Celtic Inspired Cross Stitch Patterns

If you want a cross stitch pattern to honor your Irish heritage, or something to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day that isn’t all shamrocks and leprechauns (though those things are totally fine, too!) check out this little collection of Celtic inspired cross stitch patterns.

This Celtic blessing cross stitch pattern does have shamrocks, but it reminds my of my Irish grandma so I’m allowing it. The design is by Down Under Patterns and uses 25 count linen fabric. It measures 91 by 98 stitches and isn’t all that difficult but it does use several colors and a lot of backstitch for the words.

Celtic style crosses are a popular cross stitch motif, and this small one from Celtic Craft Shop US is also decorated with little shamrocks. Designed by David Jackson of Claddagh Cross Stitch, it measures 39 by 39 stitches, so it’s a pretty quick project you can frame, make into a card or even turn into a little pillow or pin cushion.

A larger version comes from Love from Rhi, which uses three colors and comes out to 6.93 inches by 11 inches/17.6 by 27.9 centimeters) on 14 count fabric.

Craft by Kai has a Celtic knot cross stitch pattern that would be pretty as is or added to the border of another project. The full design is 110 by 110 stitches (about 20 centimeters/8 inches) but you could pull out just the center part of the design to make a border, or use as a bookmark pattern. It uses seven colors.

Another popular motif is the tree of life. This collection of five Celtic tree cross stitch patterns is pretty simple but effective. Each uses one to three colors and they are designed by Cross Stitch with Art.

If you want to amp up the drama and skill level on your Celtic cross stitch patterns, these designs from Pandora Xstitch are for you. These stunning designs have such depth and detail they are decidedly for experienced stitchers, but what a fun challenge they would be. The set of patterns is linked but you can also buy individual patterns if you don’t want the whole set.

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Unique St. Patrick's Day Cross Stitch Patterns

A reader suggested that I share Needle Lot Designs with you, which isn’t a designer I was familiar with, so let’s check it out together.

Their designs are colorful, with lots of animals, fantasy and folklore inspired designs. The page’s tagline says it makes “cross stitch patterns for quirky hearts.”

The largest category on the site is called animal friends, though there are plenty of other categories about animals and nature, too (such as bugs & beetles and aquatic animals). These aren’t the sorts of animals you’d generally expect to find in cross stitch. There’s a poison heart frog, a capybara in a teacup, a racoon and possum teaming up to go through the trash.

My favorite here is this pretty red panda, sitting on a branch in front of a stand of bamboo. This one uses 19 colors, and it’s all full cross stitches but the designer calls it an intermediate pattern because of the size and number of colors involved. It’s 100 by 105 stitches, and shown worked on 32 count Belfast linen.

Worked on 14 count fabric it measures 7.25 by 7.5 inches, or 18.1 by 19.1 cm.

There are also art nouveau designs featuring animals, as well as a few animal-themed tarot cards.

The fantasy and folklore section includes Mothman, Nessie and a baby jackalope, as well as a couple of dragon designs and Cerberus reimagined as a three-headed cat. (Yes, it’s called Cerberpuss.)

You’ll even find a few Halloween/fall and Christmas/winter patterns if you like the seasonal stuff. Check out all their designs at Needle Lot Designs on Etsy.

And if you want me to feature one of your favorite designers that I haven’t mentioned yet, you can share that by leaving a comment on this post or heading to the top of the page, clicking on “suggest a craft” in the middle of the top navigation bar and filling out the form there.

[Photo: Needle Lot Designs]

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