Making Bucilla Felt Stockings - Santa's Headstart

Here's the reference photo of what I'm striving for...

It is time to embroider Santa's face. I think the embroidery is the most challenging part of the stocking...especially the faces. The cheeks and eyes are done with two strands of floss for a satin stitch. What works for me is to start in the middle and work my way out.

The key to a pretty satin stitch is to have both strands of the floss lie flat, next to each other, not twisted.  It takes patience to stitch just outside the printed line so it is covered by your stitches. I have made 30 of these kits and I still pull out a stitch if it doesn't look right. The bottoms of the cheeks will be covered by Santa's mustache so I concentrate on the parts that will show.

Once the embroidery on this piece was done...eyes, cheeks and Santa's eyebrows, I needed to add a little stuffing and applique in place.

With the face appliqued down, I added the nose which is a piece of felt with stuffing, appliqued through all the layers to add dimension.

The white hat band for Santa's hat was next. The sequins went on the piece first and then I appliqued it with stuffing.

Santa finished the night with his hat completed.