Say goodbye to ‘Mad Men’ with this framed cross-stitch

TV finale season is in full swing, and one show is preparing to make its final bow: AMC’s Mad Men. The often brilliant, always thought-provoking drama is ending after seven seasons and eight years. I, for one, am already mourning the loss of a series marked by complex characters, masterful writing and enviable fashions.

Mad Men is going away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make something to remember it by. This week’s craft helps you create a cross-stitch of the series’ iconic logo, a silhouette of a seated man in a suit. It’s the perfect little piece to frame and put on your desk, whether it’s in an office on Sixth Avenue or a cozy corner in your apartment.

Materials:

• 14-count cross-stitch fabric
• 8-inch square black frame
• 7 1/2-inch embroidery hoop
• Print out of the Mad Men logo measuring 6-inches across and 41/2-inches tall
• Black embroidery floss
• Embroidery needle
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Measuring tape
• Iron and ironing board

Craft away:

• Iron the cross-stitch fabric. Measure out an 8-inch square on the fabric, and cut it out.
• Use the pencil to trace the logo onto the fabric. You can use a shadowbox to do this, or simply tape the logo to a sunny window and layer the fabric over it.

• Loosen the screw on the embroidery hoop to separate the two hoops. Layer the fabric on top of the inner hoop, place the outer hoop on top of it, and tighten the screw to hold the fabric in place.
• Cut a couple of feet of embroidery floss. Separate three strands of the floss, and thread the needle with them. Do not knot the floss.
• Beginning at the top of the image on the fabric, begin cross-stitching. To do this, make diagonal stitches across each row, moving from the bottom left hand corner of each little square in the fabric to the top right hand corner. Once you’ve reached the end of the row, move back the other way, stitching from the bottom right hand corner to the top left hand corner. To hold the floss in place, loop your stitches around the loose tail against the back of the fabric as you sew.
• Fill in the entire image of the seated man with the black floss, adjusting the fabric as needed in the embroidery hoop.

• Once you’ve reached the base of the image of the man, add in two final rows of black squares reaching all the way across the fabric. Stop three squares from the sides of the fabric to prevent your work from fraying.
• Remove the fabric from the embroidery hoop, and wash it with water and gentle soap to remove any pencil marks. Let the fabric dry, and then iron it.
• Place the fabric into the frame, and display!