Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Crow Cross Stitch Patterns

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In all my years writing about cross stitch, I don’t think I’ve ever had a post dedicated to crow cross stitch patterns. That’s a shame, because crows are cool, and they’re a great motif to use in the fall that has a bit of a Halloween/spooky vibe without necessarily being all pumpkins and ghosts (though we have some of that, too). 

Actually, these little crow cross stitch patterns from LaSelva Design could be up in the house year round, especially if you’ve made friends with crows or are trying to cultivate your own murder. This set of four patterns is each worked in four colors, and they’re shown in 3-inch hoops, though they vary in size a little bit. 

This Art Nouveau crow from Needle Lot Designs is stunning and reminds me a bit of a tarot card. It would be the perfect thing to stitch for a witchy friend. It measures 74 by 98 stitches, which comes out to 5.25 by 7 inches or 13.4 by 17.8 cm on 14 count fabric. It uses 14 colors and has no backstitching. 

Or keep it monochrome with PandoraXstitch‘s cross cross stitch pattern. I love how this one looks like a woodcut, and it shows you that even stitching in a single color you can make something really interesting. This design is 283 by 284 stitches, which is a little more than 20 inches or 51.5 cm not quite square on 14 count fabric. The pattern includes measurements for other counts if you want to make it a different size. 

The Book of Lost Keys design from Haunted Frames feels a little more Halloween, but it doesn’t have to be. It tells the story of a mama crow whose baby is locked in a cage, but the mama has the key. The design is shown worked on 18 count fabric and measures 109 by 79 stitches. That’s 6.1 by 4.4 inches, or about 15.5 by 11 cm. It uses four colors of regular floss as well as gold metallic floss. 

Speaking of more Halloween, I love this spooky cake stand featuring a crow and other characters from Ulysses Blue Stitching. You’ll find a creepy cake, eyeball in a jar, owl, ghosts and more haunting this house. It uses nine colors and measure 109 by 143 stitches. That’s 7.4 by 9.8 inches or 19.78 by 25.94 cm on 14 count fabric. 

I also like this kind of folk art crow (or raven as the pattern calls it) sitting on a pumpkin from MIYAstitch. This one measures a manageable 71 by 81 stitches and uses seven colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to a little more than 5 by almost 6 inches (or 13 by 15 cm). 

Another pumpkin and crow pattern (this time with a witch hat) comes from My Lovely Embroidery MB. This dare I say cute design uses seven colors as well ans is 81 by 80 stitches. That measures 5.79 by 5.71 inches, or 14.7 by 14.51 cm, on 14 count fabric. This one uses full and three-quarter stitches as well as French knots. 

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Cross Stitch Creatures from the Sea

Last fall I came across this cross stitch pattern for a sea turtle and I talked myself out of sharing it right away because tropical animals don’t feel like a “fall” thing, but now that it’s summer again, let’s take a look at some cross stitch patterns for creatures that live in or around the sea. 

This sea turtle design from Witch Wolf Web Creations is literally just a chart with no grid to help you count stitches or suggested colors, but I would print it out and add a grid to make it easier to stitch. You can work it in many colors as shown, or there’s also a black and white version so you could just do it in a single color. 

Stitch up some fish or a seahorse with this bundle of four tropical fish cross stitch patterns from LaSelva Design. It includes a clownfish, seahorse, moorish idol and blue tang, all of which vary in size and colors used, but they’re all really cute. 

Or you can stitch a tank’s worth of tropical fish with this project from SamXstitch. There are 22 fish in all on this project, which measures 153 by 153 stitches. On 14 count fabric that’s 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm. It uses 15 colors. 

I also love the jewel-toned fishies on this project from Velvet Pony Design. This one has seven fish and a seahorse and measures 113 by 140 stitches. That’s just over 8 by 10 inches or 20.5 by 25.4 cm on 14 count fabric, though you can make it smaller with a higher fabric count. It calls for 24 colors. 

This vintage design from Past Pattern Palooza Co has a whole school of little fish. The design is 120 by 260 stitches and uses 30 colors. It measures 8.57 by 18.57 inches (21.7 by 47.2 cm) on 14 count fabric. The pattern notes say there are 69 designs in total, an individual fish range from 1.5 to 3 inches, or 4.5 to 8 cm. 

You can stitch up a whole tropical world complete with coral using this design from Easy Stitching Outlet (though I don’t think this one is particularly easy). At 219 by 95 stitches, on 14 count fabric it will come out to 15.6 by 6.8 inches, or 39.73 by 17.24 cm.