Cross-Stitch

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French Cross Stitch Pattern

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92202305If you like holiday projects with an international flair, then here’s one just for you. Now, I need someone fluent in French to help me out here. I know the saying has something to do with little shoes, but I am not sure what that has to do with Christmas. Can someone help? As always your assistance is appreciated and the info will be updated here in the blog. Get the free chart from Miss T.

Update: Thanks to our intrepid readers, I now know that it is French tradition to receive gifts in shoes instead of stockings, hence the quote, “Don’t Forget My Little Shoes.” This quote is also from a song, according to Fabienne, who remembers it fondly and includes a link – see the comments for the source. Thanks again faithful and helpful readers.

Looking for more Christmas Cross Stitch patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

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Comments

  1. It says, “Don’t forget my little shoes.” French Santa leaves gifts in children’s shoes, not their stockings.

  2. the post doesn’t tell you why, but I think it’s probably from the tradition of putting out a shoe, rather than a stocking, for Santa to fill.

  3. I’ve just had confirmation from a french colleague, they put out shoes, but Santa puts their gifts down and puts the shoes on top so they know whose presents are whose.

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Natalka Studio

Natalka Studio is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a wide variety of cross stitch designs, including realistic, detailed designs with women doing various things, holiday patterns, geometrics and more.

One of the biggest categories in the shop is called girl cross stitch, which features detailed designs of women with flowing hair doing things like drinking coffee, dancing and carrying flowers. There are seasonal projects in this category as well as a couple having to do with hobbies.

I like the knitting one, of course, and almost shared the sewing one as the featured pattern above until I realized the thread is coming off a cone on the floor and there’s no pedal for running the machine.

The one I am sharing here isn’t actually in that category but it is really cute. Little Girl with Watermelon uses 21 colors and measures 73 by 73 stitches. That’s 5.21 inches or 13.3 cm square if you work it on 14 count fabric. I love her messy hair and the little dress and matching bows. You could also change the colors if you have a little girl who isn’t as into pink (or doesn’t have brown hair).

The largest category on the page is animals, and there you will find wild animals like monkeys, pandas and sloths; ocean creatures such as rays, an octopus and a blue tang fish; frogs, dogs and geese, among others. 

There are also a lot of Christmas cross stitch patterns, which include a lot of traditional motifs and some more whimsical themes. I like this one of Santa resting by the fire with his boots off.

In addition to all these you’ll find pretty flowers, a bunch of mostly floral bookmarks, a whole big set of patterns with lemons, and a lot more. The fruits and berries section (if you like fruits other than lemons) would be perfect for decorating your kitchen or breakfast area.

Check out all the great patterns they have to offer at Natalka Studio on Etsy.

[Photo: Natalka Studio]