This project showcases Turkey Rug Knot by creating a fluffy Santa
Patch to celebrate the Holiday season. This patch can be sewn onto a baby's onesie or other child's garment so everyone in the family can join in the celebrations.
Baby clothes are usually only worn for several months before the baby outgrows the garment and moves up in clothing sizes. So this transferable patch allows the Santa to be moved from garment to garment, year after year, from sibling to sibling. This means the patch, and your efforts, to be put to use for more than just one season.
Another aspect of baby's clothing is the level of wear and tear these garments encounter. Baby and toddler clothes are quite often given to families with growing children from other families, reflecting the short amount of time these garments actually fit the child. As a result these garments are often well worn and sometimes a little fragile.
When stitching the Turkey Rug Knot here, I used 8 ply acrylic yarn. There are real limits to the ability of fabric to retain its integrity when thicker threads are used on it. And Turkey Rug Knot intensively covers fabric possibly compromising it's integrity. The felt backing of the patch used is ideal here, as it is strong and thick and supports the stitching very well.
As you can see in the above photo, the pattern was transferred onto red felt using tulle fabric. I used a black Sharpie to trace the pattern onto the tulle to make it stand out. Then traced the pattern on the tulle onto the felt with a blue wash away marker pen.
The first part to be stitched with Satin Stitch is the nose, in black yarn and the trim of the cap in the same yarn as the beard. The body of the hat is also stitched in Satin Stitch using red yarn.
After stitching the nose and cap, the beard was worked in Turkey Rug Knot. The pattern itself has been kept very simple as any detail such as feet or hands would be lost under the beard. And these details would also have made cutting the motif out from the felt much more difficult.
The yarn used for the beard is cream acrylic knitting yarn with a metallic gold thread through it. There are lots of yarns to choose from including wool and uneven yarns like a boucle. The colour could be varied as well to white, cream or grey or a mixture of all three.
When the stitching is completed, the Santa is trimmed away from the felt being very careful not to cut of the the embroidery stitches.
Using sewing machine thread the patch is sewn onto the front of the onesie using Whip Stitch. Don't make the Whip Stitch too small as this will make removing the patch later more difficult.
I also left clipping the loops of the Turkey Rug Knot to the very last. Don't be tempted to clip the loops once your embroidery has been completed as the loops are much easier to push out of the way when stitching the patch to the garment.
Once the patch is on the garment, it is then time to cut the loops and trim the yarn to the desired length.
I actually liked the look of the uncut loops here. However loops on a child's garment is really impractical as they would catch on everything.
The idea of moveable embroidery for young children, is really practical. Think an embroidered name, image of a pet or favourite animal, or a simply a gift from a friend which becomes a memory to keep.
Happy stitching!
See our Video tutorial on Turkey Rug Knot here.
Watch the video of Ashley being created on YouTube
