Fox Cross Stitch Patterns

I don’t really know why I decided to do a post of fox cross stitch patterns. I was thinking this year I should do more roundups of animal patterns because there are so many out there, and they don’t necessarily fall into particular seasons so they might otherwise get overlooked. Fox was the first animal I thought of, so here we are.

Turns out it was a good choice because there are a lot of lovely fox cross stitch patterns to choose from.

One of the first ones to catch my eye was this pretty Scandinavian inspired design from XCrossStitchPatternX. There’s a little bit of a Christmas vibe to it but I think it would be nice to have on display all winter. This round piece uses 7 colors and comes out to about 9 by 9.36 inches or 22.86 by 23.77 cm on 14 count fabric.

Cross Stitch Bay has this pretty design of a fox surrounded by greenery reading a book. It measures 184 by 194 stitches, which is 13.25 inches/33.65 cm square, and it uses 24 colors. (The round version shown here cuts off an additional border that makes the project square.)

If cozy and colorful is your favorite style, you’ll love this one of a fox with a cup of tea from Non Stop Stitch. I love the fox’s little scarf, and the background has lots of cute details. It uses 39 colors plus some blends, and the finished project is 120 by 111 stitches, which comes to 8.5 by 7.8 inches or 22 by 20 cm on 14 count fabric.

They’re more muted but I also adore this cozy red for from CoPlanny. I want to live in that coat and scarf, too! It uses 20 colors and the design is 89 by 125 stitches.

The background on this fox form Pigeon Coop Designs is made up of trees, but for some reason it gives me a Southwest US feeling. You could sub some of the green for more rusty colors (just not too close to the colors of the fox) for a different look. As is, the design uses eight colors and is 50 by 50 stitches, perfect for fitting in a 4-inch hoop.

For someone who is a big fan of little foxes, this set of six patterns of an action-filled fox would make a great gift. LaSelva Design offers this set, which includes fox strutting, sitting, jumping and sleeping. Sizes vary a little but each one fits in a three-inch hoop.

Or keep it classic with a design that’s just a bog fox. This one is by Craftibo Cross and measures 100 by 92 stitches. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 6.57 by 7.14 inches, or 16.69 by 18.14 cm, and uses 16 colors.

I’ve done embroidery on paper before and it’s a lot of fun. You can use a needle to punch out a particular shape to stitch, or my favorite thing is to take a copy of an old photograph or a page from a magazine and add stitched details to the original picture.

One thing I haven’t tried but would also be fun to do is cross stitching on paper.

This is a technique that requires a fair amount of preparation because you need to find a pattern you can easily transfer and print it at actual size, then use the pattern itself to help you decide where to put the holes in your paper. And then after all that you can do your stitching.

It’s a pretty straightforward process, but Crewel Ghoul has a great tutorial that walks you through how to do it step by step. It even includes a sample pattern you can print out and try for practice.

The post also has tips for starting and finishing your threads so that the back looks as neat as it can, if that’s something that’s important to you. (When I have done embroidery on paper I usually just tape the thread end to the back. If the back were going to show I’d probably just cover it with more paper.)

Stitching on paper is a fun way to make bookmarks or greeting cards, but you also need to make sure your paper is thick enough to support the holes you’ll be making in it. This post has a good rundown of materials you’ll need and what kind of paper is best. She used watercolor paper but I’ve used card stock and scrapbook paper that was a little thicker than the average printer paper.

You can always test a little on the paper you’re considering to make sure it will stand up to the project.

Check out the post, which includes a video, over at Crewel Ghoul for more tips for cross stitching on paper. Is this something you’ve tried before? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

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