A Welcome Warning about Witches

This cute Halloween cross stitch pattern would be the perfect thing to hang on or near your door to let people know exactly who they are dealing with.

It’s from Durene J Cross Stitch on Etsy and features a pretty cute looking witch who is nonetheless threatening to turn anyone they don’t want coming to call into part of the potion.

The details on this one are really great, from the goo spilling out of the cauldron to the flask full of eyeballs in the witch’s hand. I love the cat looking on suspiciously, the pile of spell books with a skull on top, the potion bottle and pumpkin completing the scene. Super cute.

The finished pattern is 113 by 195 stitches, which comes out to 8 by 14 inches when stitched on 14 count fabric or 28 count evenweave.

I like the look of it on a colored background as shown, but it would be lovely stitched on white fabric, too.

To complete this design you’ll need to be able to make full and fractional stitches, do back stitching and make French knots. The pattern doesn’t say how many colors are used, but I have a feeling it’s a lot!

If you’re new to partial stitches, I shared a guide to stitching partial stitches in cross stitch here. It also covers back stitching so you should be all set with that information, whether it’s new to you or just a refresher.

Looking for more cross stitch patterns with witches? I love this Best Witches one, which I think would also be great by the door. Or check out Calling All Witches and stitch up these ladies to look like your crew of friends. And don’t miss the chance to stitch up a bit of Witch’s Brew with this funky teacup cross stitch pattern.

[Photo: Durene J Cross Stitch]

If you’re looking for a ton of easy cross stitch designs to use for Christmas projects, look no further than Claire Crompton’s The Ultimate Cross Stitch Christmas Collection, which includes more than 500 charts for tiny stockings, angels, ornaments and much more.

The book covers the materials you’ll use to create the projects, how to add beads and other embellishments, stitching techniques and instructions for finishing projects shown in the book.

You’ll find ideas for using the patterns such as making greeting cards, ornaments, wall hangings, napkin rings and patches, as well as ideas for adding stitching to ready made or semi-homemade gifts. There are also tips for framing and hanging projects, making an advent calendar and designing your own Christmas sampler.

The charts are arranged by theme like Christmas classics (bells, horns and candles), garlands including stockings and mittens, Christmas carols, advent motifs with numbers to make your own calendar, St. Nicholas, nativity projects, snowmen, Santa’s sleigh, snowflakes and snow themed projects, Shaker-style Christmas designs, Santa’s helpers and reindeer, tree decorations, snowy scenes, robins and other birds, angels, Christmas trees, penguins, baby’s first Christmas, Victorian-inspired designs, sweets and treats, Christmas flowers, child themed patterns, stitches for gift tags, fairies, bears both teddy and otherwise, 12 days of Christmas patterns, projects to work on linens for the table, sentiments for cards or other projects, and several sets of alphabets and numbers you can use to design your own projects.

There’s a really cute parcel alphabet that has the letters on presents and there are also elves and a Santa worked in, which would be cute for a project for a child or to make a sign for your house.

Patterns are shown several to a page with one key for all of the projects. The projects don’t say how big they are so you’ll have to count stitches on the chart and figure out how big they will be based on the fabric you are using.

Still, this is a nice, large collection of holiday themed cross stitch designs, which is great for people who like stitching projects big and small for Christmas.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Have you read?