India-Inspired Cross Stitch Patterns

I try to make an effort to share cross stitch patterns for a range of celebrations through the year, not just ones that I participate in. And one of the celebrations I try to note each year is Holi, which is not the easiest holiday to find things for, since search engines think you’re searching for something else and just don’t know how to spell.

I’ve tried this before and came up with some Holi cross stitch patterns and projects with an Indian flare, and I’ve got more of that today. These would be great for decorating any time of year, of course, whether you’re of Indian heritage or want to remember your travels to that country.

For instance there’s the Little India pattern from Neni Design Crafts on Etsy. This design features Ganesha, the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Temple, Lotus Temple, Hawa Mahal, India Gate, Tomb of Mohammed Shah – Lodhi Garden, Amritsar Golden Temple and the Jantar Mantar observatory. It measures 160 stitches square, which on 14 count fabric comes out to 8.9 inches or 22.6 mm. It uses 29 colors.

MIYA Stitch has another great cross stitch pattern featuring the Taj Mahal on a silhouette of an elephant. This on has sort of Holi colors and the splashes of color around the elephant are reminiscent of the colored powder used in Holi celebrations. This design is 192 by 123 stitches, and it uses 35 colors as well as some blends with those colors.

This lotus flower mandala from Author Embroide Design uses colors I associate with Holi and looks like it would be really fun to stitch. It’s 131 by 263 stitches, which comes out to 8.19 by 16.44 inches, or 20.80 by 41.75 cm and it uses 20 colors.

I’m sure there are lots of pretty lotus flower mandala cross stitch patterns out there, but here’s another one I love from Magic Stitch World. This one has a more muted palette and while it calls for 23 colors, this would also be really pretty done in a few shades of variegated thread to make the stitching a bit easier. It measures 76 by 104 stitches, which is 5.5 by 7.5 inches (13.8 by 18.9 cm) on 14 count fabric.

Next Pattern:

Cross Stitch Patterns to Celebrate Holi

When I was first learning to cross stitch as a teen in the 1990s, I remember there being a lot of beginner kits available where the cross stitch pattern was stamped onto the fabric for you to stitch. This process eliminates the need for a printed pattern because you just stitch the colors as you see them printed on the fabric.

It’s a fun way to get started stitching, but I hadn’t really thought about stamped cross stitch in a while before I came upon this article from Caterpillar Cross Stitch talking about the differences between stamped cross stitch project and regular counted cross stitch patterns and why you might choose one over the other.

It mentions that stamped cross stitch isn’t just for beginners any more. There are actually a lot of designers that do stamped cross stitch with varying degrees of difficulty (and I found this cool tree of life project on Amazon as an example).

One benefit of these kinds of projects is that all the supplies you need are also included, so it can be a good way to build up your thread stash if you don’t use all of the supplies on the project included in the kit.

Of course when it comes to counted cross stitch projects with printed patterns you stitch onto fabric without guidance, there is a lot more variety in the kinds of projects and the skill level involved. Almost anything you are interested in you can find a printed pattern for, which is certainly not the case when it comes to stamped cross stitch patterns.

Still, stamped cross stitch patterns give you a great extra bit of guidance that can help build your confidence, regardless of your skill level.

Have you ever worked a stamped cross stitch pattern? I’d love to know what you think.

[Photo: Fred’s Haberdashery via Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply