Make a photo frame

1. Cut an 18cm square of cream cotton and press. Cut a 7.5cm diameter circle from scrap card, place in the centre of the square and draw around it with a dressmaker’s pencil. Leaving the disc of card in place, stamp four medium snowflakes onto the fabric using gold ink, overlapping the disc with a single point of the design each time, as pictured.

2. Allow the ink to dry and place the fabric in an embroidery frame. Use two strands of purple embroidery cotton to stitch the outline of each motif in backstitch. Fill in the ellipse shapes with satin stitch using two strands of gold metallic thread, outline them with lilac backstitch and add French knots where indicated on the design. Stitch around the pencil drawn circle with lilac backstitch.

3. Remove the fabric from the frame and trim the edges to create a 2cm border around the embroidered design. Cut a 4cm wide strip of spotted fabric and place face down against one edge of the fabric, aligning them. Pin and cut away the excess before sewing to the edge with a 1cm seam allowance. Repeat for the opposite side of the panel before adding spotted strips to the top and bottom in the same way. Press the fabric on the wrong side to smooth the seams.

4. Cut a 15cm square of cream cotton and pin to the middle of the right side of the embroidery. Flip the fabric over and stitch the two pieces together, following the line of the backstitched circle in the centre. Cut away the two layers of fabric in the centre of the circle leaving a 1cm seam allowance. Clip around the curve of the circle and turn right side out, resulting in a neat aperture for your frame.

5. Take a 17cm square piece of cardboard and cut a 7.5cm diameter circle from the middle of it. Cover one side with self adhesive felt and cut away the fabric at the centre. Lay the stitched fabric over the card square and push the plain layer through the hole. Use double sided tape to hold the