Quick Cuff
Everyone went a little crazy this past weekend when the sun decided to show itself for the first time since August. I celebrated by getting a rosy little sun burn, shearing an angora rabbit and stitching up a new spring time cuff to wear out and about with my favorite summer skirts. I had been gifted a roll of needlepoint canvas over the winter which I stashed away for lack of a good project. It has a nice, open weave and is stiff but not ridged… which makes it perfectly breathable for hot days and should hold it’s shape while I get into all sorts of trouble in the garden.
The Steps Steps Steps
First, I cut a piece of needlepoint canvas that measures 2 inches wide by 8.5 inches long. Next, I tapered the last inch to a nice, curved triangle. 
I dug up a nice, big button (one with a loop on the back instead of holes because I wanted it to be as easy as pie to button). Mine measured 3/4 inch across.
I wrapped the cuff around my wrist so that was comfortable and a little loose so that I could bend my wrist easily. I marked where the button-hole would need to be and then cut a narrow rectangle (about 3/4 inch long and 1/8 inch high). Test the size by pushing your button through. If it fits… it works! Mark where the button needs to sit on the square end of the cuff in order to pass through the button-hole nicely.
Using regular cotton thread, I sewed the button to the cuff on the mark I made earlier. Test the placement by trying the cuff on… make any adjustments you need to. Now! We get to secure the edges of the button-hole…
Next, I used my two-ply fingering weight yarn and embroidered around the edges of the button hole using a blanket stitch (there is a good tutorial for blanket stitches over at Threads Magazine here).
Next, I picked out a dozen or so of my favorite teeny tiny antique shell buttons and laid them out on the cuff.
Now, with my light weight yarn (the same yarn I used for the blanket stitch) I stitched a flower using a Detached Chain Stitch or Lazy Daisy stitch around a center point (there’s a nice tutorial for the Detached Chain Stitch over at the Hand Embroidery Network). Once I finished, I used my regular cotton sewing thread to sew a button over the center.
I used chain stitches and straight stitches around center points for all the flowers and sewed buttons over their centers.*
This was the perfect project for an afternoon, stuck in the great indoors after getting very, very sunburned. Plus, it was airy enough to wear later in the dusky evening!