We're going to start out on easy mode with the first gift :) We'll stitch the box first, then the bow. For the lavender gift box in the very front, stitch in Lavender using Basketweave (or Continental, if you're not yet comfortable with Basketweave).

For dark yellow bow details, use Amber with either Half-Cross or Continental, whichever you're more comfortable with.

For the main color of the bow, fill in with Gold, using Continental stitch.

Turquoise Gift

Now, we'll move on to the turquoise gift. We'll stitch this one in the order I typically recommend — details first, then the bigger blocks of color. For the dark green bow details and the darker accent color on the gift box, stitch in Forest using Continental.

Fill in the main color of the bow, use Robin's Egg in Continental stitch.

Finish up with the main color of the turquoise gift box, by using Turquoise and Basketweave stitch.

Toys

Drum

I'd recommend starting with the drumsticks, by stitching in Black in Continental stitch.

Now we'll stitch the accents on the drum. For the darker yellow accent at the back of rim and zigzag detail on front of drum, use Amber with Half-Cross or Continental, whichever you're more comfortable with.

For the lighter gold color of the drum edge, fill in with Gold, using Continental.

Fill in the main red color of the drum, by stitching in Scarlet in Continental stitch.

Finally, fill in the drumhead, by using Bleach in Basketweave stitch. Pro tip! White yarn is typically thin, so you definitely want to stitch blocks of white in Basketweave, which has slightly more coverage on the back of the canvas, and therefore looks a little thicker. You may want to add an extra strand of yarn to your needle.

Train

As usual, let's start with the difficult details, and then fill in the background colors. Beginning with the dark red accents on the train, use Wine and Continental stitch.

For the white wheel highlights, use Bleach with Half-Cross or Continental. If the stitches are looking a little thin, you can simply go over the stitch again with another stitch.

For the black details on train cars and the wheels, use Black with Continental (or Half-Cross) stitches.

Finally, onto the main pink color of the train! Stitch in Rose, using Basketweave stitch.

Don't forget the train track! Stitch it in Biscuit, using Basketweave stitch.

Rocking Horse

The rocking horse has quite a few charming details, with quite a few thread changes :) A few tips about thread changes for small details:

• 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 tiny bit slack on the back
• You don't have to start a thread with the waste knot method every single time. You can use existing stitches to bury the thread tails. On the back of the canvas, just slip a needle with unknotted thread through about 5 stitches, then bring it up through the front. Be careful not to pull too tightly on that first stitch in case your yarn slips out.

Now, let's start the rocking horse! Stitch the dark green medal ribbon and the belt, using Forest in Continental stitch.

Next, stitch the stirrup and the accents in the mane, using Elephant with Half-Cross or Continental, whichever you're more comfortable with.

For the horse's mane, using Bleach in Basketweave. For the white highlights on hooves, use Bleach in Continental stitch.

I personally, love the little pink accents, so I feel a little spark of joy when I see them :) For inner ears, use Rose in Continental stitch.

The bells and the medal themselves are stitched in Gold, using Continental stitch. If you want to give them a little extra dimension, you can add French Knots on top of the bells. This is a prime example of an area I would stitch all at once before tying off!

Add a little depth with the darker red shadow on the rockers and the accents in the ears, using Wine in Continental stitch.

You're almost there! Fill in the bright red of the reins and the lighter red color of the rockers, using Scarlet in Continental.

For eyes, nose, and hooves, use Black in Continental.

Finally! Fill in the main color of the rocking horse, stitching in Putty, using Basketweave.

Scottie Dog

For the Scottie dog, I suggest starting with the naughty dog, then moving on to the gift box that's being unwrapped.

Dog

Start with the accents on the dog fur, using Bleach in Continental stitch.

For the dark gray shadows on the dog's fur, use Elephant in Continental stitch.

Move onto the bow at the neck. For the darker red details on the dog's neck bow, use Wine with Half-Cross or Continental stitch.

For the main, bright red color of the dog's neck bow, fill in with Scarlet using Continental.

Finally, finish up by stitching the black color of the dog's fur, using Black in Basketweave stitch.

Gift Box

Next, stitch the dots on the gift box in Robin's Egg using Half-Cross! I would stitch a bunch of the dots at once, without cutting your yarn in between.

Also, if you want to take the stitching to the next level, you can use French Knots for the ribbon dots 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 🙂

Now, let's move on to the tissue paper peeking out from the gift box. For the lightest color of tissue paper, use Cream in Basketweave stitch. For the mid yellow color of tissue paper, use Gold in Basketweave stitch. For the darkest yellow color of tissue paper, use Amber in Basketweave stitch.

For the ribbon that was tied around the dog's gift box, use Forest in Continental stitch.

Finally to the gift box itself! For the darker green shadow on the side of the gift box, use Fir in Basketweave stitch. Then, fill in the main color of the gift box, using Olive in Basketweave stitch.

Garland

The garland is a beautifully detailed section of this canvas. I'd break it down into the ornaments, working color by color, then the garland foliage itself. When I describe the ornaments number, I am looking at the ornaments from left to right. So the first ornament is the leftmost ornament, the second ornament is the second from the left, and so on.

Blue Ornaments

For dots on the blue ornaments (the 3rd and 5th ornaments), use Turquoise with Half-Cross and/or French Knots. For the main color, fill in with Robin's Egg in Continental stitch.

Coral & Lavender Ornaments

For the ornament accents on the Coral & Lavender ornaments (the 1st and 6th ornaments), use Lavender in Half-Cross stitch. For the main color, fill in with Coral in Continental stitch.

Scarlet & Lavender Ornaments

For the ornament accents on the Scarlet & Lavender ornaments (the 4th ornament), use Lavender in Half-Cross stitch. For the main color, fill in with Scarlet in Continental stitch.

Rose & Scarlet Ornaments

For the accent color of the diagonal stripes on the Rose & Scarlet ornaments (the 2nd and 7th ornaments), use Scarlet in Continental stitch. For the main color, fill in with Rose in Continental stitch.

Garland Ornaments

I would save all the ornament caps and strings for last, after I've filled in all the other colors. For all ornament caps, use Gold in Continental stitch. For ornament strings, use Bleach in Continental stitch.

Garland Foliage

For lightest tone of garland, use Olive in Basketweave stitch.

For mid-tone of garland, use Fir in Basketweave stitch.

For darkest tone of garland, use Forest in Continental stitch.

Tree

Star

For the star hanging from the top of the tree, use Gold in Basketweave stitch. You can also use Continental stitch for the star, if you're more comfortable with it. Sometimes the funny shapes can be a bit difficult in Basketweave. You can also refer back to the "All About Tent Stitches" section to see how to stitch wonky shapes in Basketweave.

Tree Ornaments

For yellow ornaments, use Gold in Continental stitch.

For coral (or orange) ornaments, use Coral in Continental stitch.

For rose (or pink) ornaments, use Rose in Continental stitch.

For light blue ornaments, use Robin's Egg in Continental stitch.

Tree Foliage

For the lightest green tone of the tree, use Jade in Basketweave stitch.

For the mid-green (main) tone of the tree, use Fir in Basketweave stitch.

For the darkest green tone of the tree, use Forest in Basketweave stitch.

Window

Window Sashes

For wood dividing the window panes, use Putty in Continental stitch.

Snow

For snowdrifts on windows and flakes, use Bleach in Basketweave stitch.

Window Panes

For grey blue window panes, use Slate in Basketweave stitch.

Window Bench

For the light brown wooden bench peeking out from under the bottom of the blanket, use Biscuit in Continental stitch.

Blanket

For the red blanket covering the window bench, use Scarlet in Basketweave stitch.

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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