Embroidered Nutcracker - Project Details

 

Before I launch into the stitch list and color palette information from my nutcracker project, I wanted to highlight the three specialty threads I used.  These are a gold braid, a silver blending filament and a shiny gold blending filament, all from Kreinik.  I love these threads - they are very easy to use without tangling issues and they add so much sparkle!  

The beads I used are standard craft beads that are available in most craft stores.  I love the added dimension they give to a project.  For this project, they look like jacket and boot buttons:

 

Now for the stitch list!  This is a short one because it is almost all Back Stitch.  Rows and rows of Back Stitch!

The exceptions are the eyeballs - done in Satin Stitch, the eyes, jacket and boot laces - done in Straight Stitch.  I also used Straight Stitch with all the blending filament to add shine on top of the cotton floss.

The cotton floss is all DMC brand.  Here is the color palette I used with the floss color numbers:

I am making myself sample books of DMC threads, arranged by number.  It has been very helpful to have an actual thread sample with number when I need to match or identify thread colors!