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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Christmas Sampler Cross Stitch Patterns

As a knitter, I love a good sheep motif, so let’s take a look at some cute sheep cross stitch patterns.

If you want to stitch a little sheep, this mini square from Good Dog Needleworks is a nice choice. It uses just three colors and measures 32 by 32 stitches. That’s 2.2 inches or about 5.5 cm square if you stitch it on 14 count fabric.

I also love these two little sheep, which you can stitch together or in individual hoops and shown. The designs are form Threadbound Art and use six colors. They are slightly different in size, with one being 21 by 17 stitches and the other 21 by 20. They fit in four inch frames if you work them on 14 count fabric.

You can stitch a sweet sheep bookmark with this design from Kits by SA Stitch. This is not for the person who doesn’t like back stitch, because there’s a lot of that here, but it is really cute. It measures 30 by 91 stitches and uses 10 colors. That will make your bookmark about 2.4 by 6.5 inches, or 6 by 16.5 cm on 14 count fabric.

Stitch a pretty scene of sheep in a meadow with this design from Motok Nytok. It uses 21 colors and the design is 99 by 73 stitches. On 14 count fabric that makes it about 7.07 by 5.21 inches, or 17.96 by 13.24 cm.

This yarn full of cross stitch sheep has a bit of a knitting twist because the sheep all look like they have sweaters on. The design is from Soda Stitch Design and it measures 179 by 216 stitches. The full design uses 27 colors. On 14 count fabric it will work out to 12.78 by 15.42 inches, or 32.48 by 39.19 cm.

Another great one with a knitting theme is this one where the wool is coming off the sheep and straight onto the needles. This one is from Happy Cross Stitchers and uses 12 colors. The pattern is 137 by 137 stitches, which comes out to 9.7 inches or 24.86 cm square on 14 count fabric. This would be a fun one to stitch for the knitter in your life (even if that is you).

Or you can stitch the field of sheep of a knitter’s dreams with the Happy Sheep chart from Charts and Stuff. These per-colored sheep can be stitched as shown or worked in any colors you like. The eyes are French knots but you can just stitch them in white if you’d rather.

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