Cross Stitch for the Beach

This time of year I always start thinking about vacations, and while I don’t think I’ll be seeing the beach this year, I could stitch up one of these beach themed cross stitch patterns, which would be perfect if you live near the beach or have a beach house to decorate.

First there are these teeny projects from Bella Rose Craft. This set of minis includes a seagull and a starfish, and they are each shown in their own 1.5 by 2 inch/3.8 by 5 cm frames, though the pattern has them together on one chart. The gull is 17 by 20 stitches and the starfish is 16 by 16.

Speaking of seagulls, I love this little seagull sampler that also includes anchors, sailboats and a life preserver, among other summer symbols. This one is from Bees on Toast Shop (would love to know the story of that name!) and uses only full cross stitches and 8 colors. The sample is shown in a 6-inch hoop.

If you want to get literal with your beach stitching, try this project that says beach and includes sand, sea, sun and lots of other fun stuff within the letters. The design is from Stitchrovia and measures 252 by 85 stitches. On 14 count fabric that would be 18 by 6.1 inches, or 45.7 by 15.4 cm. Sizing for other fabric counts are included if you want to make yours smaller. The pattern uses 21 colors.

Stitch up a project that says “wish you were here” or “wish I were there” with this one from The Little Art Veranda. It shows two chairs on the beach in front of what I’ve decided is the sunset (which kind of looks like an egg, but I like it). It uses 9 colors and only full cross stitches. It’s 140 by 140 stitches and fits perfectly in a 10 inch hoop if stitched on 14 count fabric.

Or make the beach modern art with this fun wave design from Box and Fox worked in three shades of blue. It measures 110 by 10 stitches, which is 7.8 inches or 19.96 cm square on 14 count fabric. Despite the dramatic look this would be a great option for someone new to cross stitch.

The cross stitcher behind the blog Sirious Stitches is quite into biscornu.

If you’re not, a quick primer: biscornu are three-dimensional cross-stitched objects with eight points, often with an indention in the middle that makes them look a bit like doughnuts without the hole. They can be just about any size and subject you can think of. They’re often used as pincushions but can also be seasonal decor or just decoration for any time of year.

I’ve got a collection of biscornu cross stitch patterns here.

Once you’ve stitched one or several (they are a little addicting) you might wonder what you can add to them to make them even more extra.

It very much depends on the design of your biscornu and the look you are going for, but Sirious Stitches has a great post all about some of the options you might consider.

I don’t want to give you the whole list because you need to go visit and see all of their great biscornu they’ve stitched, but one really easy thing that you can do with a lot of designs is take advantage of that center indent by adding a button, beads, silk flower or another embellishment.

This is great to do just with a basic button from your stash that coordinates with the design and colors of the cross stitching, but it’s extra fun if you have a button that’s on theme, such as a leaf for a fall biscornu or a flower shaped button for a floral design. Add a jingle bell to a Christmas pattern, or a charm if you don’t have a button that coordinates.

Just this one idea is sure to get you thinking about ways to embellish biscornu (not to mention other cross stitch projects) but head over to Sirious Stitches to see all of their ideas for embellishing biscornu to make these already fun projects even more fun.

Have you ever made biscornu? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

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