Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

A Sweet Mitten Embroidery Pattern for Practice

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mittens embroidery pattern

We don’t delve into embroidery over here all that much, but every now and then I can’t resist.

This little project from Pam Ash designs is a great way to practice different embroidery stitches. The pattern features a pair of mittens decorated however you like with different kinds of embroidery stitches.

It’s all done in red in the sample, but you could also use different colors in rows or haphazardly.

I love the idea of doing a dense pattern of French knots in different colors, too. Wouldn’t that be pretty?

This practice piece would be a lovely gift for a crafty friend or a way to remember the year you learned a little bit more about stitching.

[Photo: Pam Ash Designs.]

Have you read?

Cross Stitch Patterns for Trucks with Christmas Trees

I don’t know why a vintage red truck with a Christmas tree in the back became an iconic Christmas cross stitch pattern, but you might be surprised by how many of them I found. Let’s take a look at a few Christmas truck cross stitch patterns. 

I started with this free cross stitch pattern from Ugly Duckling House, which also has a wreath on the front of the truck for extra holiday cuteness. The design uses 16 colors and is 46 by 49 stitches. On 14 count fabric it comes out to about 3.3 by 3.5 inches, or 8.3 by 8.9 cm. You can grab that pattern when you enter your email address on the website. 

DMC takes it to another level with the tree being tied to the top of the truck, which is driving past a mountain stitched in the background. This one is also a free pattern, and the listing doesn’t give a ton of information, but it is pretty. 

Another one in a similar vein is this design from Actually Makeable, which has the tree tied in the back of the truck, which has a bit of snow on it, and there are snowy trees and a shape in the background that could be a cloud or a mountain. It measures 126 by 51 stitches and uses 17 colors. On 14 count fabric it will be 9 by 3.6 inches, or 23 by 9 cm. The back stitching is optional but does help to define the design. 

The watercolor look of this one from Ethno Ua Stitch is so pretty, but it uses 37 colors to get that painterly effect. The design is 138 by 165 stitches, and it includes full cross stitches and back stitching.

If you’re looking for an easier option, this one from Etamine Patterns looks pretty straightforward. I love how the tree almost looks like an applique. It uses six colors and is 109 by 120 stitches. 

Laser Art Designs has another version with a giant tree in the back of the truck and the words Merry Christmas at the bottom (which you could of course leave off if you want). This design uses four colors and comes out to 8.3 by 5.7 inches, or 20.9 by 14.4 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric.