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IN STITCHES |
No Sew Decorative Cube | ||||||||||||
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Instruction on how to turn your small cross stitch projects into
decorative cubes. If you have questions email me: kchristiansen2 "at" unl.edu |
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First gather your supplies. Styrofoam Cube (Note: You can also use a paper box or wood. Just remember this is one piece, no lid.) The size of cube should be proportional to your project. This one is about 4 inches and leaves about a 1/2 to 1 inch border around the edge. White Glue (I use Aleene's tacky glue, dries quick and is thicker and easier to work with.) Scissors Ruler Hot glue gun Quilt Batting (optional) Pins (Note: Pins are *essential* to complete this project) Fabric of your choice Embellishments (buttons, ribbon, etc. - optional) Feet (i.e., wooden beads, round ornaments, etc. - optional) |
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The cube I am using is approximately 4 inches square and 4 inches deep (thick). The thickness gives it the bulk to be able to have small feet attached. Here you can see I have used 2 pieces of Styrofoam and glued them together. I have cut a piece of quilt batting and glued it to the top of the cube. (this is optional) |
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| Next trim your project leaving 2 to 3 inches of extra fabric around the project. You want enough fabric so that you can wrap your project easily to the cube. Drape the project over cube and adjust accordingly. Make sure you have your pins handy. Do not glue your project to the cube. | |||||||||||||
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| Pin your project to the cube, folding down the corners. Use as many pins as you feel are necessary to hold the project firmly in place. Make sure you pull the project tight over the cube, this gives a nice tight appearance to the project. | |||||||||||||
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For the sides cut a strip of fabric to
wrap around the cube. Cut
the strip, 4 times the diameter of the cube. (i.e., 4 x 4 = 16) I always
add a couple of inches to the length so that I can overlap the strips on
the bottom of the cube. Width: For this 4 inch cube I cut the strip approximately 6 inches wide. Fold 1 inch in on each side and iron flat to achieve a hard crease. Test fit the strip to your cube if the strip is too wide adjust the fold and re-iron until you achieve a fit that exactly matches the width of your cube. Do the same with the length, test fit the length and if the strip is too long trim off some excess. I prefer to have one seam showing on the bottom, so I make a long overlap, by layering one end of the strip over the other. |
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Now that you have your strip ready you can begin gluing the strip to the cube. You do not pin the strip to the cube. I like to start w/ the top of the cube and glue it and then the sides. I finish with the bottom, layering the strips and ending up with one seam showing on the bottom. Because it’s the bottom, I added 2 pins to the finishing seam for added support. The white glue will dry clear. |
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Your cube is now ready for embellishments! |
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I chose to wrap my cube in this wide wire trimmed ribbon. I like the wire ribbon because you can bend it into nice curves. Tie the ribbon around the cube then use pins at the top to hold it into place. I fold the cut edges of the ribbon over and then bend down into a bow and pin into place on top of the cube. |
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Next I attach feet to the cube using hot glue. First I pin the ribbon to the cube on the bottom, one pin in each corner where I will attach the feet, this keeps the weight of the feet from dragging the ribbon away from the cube when picked up. Here I used small styrofoam pumpkins for the feet, they are about 1/2 inch in size. I pulled out the stems and then hot glued them to the bottom of the cube. |
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Now you can embellish as you choose. I hot glued some small styrofoam gourds and plastic buttons to finish off my cube! |
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