A (Stitch People) Halloween Hallway!

by Hillary Nestrick

Oh, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Halloween is hands down my favorite holiday and we go all out with decorating here in the Nestrick house! Like, seriously!

Since I started cross stitching in 2016, I’ve always tried to make sure I stitch something Halloween-ish. I’ve done big pictures, smaller ornaments, and then I went down the rabbit hole of Stitch People Halloween designs and I never came out! So, this year, I decided to go big and make a small group of banners for the banister in my house.

For Christmas I decorate the banister with lighted garland, big glittery (of course) ornaments, and hang our stockings. So, in that same thought process, I decided to dress it up for Halloween!!

STEP 1: DRESS UP YOUR BANISTER!!

I used fake black leaf garland that I found on Amazon.

Fabric strips tied into garland from Michaels.

Battery operated mini-LED light strands and a $5 sign from Target.

I built it in layers:

1st the black leaf garland as the base and wrapped it around the banister and the stair post.

2nd the fabric garland and repeated the process.

3rd the light strands, I used a total of two, and again, repeated the process.

4th Hung the sign on the top of the post. If you don’t have one, a small clear command hook should do just fine!!

STEP 2: STITCH THE BANNERS!!

To start with, I used 14ct Charles Craft Aida in the color Sand. For the individual characters, I used busts from the Stitch People Halloween Freebie and doubled them in size because I knew I wanted to use sequence and seed beads. If you haven’t had the Halloween Freebie sent to you, I highly recommend it!

For the larger banner, I used patterns from the Stitch People Halloween Patterns, which is again, an absolute must for your Stitch People book collection! However, I did not double them in size, which means no sequence and seed beads. Instead, I decided to use DMC Etoile floss to add the extra sparkle I like!

STEP 3: FINISH THE BANNERS!!

Y’all, I’m going to be real….finishing is NOT my strong suit when it’s not being put into a frame, so I was nervous for how this next part was going to turn out.

So, to start, I created the fringe on the sides by pulling single strands of Aida out until I achieved the look I wanted. Yes, it’s slightly tedious, but oddly satisfying so I enjoyed it. LOL!

Next, I used a trimmed down piece of extra stiff card-stock keep the stitch from bending and used black felt for the backing. I then attached the felt to the stitch by using floss, sequence and seed beads to give it that extra flair we all know I love so much! I only stitched on a few places because I wanted to be able to insert the card-stock at the end so I didn’t bend it while attaching the felt. It worked perfectly!

Lastly, I used jute to hang them, by running them through the open spaces between the felt and backing stitches. With the larger stitch, I went around the top two spots because it kept wanting to bend when I tried it like the smaller ones. Then, I tied the jute at the top to create a sign look for hanging.

STEP 4: HANG THE BANNERS!!

When hanging, I used tiny command hooks (that we always have there for our Christmas stocking décor) on the underside of our banister, but a few pieces of wall safe tape will keep them up just fine too!

Now, hang those banners, stand back and look at your creativity genius and pat thyself on the back!!

Well, at least that’s what I did because these totally rocked in my opinion!! I’m absolutely in love with them!!

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