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I always love the look of needlepoint, but didn’t have the time to do cross stitch. Then I found plastic canvas. I fell in love with it. With plastic canvas you use many of the same stitches as in cross stitch but it is so much easier to work with. You can stop, go back later and know where you left off. In fact plastic canvas is used to teach cross stitch to children.
Many people think of plastic canvas and tissue box covers. Do you know that many items are made from plastic canvas? I made a doll house that fits a Barbie doll.
Did you know it takes 8 to 10 ½ hours to make a tissue box cover? Each side is 30 x 38 threads (intersections of the two bars). It takes me about 5 minutes to do 64 stitches. Using that speed, it would take me 1 ½ hours to do one side in single tent stitches. There are 4 sides and a 30 x 30 top, so the total time would be 6 hours (it takes more time to do a pattern) plus 1 ½ hours for the top. This time does not include the time to cut out the pieces, or stitch them together, or to overcast the edges. So the next time you look at a tissue box, think of this information and decided if the seller is selling themselves short.
YAY for plastic canvas!!! I have done plastic canvas projects for many, many, many years and it is sooooo versatile. It is my favorite "craft" to do. And thank you for writing this article and letting folks know a little bit about how much work is involved in each project. I don't think people realize how much goes into each piece that we do. Great article!!!
ReplyDeleteI did plastic canvas many years ago...and it is VERY time consuming....I even taught my 3 boys to do it. They would do cars and game boards etc...thanks for writing this and reminding (or educating) people that this craft is not just a "wham bam" craft...it takes skill and time to accomplish!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen something like this before. How fun! You are right in that most people don't realize what goes into a creation.
ReplyDeleteI love plastic canvas - so versatile as you can make so many creations with it, as you pointed out. It IS time-consuming, though, but also very relaxing to do. An enjoyable craft that you can be very creative with.
ReplyDeleteWow, I new it was time consuming but did not realize it took that long. Great blog, Gail! Your Barbie House is adorable!
ReplyDeleteWowzers Gail I had no idea how long it took! I love the barbie house!
ReplyDeletehave the best day ever!
Jewelles
http://jewelles.etsy.com/
I also love Plastic Canvas and have a shop on Etsy. It is NannysTreasures.etsy.com. I have been teaching my granddaughter to do it also. Not many people seem to do that craft anymore and sometimes hard to find things in the local craft stores for that craft. It is what relaxs me.
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