Diet Coke Leopard Print Template

This past weekend, I stitched and finished an easy gift for my mom. Her birthday is the day after Christmas so I wanted to gift her needlepoint without having to wait weeks-months to have my finishing returned. Thankfully, Planet Earth Fiber just released a few of these self-finishing jewelry cases so I took a stab at stitching & finishing one myself.

Here's what I've included in this blog post:

• A free chart to stitch your own canvas
• Thread information
• A video on how to finish a self-finishing jewelry case

If you would like to support me by creating this free chart, feel free to purchase a self-finishing jewelry case from me! I'll include blank needlepoint 18-count mesh with your order so you can stitch your own design.

Needlepoint Canvas: 

If it helps you to stitch off a canvas, here is a picture of mine stitched. In the chart, I changed up some of the leopard spots to make them look more "leopard-y". My only suggestion/change would be to stitch 1-2 extra rows around the canvas if you will self finish it. I stitched exactly 54 rows (which is exactly 3" on an 18-mesh canvas), but an extra 1-2 rows for finishing is best so that you don't have to worry about your mesh showing. 

Diet Coke Chart: 

Here is a chart for you! Each box stands for a canvas mesh intersection. I have updated a few details in the chart that is different from what I actually stitched. I also used colors with a strong contrast so it's easy to see the difference between colors. Below are the threads that I used to stitch the background. 

Background Threads:

Here are the threads I used for the background. I opted for a charcoal grey instead of solid black so it wouldn't be too bold against the Diet Coke. 

Light brown: Planet Earth Silk Eggnog

Brown leopard spots: Planet Earth Silk Gingersnap

Charcoal leopard outline: Planet Earth Silk Shiitake

 For the Diet Coke, I just used some DMC thread from my stash. I don't have specific colors written down, but I suggest you pull from your stash because it's a great way to use up old threads!

Finishing: 

When it came time to finish my canvas, I was a bit scared! I have actually never finished my own needlepoint canvas & I was terrified of messing it up. 

To begin, I read this blog post that has a great overview on how to finish it. Each box comes with its own finishing steps, but I'm a visual learner, and I struggled to find a video on how to finish it. 

I went ahead and created this video showing you how to finish it. As I mentioned above, this was my first time self-finishing a project, so you can learn with me in the video. 

The video was originally meant for my Instagram TV, but it wouldn't upload for some reason, so I made a YouTube channel! 

Here is how it turned out:

I think it looked pretty good for my first finish and I know my mom will love it. I truly don't think there is a gift better than needlepoint. It is thoughtful and it shows that you put time and effort (and love) into a gift. 

If you would like to save this chart & come back to it one day, I encourage you to save the below image to a Pinterest board so you won't lose this blog post! As always, if you have any questions feel free to email me or leave them in the comments of this blog post.