Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Cross Stitch for Women’s History Month

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March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, so why not stitch up some great iconic women from history to celebrate?

Debs Cross Stitch has this awesome kit for a women who made history cross stitch project, which features famous women from Cleopatra to Greta Thumberg. It is a Bothy Threads design and has an emphasis on British women, which could be fun for people in other parts of the world to learn about some people they aren’t as familiar with. The kit includes 14 count fabric, thread and needle. The finished project is 33 by 42 cm, or about 13 by 16.5 inches.

If you’re looking for famous women with an Australian twist, Spruce Craft Co. has the pattern for you. Designed by Ellie Ross, this one features the faces of 10 famous women from about the world. It uses 11 colors and measures 71 by 74 stitches, which comes out to 5.1 by 5.3 inches or 12.9 by 13.4 cm on 14 count fabric.

Good Morning Maui has a chibi version of iconic women of history, including Empress Wu, Jane Austen and Harriet Tubman, among others. This one measures 198 by 107 stitches and uses 28 colors. That comes out to 14.3 by 7.8 inches or 36.6 by 19.8 cm, on 14 count fabric.

I also love ten tiny feminists from Anita and Fred, which features the features of some famous women including Frida Kahlo, Lucille Ball and Ada Lovelace. Each design is made to fit in a 3-inch hoop.

Or you can just stitch up a single famous female from history like this Grace Hopper design from CloudsFactory. It features Grace and her computer and measures 65 by 68 stitches. That’s 4.6 by 4.9 inches or 11.8 by 12.3 cm on 14 count fabric. This is just one of their Fabulous Women in History collection, which you can find in the history section on their website.

Speaking of CloudsFactory, last year I also shared their larger piece, Women are the Architects of Society, which is definitely worth mentioning again.

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How to Cross Stitch Napkin Rings

I like small projects in all my crafts, and I’ve been spending some time this year coming up with little cross stitch projects that I can do to build my skills and also not be working on a gigantic project (which I also am, just not regularly).

I feel like most of us prefer closer to instant gratification projects most of the time. While there’s also room for those big, dramatic, super detailed projects, my lifestyle, and maybe yours too, is much better suited to smaller projects.

With that in mind I thought it would be fun to try making a cross stitch napkin ring. My version has three little flowers on it, but you could take this idea 100 different ways for different holidays and seasons. Tiny Christmas trees or snowflakes, stars, hearts, flowers of different colors.

Since it’s a small project it doesn’t take long to make one (which is nice, because you’ll probably want more than one to embellish your table).

I made my flowers in different colors, with a different one of the same three colors I chose serving as the center for a different flower. The centers are worked as French knots (which are so much fun to make), and I did mirror images of the flower chart just to make it more fun for me.

I also finished the edges with blanket stitch using another color of embroidery floss, which adds cuteness and hopefully will keep the fabric from fraying too much. So far so good.

Check out the pattern and grab the little flower chart I used over at Our Daily Craft.

Do you love little cross stitch projects? Or ones that are maybe less traditional ways to use cross stitch? I’d love to hear your ideas for different kinds of projects I could try.