How to Draw a Cross Stitch Chart on Graph Paper

Most of the time when we think about making our own cross stitch patterns, we probably think about using the computer to help us. There are lots of programs available that can take a picture and turn it into a cross stitch pattern (and I have talked about the process for turning a photo into a cross stitch pattern before).

But if your design isn’t that complex, or you’d just rather go the analog route, it’s not difficult to draw a cross stitch pattern by hand using graph paper.

This is even easier than charting a colorwork design for knitting or crochet, because cross stitches are already square, just like the squares on graph paper.

Crewel Ghoul has a great post all about how to make cross stitch patterns with graph paper, and it’s easier than you might think.

This is actually how I make a lot of my designs because I will start with the outline of an object that I trace onto the paper and then adjust and color in as needed.

The only special equipment you need for this process is paper and colored pencils, as well as a light box or tablet (though I’ve used my computer monitor before, a tablet would be a lot easier) or a sunny window.

And the only potentially tricky part is figuring out the count of your design, that is, how big you want it to be so you choose the right count of graph paper. (Better Cross Stitch Patterns has a great collection of free printable cross stitch graph paper of different counts to make this easier.)

If you’re ready to design your own cross stitch patterns literally by hand from a photo or other design, check out all the tips from Crewel Ghoul. If you’ve done this before I’d love to hear if you have any tips to share!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

I’m going to go ahead and admit that I totally missed Toy Story 4, so it took my by surprise when Toy Story 5 came out, but let’s celebrate with some Toy Story cross stitch patterns.

This sweet design including Woody, Buzz and Jessie is from The Xstitch Shop, and they actually have a few different Toy Story options. This one says it is for intermediate stitches, probably because of the size and number of colors, but the sales page doesn’t say how big it is or how many colors it uses. It’s still cute, though!

If you’ve got a fan of Jessie in your household, this collection of Jessie themed icons is super cute to stitch. The design is from Mercury Stitches and it measures 97 by 144 stitches. that comes out to 6.9 by 10.3 inches, or 17.6 by 26.1 cm, and uses 11 colors. It has full and half cross stitches, as well as back stitching and French knots.

Share the love of friendship with this sweet Woody and Buzz heart hands cross stitch pattern from Pixell Patterns. This design uses eight colors and is shown worked on 14 count fabric, but the notes don’t indicate how bit is is (based on a finished project photo, though, it looks pretty big).

And for the Buzz Lightyear fans, of course we have to have a “To infinity and beyond” pattern, so here’s one from Silver Lake Stitches. This design is super cute on blue fabric, but use whatever you have. It measures 78 by 92 stitches, which comes out to 5.6 by 6.6 inches, or 14.2 by 16.7 cm, on 14 count fabric. It calls for 14 colors.

Or if you want to go beyond the core three main character toys, check out this project from ThreeOOne Patterns, which includes our main toys as well as Bo Peep and her sheep, Bullseye the horse, the Slinky dog, Rex, Ham, the Potato Heads and an alien. The design is 310 by 80 stitches, which comes out to 21.14 by 3.5 inches, or 53.7 by 8.9 cm, when worked on 14 count fabric. It uses 65 colors. Or pick out your favorite characters to make a smaller project.

All those characters and a few more are found on the mini Toy Story character sampler from Knotalot UK (only part of which is shown above). This one uses 31 colors and measures 134 by 108 stitches. It includes whole and fractional stitches, as well as back stitching. On 14 count fabric stitching the whole thing would make a project that’s 9.57 by 7.71 inches, or 24.31 by 19.59 cm.

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