Christmas is for Sharing.....Santa Design and Graphs

This is a design that I did years ago. Years ago when I was publishing designs....when time seemed to be more plentiful.... when just getting that sudden creative energy was enough to make me want to spend hours stitching.

The original design was done for The Smocking Arts Magazine in 1986. I did a variation of this design for Austin when he was three years old. At times I feel that I'm in a time machine.....where have the years gone?

Austin's romper is smocked on Spechler-Vogel Imperial broadcloth insert, Children's Corner "Jeffrey" romper and Spechler-Vogel featherwale corduroy plaid. Santa also has blue pants.

This Santa is one that is much easier to smock that you might expect.

The body is symmetrical which requires less counting and positioning of stitches.

Basic Instructions

The design is worked over 12 rows. Pleat 14 rows. Begin border with a 2-step, half-space trellis beginning on row 2, working between rows 1 and 2; and row 11, working between rows 11 and 12. Use 3 or 4 strands of embroidery floss. Use the number of strands that will create a stacked figure with 5 rows of smocked cables beginning on one gathering row and ending on the next gathering row. See graphs. Arrows indicate stitching direction of smocked rows. Turn work as arrows change direction. Numbers on cable rows indicate consecutive stitches in the same floss color. Read graph colors from left to right. Red arrow-lines indicate where to end stitch (tie-off) sequence. Restart/continue smocking as indicated on graph. Note on graphs where satin stitch bars are worked over 1 or 2 pleats. Red dashed lines indicate backsmocking across back of work when moving over three or more pleats. When picture smocking, you must backsmock every row for support of characters except for front border design rows. These instructions are abbreviated, without cable-by-cable written text, in the hopes that this design with larger, more detailed color graphs will be sufficient to create this design.

Eyes for all figures are French knots wrapped 5 times in black/brown. Santa's mouth is a French knot wrapped 5 times in pink floss. Santa's belt buckle is a lazy daisy stitch in gold/yellow floss. Rabbit ears are lazy daisy stitches with pink straight stitch fill. "Snow" is randomly placed satin stitches over 2 pleats.

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Santa is worked across 38 pleats.

Click graphs to enlarge.

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This reindeer is smocked across 25 pleats. In the variation that I did for Austin's romper, I smocked this reindeer in reverse on the right side of the smocked insert.

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The third character is a little rabbit that is smocked across 18 pleats.

Time seems to slip away and my productivity seems to be lacking at times....which is so frustrating. However, I always have a design just waiting for it's turn at my work table. I KNOW that Rapunzil will get done...right after the "new" Cinderella.

I would very much appreciate any feedback....please....regarding how much you like or dislike these new graphs. Also, I would be interested to know how many smockers prefer the cable-by-cable text. In trying to create new designs, with the limitations of a single page, I wonder if larger more detailed graphs would be favored or text.

Merry Christmas

Gwen