Mary's Basket Strawberry Pinkeep - A Berry and Basket Freebie

A Berry good day to you, sweet peas!  😀🍓

I have made many wool strawberries and have even made  a cross stitch berry or two, but I have never designed my own berry. 

So with a bit of sweet  encouragement , I decided to give it a whirl.  

( Thank you, Sharon; I sure hope you like this berry🤗). 

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  I decided to stitch something simple . It is no secret that I love baskets and blooms so I created a little basket of flowers surrounded by buzzing bees- something that can be whipped up in a couple of hours. 

 This stitch is called Mary's Basket Strawberry Pinkeep in memory of my Granny. Granny lived in a little log cabin deep in the woods. She often would explore her property and relocate flowers to whatever container she had available for planting . She certainly had a green thumb.  

Mary's Basket before being finished as a berry. 

Mary's Basket Strawberry,  Freedom Saltbox , and Lucinda Hawkin's Liberty House ( I haven't shared this one yet. ) 

If you are interested in stitching Mary's Basket Berry  ,grab the images below. Many of ya'll know but I always encourage you to read my little disclaimer and note about getting my charts. 

NOTE: Normally I have been able to create links to the charts and instructions which were in JPG form. For some reason, recent updates on Google Docs. has prevented me from doing that and I am not able to create a pdf without having to deal with storage issues.  Many dear stitchers say they right click, save the image and then print.  I think some have copied and pasted it to a Word document that they can print off as well. I hope you are able to find a way to enjoy this chart. You will have to click each page to save. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding and for all of the helpful tips and ideas. 

I stitch my little designs for fun and to decorate my home. I feel very blessed by this community and love sharing my little charts, but I am not a professional designer. And I do not have professional software. Thank you for understanding . I am always grateful for your kind encouragement , your visits, and for stitching my little designs.

 For printing tips, refer to the post Tips for Printing which has loads of tips from my sweet friends. 

I stitched my berry on 14 count aida that I tea / coffee dyed ( Click here to see how I tea dye my fabric) . 

You certainly do not have to finish Mary's Basket as a strawberry.  But if you do decide to finish it as a strawberry there are many great tutorials on the web and Youtube on how to  turn your cross stitch into a strawberry finish. Below are 2 sweet ladies that have videos on Youtube. If you know of any others, please let me know. 

GREAT TUTORIALS OS STRAWBERRY MAKING

1. Vonna Pfeiffer- 

Making your cross stitch into a Strawberry - Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher

2.  Helen D. - Flosstube Extra: Strawberry Tutorial

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THIS IS HOW I CREATE MY STRAWBERRY. Now, ya'll, I am not an expert and I have been known to take thrifty shortcuts. Lol. But here goes..... 

1. Iron the piece. 

2. To the backside , add a light Pellon interfacing such as P44F.  ( When I do not have interfacing , I make a lining for the strawberry from scrap lightweight fabric. ) 

3. I have provided a strawberry template. You may need to resize it to fit your stitched piece. 1/4" seam allowance needs to be added when cutting the fabric. 

4. Center the strawberry template over the stitch. Be aware of where you want the design to go when centering the template . I used a pencil to draw the strawberry design onto the back of the stitch. This will be my sewing line. Cut 1/4 " around the strawberry shape. 

5. Sew the sides together. I slightly curve the tip rather than making it pointy. 

6. Turn the strawberry to the right side and using a blunt instrument  such as a chopstick to smooth out the point. 

7. Along the top of the stitch with needle and thread create a long running stitch for gathering later. 

8. I stuff my strawberries with sawdust and polyfil. Where do I get my sawdust? From Mr. Pinker's workshop.   As I stuff, I use my wooden chopstick to pack the material. 

9. I begin by packing the tip with sawdust and then add layers of fluffed polyfil and sawdust. 

10. When I have the strawberry stuffed, I pull the thread along the top of my strawberry and draw it to where it is almost closed . 

11. I then tie it and begin adding more stuffing and sawdust using the chopstick to stuff the gathers along the top of the strawberry as much as possible. 

12. Once that I am satisfied with how the strawberry is filled. I close the small hole at the top . 

13. I then add the cap . This is where you can be creative as you want to be. I added a wool cap to my strawberry and used the blanket stitch to attach the wool to the strawberry. I embellished the top with a large button and a jute twin bow.  You can add lace, ribbons, flowers- whatever you imagine!!! 

14 .Afterwards, I used a  2 strands of floss and created large x's along the seam in the back of the strawberry. 

WahLah! Your berry is completed!!!

 I am in hopes that bigger berries are on the horizon , but I am quite happy with my first berry. And I am even happier that you stopped by to see my sweet berry. 

Have a sweet day, my friends and ...

As Always...

Happy quilting and stitching, y'all

Melisa

Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵

The bloom may be brief but the memory of its beauty will last a lifetime. - Doe Zantamata

Just a few more stitches and this basket will be complete. I will be sharing it on Friday. I hope you will drop by to see it. Hugs. 

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy .I miss you , Amo . Love ya.