Cross Stitch Stunning Snowflakes

Sometimes it’s hard to find winter cross stitch patterns that aren’t overtly Christmas related, and this one just barely squeaks by but I’m going to allow it because it’s just so pretty I have to share it.

Tinsel Cross Stitch calls this Quaker Christmas #4, which I guess is fine. I think I’d call it something like boho snowflake wall hanging. But whatever you call it, it’s worth taking a closer look.

First off, you’ll notice the large geometric snowflake motifs, as well as smaller snowflake designs. There are lots of little designs stitched into the drops around the bigger snowflakes, including hearts, bows, a deer, a gingerbread man, a rocking horse and a couple of angels (thus my statement that it only just isn’t a Christmas pattern, because there are definitely some Christmas images in here) among other things. It’s almost like an I-spy when you start looking at it you’ll just keep seeing more things.

The design is 220 by 362 stitches, which some out to 15.71 by 25.86 inches, or 39.91 by 65.68 cm on 14 count fabric. It only uses one color but it uses a lot of that one color. I love the white on the dark blue as shown, but if you visit the listing page you’ll see other options including dark blue thread on white, red on white and white on red or green.

I love that this pattern shows using a single color of thread can be really striking where you might think it would be boring. The pattern uses full cross stitches and back stitches.

I also like the idea of taking some of the individual elements out of the pattern to make smaller designs. Just a single snowflake would be pretty in a hoop, or take a section to stitch on a card, pillow or other project.

You can grab a copy of the pattern for yourself from Tinsel Cross Stitch on Etsy.

[Photo: Tinsel Cross Stitch]

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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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