Diwali Cross Stitch Patterns

I’ve shared a few Diwali cross stitch patterns over the years, including hands holding a diya lamp and some pretty lanterns.

I wanted to look for some more patterns for Diwali this year, and here’s what I found.

I love this design from Cutara that features a bunch of diya oil lamps in a circular design. It’s especially pretty on dark colored fabric, but would be nice on white or cream colored fabric instead. (I have some dark blue fabric I think would be lovely with this design, too.) The design is 200 by 200 stitches and uses 17 colors.

This watercolor diya cross stitch from Sonya Cross Stitch is also a great option. While it’s a little bit smaller, and 136 by 131 stitches, but it uses a lot more colors, at 32. On 14 count fabric this one measures 9.7 by 9.4 inches, or 24.67 by 23.77 cm.

This sweet candle and lotus pattern from Ludicrous Threads would be great for Diwali, or if you change the colors a bit it would look nice for Christmas, too. It’s recommended that you stitch it on 14 count fabric and the design fits in an 8-inch hoop, at about 7.5 inches or 19 cm square.

Or if you want to try something super fancy and dramatic looking, check out this design from Peppermint Purple. It combines regular cross stitch with blackwork, which is the design in the background at the edges of the rangoli, as well as some on the diya.

This pattern is fun because you get three charts in one. One is as shown with the rangoli and diya together, and then there are charts of each of them separate so you can work them individually if you’d rather. Together the pattern is 150 by 150, which is 10.72 inches or 27.22 cm square.

The rangoli by itself is the same size, and the diya by itself measures 74 by 75 stitches, which is a great size for a greeting card. That comes out to 5.29 by 5.36 inches or 13.43 by 13.61 cm. The full pattern uses 11 colors.

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Stitch up a Sweet Diwali Greeting

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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