How to Help Cross-stitchers in Ukraine

The news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has left a lot of people wondering what they can do to support Ukrainians during this terrible time. While of course giving money directly to relief agencies is always a great way to help from afar, a lot of crafters online have been wondering about purchasing digital patterns from Ukrainian designers as a way to directly support individuals doing the crafts we love.

There is some reasonable worry that the banking system isn’t working normally right now, so any payments that are made through Etsy or other places might not reach the designers right away, but it’s also true they will need support for a long time to come.

So if you’d like to buy some patterns from Ukrainian designers, there’s a list on Reddit that can get you started. Laura Chieko at Tarsier Stitches has started a Google doc that includes links to Ukrainian relief organizations and Ukrainian cross stitch designers, with emphasis on those who have been sharing their experiences before and during the invasion. (You can also search for shops on Etsy that are based in Ukraine if you want more options.) She also has a video talking about why she wanted to share this information on YouTube.

I’ll be sharing more designers from Ukraine in the coming weeks but the pattern shown above is from Cloudlet Art, which is based in Ukraine and has several designs based on the Ukrainian flag. Check them out on Etsy.

[Photo: Cloudlet Art.]

Download a free pattern from the DMC website.

(You can also search for shops on Etsy that are based in Ukraine if you want more options.)

I started writing this one as a designer spotlight kind of post, and then I realized when I was almost done with it that I had actually featured this designer before. It was in late 2024, so I’ll forgive myself for forgetting, but it’s worth taking another look at Mama Witch Cross Stitch. It looks like the shop has changed a bit since the last time I looked in, and you all just needed to see this amazing pattern anyway.

In the listing this one is called “whimsical opossum,” because of course it is. This little creature is sporting a straw hat and playing a banjo next to a crock of moonshine and surrounded by a wreath of pumpkins, mushrooms and other fall icons. Clicking through the images, though, I see it’s also called Possum Song, which is also pretty great.

Either way, the design is 144 by 130 stitches, which comes out to 10.29 by 9.29 inches, or about 26 by 23.5 cm on 14 count fabric.

This is not the only possum pattern offered by this shop, but you get the vibe from this one.

And to quickly check in on the rest of the shop, there are a great number of Halloween themed cross stitch patterns here, too, many with a sort of dark whimsy like mermaid skeletons, cat witches and a pumpkin-headed rider on a skeleton unicorn, to name just a few.

Another category worth noting, though it is much smaller, is “sad Victorian ghosts,” which features ghosts (sometimes in Victorian garb, sometimes not) going to the pub and the library, hanging laundry and taking a bath.

There are also a lot of Christmas designs, some sweet and some snarky, and a few creepy ones, too. Other categories include the new for 2026 “sunny patterns” (similar style motifs just with brighter colors and lighter backgrounds), as well as bookmarks and mini cross stitch designs.

[Photo: Mama Witch Cross Stitch]

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