How to Cross Stitch on Paper

One of the crafts I want to try more of this year is embroidery on paper. It’s a fun way to add texture to a collage or just make a picture funnier or more interesting. I have this idea of trying to embroider on a canvas I’ve painted, but I don’t know if I’ll take it taht far.

For our purposes, doing cross stitch on paper is a fun way to make greeting cards or something to add to other projects.

There are a few different options when it comes to cross-stitching on paper. The first is to buy and use perforated paper made for cross stitch. This paper is heavy weight and I have seen it in 14 count and 18 count varieties.

You can stitch on the paper pretty much the same way you would stitch on fabric, but check out this post from Catkin and Lillie for more details on how to stitch on perforated paper, how to finish projects you make with it and what to use them for.

They also have a conversation hearts cross-stitch pattern in their free pattern section (scroll to the bottom) that was made to use on perforated paper if you want to practice.

Another option is to use heavy weight paper and add your own holes to stitch in. Stitched Modern has a simple little house cross stitch pattern that they use as a tutorial for how to stitch on paper. In this case you’ll print out the pattern and use the image as a guideline to form your holes.

In this case you’re literally stitching on top of the pattern, but you can also print the pattern out on thinner paper and use it as a guide for where to put your holes (or just measure and draw a faint grid on the back of your paper so you can evenly space your holes) and then stitch the design from there.

Have you ever done cross stitch on paper? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photos via Catkin and Lillie and Stitched Modern]

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Cross Stitching on Plastic Canvas

Non Stop Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a dizzying quantity and variety of cross stitch patterns.

They tend to the cute/whimsical and colorful, with lots of flowers, animals, fantasy designs and some classic Ukraine inspired motifs.

How about this super sweet Ukrainian boy and girl design? With folk inspired clothing and adorable animals, these characters can be stitched together on one piece or separately. The images were designed by Nadiia Nagorna. The boy measures 50 by 96 and uses 22 colors and blends, while the girl is 62 by 94 stitches and uses 27 colors and blends.

Both projects involve full and half cross stitches, as well as backstitch and French knots. They are classified as intermediate patterns.

The largest category on the site is Christmas patterns, with more than 200 options, ranging from cute animals to ornaments, Santas, snowmen and more. There are also plenty of patterns for both Easter and Halloween if you like seasonal stitches.

In addition you’ll find lots of animal designs, from bears and foxes to cats and dogs, mice and elephants, birds, bunnies and bugs. And extensive flowers and plants section includes pretty bouquet cross stitch patterns, stitched wreaths and seasonal scenes, as well as food cross stitch patterns, like a swag of chili peppers, mushrooms on a postage stamp, persimmons and cherries.

The fantasy and magic category leans heavy on whimsy with cute dragons, a one-eyed monster with dragonfly wings, a mermaid listening to music, and a green bearded river spirit covered in lily pads.

And that’s not even to mention other sections like food and drinks, houses and landscapes, lighthouses, people/babies/dolls and more. There’s so much to choose from there’s no way to really categorize it all, so why don’t you head over to Non Stop Stitch and do some scrolling. I’d love to hear if you make one of their patterns!

[Photo: Non Stop Stitch]

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