Did you plan on stitching some gifts for Christmas this year, and do you find yourself running out of time? Well, Rouge du Rhin has a solution, in their embroider-what-you-want kits. Sounds a bit bizarre, I know, but let me show you what I mean! I think this is kind of a neat idea for making a personalized embroidered gift that’s already half-way there.

Rouge du Rhin puts out a line of even-weave linen pieces printed with various designs, one of which is the above Christmas wreath. The idea is that you can enhance the printed area with a little stitching if you want, or none at all. For example, you could set off the snowflakes on the piece above in metallic threads, or embroider just the red berries – and in the center, you can stitch a message, like “Merry Christmas,” or a monogram, or something of that nature.

There are three “printed wreath” designs available, and you can either stitch them according to your own whim, filling the center with designs you have on hand (gridded alphabets, surface-style monograms, small alphabets, messages, and so forth), or you can also purchase the cross stitch charts produced by Rouge du Rhin for working the printed wreaths.

Here’s a close up of the berries on the Christmas wreath, where the even weave of the fabric and the crisp outlines of the printing are evident.

Leaves, stems, and berries can be filled, outlined, or left as they are.

Here’s one of the samples on the cover of the package. The berries are embroidered in red over the printing, the central message is stitched, and the snowflakes are worked in metallics and white threads. But the rest of the wreath is left alone.

I haven’t stitched the wreath yet, but the linen it’s printed on is very nice, and I think that it would make a pretty piece to present as a gift, with a simple monogram stitched in the middle.

If you’re looking for a quick Christmas gift to stitch up, you might check out the Rouge du Rhin printed wreaths at The French Needle. You’ll find the printed wreaths available there, as long as the cross stitch patterns and stitch instructions booklet (which includes diagrams for other surface stitches as well).

Just a thought…. if you’re starting to feel the crunch!