Christmas Wool Applique Penny Rug

Doing handwork in the fall is one of my favorite things to do.  I like to have something to stitch while I am watching football games, and wool appliqué is one of the easiest to do.  Today I am going to show you a wool appliqué penny rug for use with a candle or a mat for a favorite Christmas item to display on a table.  I’ll give you the pattern today too, so you can download it for free.

Gather your wool felt and some embellishing beads along with floss to match colors.  I pulled a bunch of things from my stash, not sure what I wanted to use until I got the base done.

The base is ecru with green trees and red ornaments.  Start by cutting out your base and elements, pinning into place. Alternate the trees with the ornaments. The little brown squares are the same size and serve as both the tree base and the ornament top. Center each one in the scallop, about 1/2-inch from the edge.

I start by appliquéing the brown squares so I didn’t have to change thread color, removing the tree or ornament as I went and repinning as I did each square.

Appliqué the trees and ornaments.

Now, dig out all your seed beads in your stash, or get some at the local craft store.  We are going to use them to put lights and ornaments on the trees, and embellish the ornaments. I put bugle beads in gold at the base of the tree.

Clear and gold seed beads are added to the tree.

Then I added additional seed beads in green and red, placing them randomly.

For the ornaments, I began with three gold seed beads in the center.

Then I added five gold bugle beads in a star pattern.

Do all the beading for all the trees and ornaments.

Next, using green floss, stitch a wavy line around the center, dipping down near the ornaments and going around the trees. I used three back stitches, then a lazy daisy stitch alternating sides to suggest holly.

Add red seed beads to look like holly berries, placing them at random intervals and alternating sides of the stitching.

Stitching and embellishing done.

When the stitching is complete, I use scraps of iron-on fusible interfacing on the back. This adds more body and stability to the piece, and it locks down the threads for security. Plus it is a great way to use those tiny pieces left over from other projects.

Place the top piece on the backing wool and mark a line 1/2-inch from the edge in chalk.

Cut out the backing and appliqué the top to it. I use a shallow whip stitch, catching only the top part of the burgundy so no stitches show on the back. Here I tried it out to make sure I was happy with the 1/2-inch measurement. Yep, I like it.

All stitched, it does well with a small candle too.

Here is the pdf with the pattern. – Christmas Wool Penny Rug Pattern

Something is happening every day for 12 days.  Stay tuned for more Christmas in July fun. (2016)  Have fun!!