We’re showing you how to create a Christmas Tree with the duplicate stitch! Want a quick and easy way to customise your knitwear in time for the holiday season? Well we’ve got just the tutorial for you! Learn how to work in duplicate stitch and jazz up a ready-made piece with a festive christmas tree.

Time to make: 1 hour

THE TOOL KIT

A ready made sweater or knitted item with space to fit a design measuring 43 stitches tall and 23 stitches wide.

Approx. 100g / 40m (43.5yrds) of yarn in your tree colour. We used Crazy Sexy Wool in Forest Green but choose a yarn that matches the weight of your base piece – if your base piece is made in DK, go for a DK weight yarn.

Approx 50g / 20m (22yrds) of yarn in your star colour. We used Crazy Sexy Wool in Big Bird Yellow but again, match your base weight yarn.

A knitter’s sewing needle

THE INSTRUCTIONS

Following the chart below, we will start with our star, so find the point in your knitted piece where you will want to top of the star to sit.

1. STEP 1: Secure your yarn on the wrong side of the fabric by sewing a couple of stitches close to where you want the first stitch. Each full box on the chart represents a full stitch. Each half box represents a half stitch. We will start by explaining how to work a full stitch, then go on to explain those half stitches.

2. STEP 2:

3. STEP 3: 
   Bring the needle through to the right side of the fabric, at the bottom of the first stitch you want to embroider over. Tug on the yarn until all of it has been pulled through to the right side.

4. STEP 4: 
   The spot where you’ve pulled the yarn through is at the bottom of the little ‘V’ formed by the stitch in the knitted fabric. Your duplicate stitch will sit on top of this stitch, hiding the yarn under it, and it will look as if it was a knitted stitch. Form the right-hand ‘leg’ of the stitch by inserting the needle at the top of the stitch, under both ‘legs’ of the stitch above it. Now pull the yarn through.

4. STEP 5:
   Complete the stitch by inserting the needle in the same place where you started off.

5. STEP 6:
   Pull the yarn through to the wrong side of the fabric, and finish off the stitch.

Repeat these steps to continue working in duplicate stitch.

To work a half stitch:

To do this, work step 2 as normal, then when you come to work step 3, rather than inserting your sewing needle underneath the two legs of the stitch above, just go through to the back of the fabric at the top of the right ‘leg’. Ta – dah, you have made a half stitch!

TOP TIPS:

#1 To make the duplicate stitches sit evenly over the top of your knitted stitches, work the embroidery vertically, in columns or horizontally, in rows.

#2 When cutting your yarn ready to embroider, don’t cut your yarn too long. Cut lengths of approximately 80cm/30’’, that way your yarn won’t get too fluffy as you’re pulling it through the fabric.

Feel free to spice your tree up a little once you’re done. We’ve adorned ours with pom poms and little Swarovski crystals because, why not, hey?

Stay tuned tomorrow where we will be showing you how to to make a Christmas Stocking!