Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Book Review – Just Stitch Halloween

by

Stitch through the witching hour with the annual Halloween issue from Just CrossStitch! This spooktacular issue is brimming to the top of the cauldron with over 60 projects, including framed pieces, bookmarks, pincushions, gift tags and the ever-popular assortment of ornaments.

  • Pumpkins and pincushions! A seasonal scene graces the top of a handy pincushion box, complete with a drawer for pins! Stitch grinning jack-o’-lanterns, curling vines, a friendly witch and more in the Fun With Pumpkins pattern.
  • Colorful creatures! Stitch with bright colors in the whimsical patterns included in Making a Brew. Each of the three hanging ornaments features fun monsters hiding in a Halloween-themed tea set and making friends with spiders.
  • Trick or treat! Capture the essence of Halloween night with Tunnel of Trees, a striking design of costumed children making their way to lit houses beneath orange leaves and a pale, full moon. Plus, you won’t want to miss featured designs from some of our favorite designers along with new creations from upcoming cross-stitch artists! Download (or subscribe!) today!
  • Looking for more fun Halloween Cross-stitch patterns and charts? Check out these Halloween-themed Cross stitch designs on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Cross Stitch Creatures from the Sea

Last fall I came across this cross stitch pattern for a sea turtle and I talked myself out of sharing it right away because tropical animals don’t feel like a “fall” thing, but now that it’s summer again, let’s take a look at some cross stitch patterns for creatures that live in or around the sea. 

This sea turtle design from Witch Wolf Web Creations is literally just a chart with no grid to help you count stitches or suggested colors, but I would print it out and add a grid to make it easier to stitch. You can work it in many colors as shown, or there’s also a black and white version so you could just do it in a single color. 

Stitch up some fish or a seahorse with this bundle of four tropical fish cross stitch patterns from LaSelva Design. It includes a clownfish, seahorse, moorish idol and blue tang, all of which vary in size and colors used, but they’re all really cute. 

Or you can stitch a tank’s worth of tropical fish with this project from SamXstitch. There are 22 fish in all on this project, which measures 153 by 153 stitches. On 14 count fabric that’s 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm. It uses 15 colors. 

I also love the jewel-toned fishies on this project from Velvet Pony Design. This one has seven fish and a seahorse and measures 113 by 140 stitches. That’s just over 8 by 10 inches or 20.5 by 25.4 cm on 14 count fabric, though you can make it smaller with a higher fabric count. It calls for 24 colors. 

This vintage design from Past Pattern Palooza Co has a whole school of little fish. The design is 120 by 260 stitches and uses 30 colors. It measures 8.57 by 18.57 inches (21.7 by 47.2 cm) on 14 count fabric. The pattern notes say there are 69 designs in total, an individual fish range from 1.5 to 3 inches, or 4.5 to 8 cm. 

You can stitch up a whole tropical world complete with coral using this design from Easy Stitching Outlet (though I don’t think this one is particularly easy). At 219 by 95 stitches, on 14 count fabric it will come out to 15.6 by 6.8 inches, or 39.73 by 17.24 cm.