Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
A colourful clock inspired by an Alpine staple
Break out the brights to stitch this brilliant design! There's a variety of stitches here, read on to see which stitch goes where. We've added page references to our handy guides. To start, trace the cuckoo clock design onto your linen, then place the fabric in a hoop and get your thread colours ready. Off you go...
HOW TO MAKE THE CUCKOO CLOCK
Step one Use satin stitch for the hearts. Bring your thread up at one edge and go back in at the opposite edge. Repeat, back and forth, keeping the stitches neat and close to each other. See page 62 for a visual guide. Stitch the
1 clock outline with stem or running stitch.
Step two Use French knots for the eyes and flower centres. Make a French knot by bringing the thread up through the fabric and wrap it twice around the needle. Holding the thread firmly, take the needle halfway down into the fabric, close to where it first emerged. Slide the twisted thread down the needle, and then push
2 through. See page 42 for a guide to knots.
Step three Use lazy daisy stitch for the petals. Bring up the thread where you want the base of the petal to be, then push it back down just next to where you came up. Without pulling the thread all the way, bring the needle up just on the inside tip of the petal and stitch back down over it, to hold it down – there's help on page 43
3 with our visual guide.
Step four Use chain stitch ( see page 23 if you haven't tried it yet) for the pendulum. Come up where you want the chain to start and go back down just next to where you came up. Do this without pulling the thread through, so it forms a loop. Come up again just inside the loop and go back down just next to where you came up to form another loop. Continue until you have a
4 chain as long as you need.