Cross Stitch Ideas for Your Holiday Table

October 19, 2026 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

We love to make crafts to decorate our homes for different holidays, and it’s always fun to add a handmade touch to the table if you can. I specifically went looking for Thanksgiving themed cross stitch napkins and other tableware, and while I didn’t find a lot I hope these ideas will inspire you to use these or other patterns to stitch for your Thanksgiving (or other holiday) table.

Cross Stitch Coricamo is a great source for cross stitch napkin and table runner patterns, though many of them are Christmas or winter related, or florals that feel more summer than fall. I did find this pretty napkin with wild vine pattern that would be nice for Thanksgiving, as well as a fall leaf table runner.

The napkin pattern calls for 10 colors and has a different design in two corners that are flipped for the other two. If you have a bunch of napkins to make you could just stitch in one corner if you like.

The table runner is meant to be about 15.7 by 39.4 inches, or 40 by 100 cm and it uses nine colors. You can adjust the sides as needed to fit your table, and you could also use individual leaves or leaf clusters to stitch on napkins if you want a set that matches your runner.

If you’re looking for a project that’s a little smaller, now seems like a nice time to remind you that you can also cross stitch napkin rings. They’re about the size of a bookmark, and while the one shown is in spring colors, you can use any little motif that will fit. My version is 2 inches/5 cm wide, so anything that can fit in that space would be great.

And if you want a more involved project, check out this post on how to cross stitch a tablecloth. It’s a bigger commitment but a project that you’re sure to love and use for years to come.

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How to Cross Stitch on Paper

I’ve done embroidery on paper before and it’s a lot of fun. You can use a needle to punch out a particular shape to stitch, or my favorite thing is to take a copy of an old photograph or a page from a magazine and add stitched details to the original picture.

One thing I haven’t tried but would also be fun to do is cross stitching on paper.

This is a technique that requires a fair amount of preparation because you need to find a pattern you can easily transfer and print it at actual size, then use the pattern itself to help you decide where to put the holes in your paper. And then after all that you can do your stitching.

It’s a pretty straightforward process, but Crewel Ghoul has a great tutorial that walks you through how to do it step by step. It even includes a sample pattern you can print out and try for practice.

The post also has tips for starting and finishing your threads so that the back looks as neat as it can, if that’s something that’s important to you. (When I have done embroidery on paper I usually just tape the thread end to the back. If the back were going to show I’d probably just cover it with more paper.)

Stitching on paper is a fun way to make bookmarks or greeting cards, but you also need to make sure your paper is thick enough to support the holes you’ll be making in it. This post has a good rundown of materials you’ll need and what kind of paper is best. She used watercolor paper but I’ve used card stock and scrapbook paper that was a little thicker than the average printer paper.

You can always test a little on the paper you’re considering to make sure it will stand up to the project.

Check out the post, which includes a video, over at Crewel Ghoul for more tips for cross stitching on paper. Is this something you’ve tried before? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

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