Friday Finishes #35: Wooden Owl Necklace

Today’s Friday Finish is a wooden owl necklace I made for my sister’s birthday. This was the first piece of jewelry I have ever stitched!

Name of Piece: #72-74155 Small Square Owl cross-stitch necklace

Designed by: No designer listed

Chart or Kit?: Kit

Distributed as a kit by Dimensions Crafts under their “DIY Stitch Kit” series.

Kit Contains: 14 ct blank wood pendant, 18 inch chain, jump ring, thread, needle, instructions

Finished Size: Kit does not say! I would guess maybe 1 in by 1 in square?

The Story: I went to Hobby Lobby not long after they redid their cross-stitch panel displays. They added a lot of wooden cross-stitch kits, including jewelry like necklaces and bracelets. I was so excited to see them! I ended up buying two necklace kits, one for myself and the owl one to make as a birthday present for my sister. Once it got closer to her birthday I picked up the piece and started working on it!

You can follow along on the progress on this piece below:

Progress Report: Wooden Owl Necklace, Start to Finish

Time To Complete: About three hours from start to finish. I was able to completely finish it in one sitting.

Review: As I mentioned in my Progress Report article, this was my first time working a wooden cross-stitch piece. The biggest challenge I ran into was the fact the canvas was wood! There wasn’t any give while pulling the threads through like there is with fabric, so I had a hard time making the crosses and adding the back-stitch. The more thread I added to a single hole, the harder it got!

This piece was also a little difficult for me because it was so small. I have small hands and prefer to work my smaller pieces in hand anyway, but this necklace is very small, and I had a hard time figuring out how to hold it and get the needle through the wood.

I love how this piece turned out. The detail this kit produced on such a small canvas is awesome. I added a piece of felt to the back to cover the stitches and it made a fabulous necklace!

The Finished Piece:

Final Verdict: While it was a little difficult to stitch at times, I was very happy with how the piece turned out and glad I stitched it. My sister loved her gift as well!

I would not recommend this kit for beginners, or anyone hesitant on working with wood for the first time. Definitely go for a bigger piece and save the jewelry for once you’re more comfortable! But, if you’re really set on jewelry, these necklaces are the way to go.

Have you done this piece before? How did it go for you? How did you like it, or not like it, as the case may be? Leave a comment below or head on over to our Facebook page and tell us how it went!

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Friday Finishes is a segment where I catalog and review all the cross-stitch pieces I have ever completed. Some of the pieces I no longer have information on, or I don’t have pictures because I gave away the piece as a gift and forgot to take a picture, but I’ll do my best to be as informative as possible! Check back on Fridays for more.