Following Up

Hope you enjoyed doing the tissue cover. Now that you have made a project of your own, you can see how much time goes into all the items being made by others. Plastic canvas can be made into just about anything that you can think of. There is a large group of people on etsy.com who make items from plastic canvas. I hope you will take time to check out some of them.
Here are a few of their shop names and there are many more.
circleinthesand
NeedleMania
craftylady2420
craftychris
Lorkey1981

How to make a tissue cover.

Are you ready to make something from plastic canvas?
Here are instructions for making a boutique tissue box cover.

Materials that you will need are
1 sheet of clear plastic canvas (91 x 71 threads)
4-ply yarn
Items listed in the “Getting Started” blog posting.


Cutting the Canvas
Using the cutting diagram shown, mark your canvas using the grease pencil. You will have 4 sides and 1 top marked on the canvas (see photo).

Cut between the marked threads for each piece. Cut close to but not into the threads. Use the craft knife to cut out the center area on the top after marking it. Use a damp cloth to remove any markings on the canvas before beginning to stitch you pieces.


Coving the Canvas
The stitch used in this cover is a Scotch Stitch. It is worked over 4 threads. By using different colors for each row or group of stitches, you can change the look of the cover. The sample shown uses two colors to create a checkerboard look. Each group (row) of stitches is worked down and across the canvas. Cut your yarn into 1-yard lengths until you are comfortable with working stitch then you can use longer lengths.
To start leave a 1” or 2” tail on the wrong side of the canvas. Work your stitches over the tail to secure the yarn. Once secure, clip the excessive yarn close to the stitched piece. While working your stitches keep the tension consistent. Stitches should lay flat and you should not be able to see through your stitched piece. End your yarn by running the yarn under several stitches on the wrong side of the piece. If your yarn becomes twisted, drop your needle and let the yarn untwist.
To finish the opening on the top, use the overcast stitch (see photo). The opening should be completed before you join the top to the sides.

Joining
When all pieces have been completed, you will need to join the pieces together. You will use the overcast stitch to do the joining. To join two pieces of canvas, place one piece on top of the other with wrong sides together. Stitch through all layers. Remember to secure the ends of the yarn. Repeat until all sides have been joined together. Now join the top to the sides in the same manner. Once all the pieces have been completed, overcast the bottom of the cover.

You have now completed your tissue box cover!

Getting started with plastic canvas

There are some things that everyone should know before starting a plastic canvas project. And a few items that you should have on hand before starting.

1. Plastic canvas comes in different sizes (based on thread count per inch). There are 5-mesh, 7-mesh, 10-mesh, and 14- mesh count canvas. The larger the number the small the finished item will be. A 7-mesh count canvas will be larger than a 14-mesh count canvas item. When working a pattern, check the canvas count size first before cutting the pieces.
2. Canvas comes in a large selection of colors. Color canvas works best for items with a large portion of the canvas showing (like the crayon keepers I make).
3. There are different stiffness and sheet size in plastic canvas. There are ovals, hearts, circles, and other shapes to choose from.
4. Always before cutting a shape from canvas, check to see if the pattern is in holes or threads. Cutting a pattern piece listed by thread count by a hole count will cause the pattern not to fit the piece.

Some items that will help with a pc project are as follows


1. A good pair of sharp scissors
2. A craft knife for cutting out small areas.
3. A grease pencil for marking the pattern on the canvas. Comes off the canvas with easy.
4. Needle threader. Makes it easier to thread a needle with yarn.
5. More than one canvas needle. Great for multi color projects to have a needle for each color being used.
6. A hole/thread count ruler.

I sometimes rework the pattern on graph paper to make the cutting details easier to follow. I also use the graph paper to work out new pattern colors for my projects. I use 4X4 and 10x10 paper. The 10x10 is great for working out placemats. The 4x4 for magnets and other small items.


Now your ready for your first project.