Beach Gnome Cross Stitch Pattern

I don’t know if it’s possible to get enough gnomes in any crafting genre. We love gnomes in knitting and crochet, too, and gnomes are also fun to cross stitch. They’re an easy starting point for just about any holiday themed project, from Christmas to St. Patrick’s Day and beyond.

Or, in this case, summer.

The beach gnome cross stitch pattern from Craft with Cartwright answers the question of what gnomes do on vacation. They go to the beach and rest on the sand under an umbrella, just like I wish I was doing right now.

The pattern is available for free when you sign up for updates, which gives you access to a ton of free patterns for cross stitch.

In addition to this gnome cross stitch pattern, Ruth has a whole library of free gnome cross stitch patterns, including gnomes for each month and designs for Christmas, Halloween, Easter and St. Patrick’s Day. Because she’s British you’ll also find a St. David’s Day gnome and a Burns Night gnome, among other fun projects. You can really stitch up a gnome or several for any occasion!

If you need even more gnome cross stitch patterns to choose from, I’ve got you covered. I love this little collection of Christmas gnomes, and there’s a gnome pattern in this roundup of Fourth of July cross stitch patterns. I also have a whole collection of fall themed gnome cross-stitch patterns, and a fun set of little gnomes dressed up in their Halloween costumes, if you’re already thinking ahead to the next season. It will be here before we know it, after all!

Whether you stitch up a single gnome project or a full set, make them for wall hangings, greeting cards or other projects, gnomes are lots of fun to stitch and I hope you’ll have a good time with this one!

[Photo: Craft with Cartwright]

Next Pattern:

Funny St. Patrick's Day Cross Stitch Patterns

If you like repeating cross stitch designs, borders you can use on other projects or as bookmarks, florals and Japanese-inspired designs, you’ll want to check out 200 Japanese Cross Stitch Designs by Saeko Endo. This collection of 200 cross stitch charts is low on instruction but big on inspiration for those who are comfortable taking a chart and running with it.

The book includes a brief introduction to the needed supplies and basics of stitching, but mostly is just photographs of finished designs and the charts that go with them. The charts vary widely in size and there can be anywhere from one to six charts printed on a single page.

Many of the designs are repeating patterns, but the chart shows a larger version so you can see how the repeats go together. Each chart has marked what portion is repeating and how many stitches and rows it includes. Other than that the charts are not numbered, but there are darker lines every five rows to help you count.

The patterns all range from one to three colors, and some include half cross stitches or back stitching, but most are full stitches.

The book is arranged into categories of motifs: geometric patterns, retro patterns, traditional Japanese patterns, floral and fauna and borders and pictorial motifs.

My favorites are the Japanese designs, many of which are recognizable from woodcuts, kimono designs and traditional shashiko embroidery. You’ll find cherry blossoms, suns, knots, and simple line designs that would be lots of fun to stitch.

There are a few pages devoted to different ways to modify charts such as changing colors, changing the way to design is repeated, flipping and rotating designs.

Other than that you’re on your own for how you actually want to use these designs. Of course they can just be stitched and framed but it might have been nice to see some of the projects stitched and staged in a way you might use them in everyday life (repeating motifs as coasters, or a bigger design turned into a pillow, for example).

Sometimes it helps to see designs used in different ways to get you thinking about how you might use them yourself. If you don’t need that creative push, this is a fine book full of patterns you’ll have fun playing with in different ways.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 200 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?