Candy Cane Biscornu
An octagonal candy-cane biscornu — eight-pointed pillow finish with peppermint pairs, dancing rocking-horse figures, and tiny trees, stitched on shimmery teal linen. Third of five Jingle Ball 2023 class finishes.
- Designer
- The Blue Flower
- Fabric
- 32ct Crystal Herald Belfast linen
- Stitch count
- 70w x 70h (per side)
- Floss
- DMC
- Finished
- November 2023
Candy Cane Biscornu by The Blue Flower — a small biscornu (the classic eight-pointed cross-stitch pillow form, made by stitching two 70×70 squares and joining them offset by 45° so the corners pull into points). The chart’s motif rotation is paired candy canes alternating with little rocking-horse / candy-cane “dancer” silhouettes in red-and-white stripe, with sage-green sprigs and small fir trees filling the gaps between them. Each of the eight faces of the finished biscornu shows a different slice of that rotation.
This was my third Jingle Ball 2023 class finish, after Wintergreen Santa and Santa’s Night Tree, and before Specialty Stitches I and the Jingle All the Way Block — five classes from the same event.
The chart’s recommended fabric is 32ct Zweigart Sparkle Grey (linen with silver thread woven in). I went with 32ct [Zweigart] Crystal Herald Belfast linen — same idea, but in a deeper teal-blue with shimmer threads instead of grey. The shimmer is what sells this finish; the candy canes’ red and white sit on a background that flickers slightly when you turn it, which is exactly what you want a Christmas ornament to do.
Threads are DMC throughout — the chart originally calls for DMC red/green/cream plus a limited-edition Cottage Garden Threads Candy Cane hand-dye that’s no longer available, so I used DMC stripe-reds (the chart’s 0021 and 0022) with white as a substitute. Reads exactly the same on the finished piece.
Finished November 25, 2023.