Embroidery: Stitched Box Instructions

Here are the full instructions for two Stitched Boxes

CHESTER BOX

This small, simple box is designed to teach the basics of making plastic canvas boxes. It is a good first project as it is quick to make, and is the one I use for demonstrations and workshops.

SHREWSBURY BOX

This one is a little larger, with some pearl cotton as well as yarn. It takes longer to stitch than the Chester Box, but it looks much more impressive when finished. The Chester box will fit neatly inside it.

The materials list, cutting diagram, instructions and charts for the two boxes are listed below. Print them out, or copy the files to your own computer for easy reference.

Materials for Both Boxes

PLASTIC CANVAS
You can make both boxes box from one sheet of DARICE brand, clear plastic canvas, 10 mesh (40 threads to 10 cm, 10 threads to 1 inch). DARICE plastic canvas is widely available from craft and embroidery stockists. Other brands do not always have holes of the right size for my patterns, and you may not be able to cut the pieces out as shown on the cutting diagram. The sheet has 107×137 threads.

If your local embroidery shop doesn’t stock 10-mesh Darice canvas, it’s widely available online. www.sewandso.co.uk is one UK company that stocks it, and I’m happy to recommend them.

YARN
For the Chester Box you will need acrylic knitting yarn in four colours: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’. For the Shrewsbury Box you will also need a small quantity of a fifth colour, ‘E’. Double knitting (DK, Knitting Worsted, or 6 ply) yarn is just the right weight for this canvas. You can use wool, but acrylic yarn is easier to stitch and comes in some interesting colours. Feel free to choose any colour combinations you like. Only use normal yarn, not mohair-effect, ‘nubbly’ yarn, ribbon, or other fancy textures. Very small quantities of each colour are needed. 20g each of colours A and B and 10g each of the other colours should be ample for the two boxes.

EMBROIDERY THREAD
For the Shrewsbury Box you need one 5g skein of Pearl Cotton (Coton Perle) Number 5, either Anchor or DMC brand.

NEEDLES
One tapestry needle size 18
One tapestry needle  size 20 (for the Shrewsbury Box only)

SCISSORS
Don’t use your best embroidery scissors for cutting the plastic canvas pieces! A normal household pair will do, provided they cut well. Small scissors are useful for cutting thread when you start stitching.

CANVAS CUTTING DIAGRAM:

To get both boxes from one sheet of Darice canvas, follow the diagram for the layout of the pieces. Count the threads very carefully to ensure that the pieces are the correct size. The canvas cuts easily with household scissors. The blue lines show the rows of holes that are cut through. (The gold areas are left-over canvas – keep them safe: you can use them in future projects or for trying out stitches.) Trim off all the little stubs of plastic from along the outside edges. Your finished pieces should look exactly like the pieces shown in the charts.

(If you only want to make Chester Boxes, you can get three boxes out of one sheet of Darice canvas. But you can’t quite get two Shrewsbury Boxes from a single sheet. It’s annoying.)

For the Chester Box only:

Chester Box Instructions

CHESTER BOX, CHART 1: Lid Top, Stitches and Key.
CHESTER BOX, CHART 2: Lower Base, Lid Side, Base Side.

For the Shrewsbury Box only:

Shrewsbury Box Instructions

SHREWSBURY BOX, CHART 1: Lid Top, Lid Side.
SHREWSBURY BOX: CHART 2: Lower Base, Base Side.
SHREWSBURY BOX: CHART 3: Stiches and Key.