Silverberry Designs: Cross Stitch Patterns for Game Nights, Pride & More

I was directed to a cross stitch pattern from Silverberry Designs for a recent post I was working on, and I knew that I needed to share them with you for one reason: cross stitch Clue.

Silverberry Designs is an Etsy cross stitch pattern shop with a serious soft spot for games — think Clue, Scrabble and a classic Nintendo controller — plus a deep collection of holiday, Pride and just-for-fun charts. I was pointed to one of their patterns while working on a recent post and knew I had to share the whole shop with you.

This re-creation of the Clue game board fits in a 10-inch frame, so it’s not really playable, but I still love it because I loved the game (and the movie) growing up. This pattern is 122 by 127 stitches, which comes out to 8.71 by 9.7 inches, or 22.1 by 23 cm, when worked on 14 count fabric. It uses 10 colors.

It turns out this store has a lot of game related cross stitch patterns. You’ll find playing cards, billiard balls, a roulette table and a classic Nintendo controller. There’s a ouija board, and board games for Sorry, Scrabble and Trouble. So fun for a game room or anywhere else.

The category that has the most patterns is holidays and religion, which is a hodgepodge of Christmas, July fourth and St. Patrick’s Day, with a Star of David, an Islamic crescent and star and some other things thrown in.

There are also a large number of LGBTQ+ patterns, from Pride flags to rainbow hearts and peace signs, and lots of other rainbow designs.

The “words & phrases” section includes bathroom rules, a blank monthly calendar, some snarky signs, teacher appreciation designs and more. You’ll also find a blank map of the United States you can stitch in as you travel, as well as more travel related designs, home and garden, holidays and celebrations, animals (hippo, owl, skunk, bald eagle, cat in leaves, etc.) and more.

The page also sells supplies including 14 count Aida fabric in 12 colors, needles, floss, hoops and more. And they have a subscription box that includes a pattern and all the supplies you need to make it. (The pattern is a surprise but you can contact them to ask if you really must know before you order.)

Check out all the fun stuff at Silverberry Designs.

[Photo: Silverberry Designs]

I came across a post recently from Lord Libidan wondering about where all the good cross stitch alphabets have gone. While you can find lots of fonts on Etsy (and I even shared a few good cross stitch fonts recently) it can be difficult to know exactly what you’re getting when you buy a pattern for an alphabet online. You might find just what you want but it’s the wrong size, or maybe everything is plain and you want something fancier.

One option is to hit up your local library for cross stitch books. If you’re looking for large, fancy lettering to use as a stand alone for projects, I found Felicity Hall’s Stitch Alphabets & Numbers on the shelves at my local library.

This book includes lots of guidance in terms of materials, how to stitch and ways to use lettered projects, from simple framing to making alphabet blocks, pillows and a stretched canvas.

There are three sets of letters and three sets of numbers in this book. The circus letters are colorful and include circles and other details inside the letters that make some of them look like faces. They come in a variety of widths but are all 80 stitches high (making them 5.7 inches, or 14.5 cm tall on 14 count fabric.

Woodblock letters vary from a straightforward, blocky H to a G that looks like a fish tail, and they’re designed to have details in the background. There are all 80 by 80 stitches. Shadow letters are blocky with a drop shadow in a color; they vary in width but are 55 stitches tall. All the letter fonts also include an ampersand.

The number fonts include screen print numbers, which are worked in two colors that look sort of like printing; vintage numbers, which have flowers inside the numbers that also have a striped shadow; and floral numbers, where the number is a solid color surrounded by flowers and vines. These are all 79 by 80 stitches, while the vintage ones are 55 by 55 and the screen print ones vary in both width and height.

These aren’t the sorts of letters you’d add to another project, but if you want to stitch a single letter, a monogram, a short word or the table numbers for a wedding, this book offers some fun options and nice project ideas for how to use them.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback. Published 2014 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Have you read?