread tails. So I would start with a new knot for each letter and tie off each yarn when I’m finished with the letter. This probably isn’t totally necessary, but I want the name to be super crisp, with no chance of thread tails showing through the white name plate.

Finally, I fill in the darker red name accents using Half-Cross to add detail, using Wine.

Nameplate

After you stitch the name, you should fill in the nameplate background.

White yarn is notoriously thin — it’s because there’s no dye to thicken the fibers — so you must stitch in Basketweave. If your yarn is looking very thin, particularly with crewel wool, you may want to add another strand of yarn.

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