Jack o’Lantern Cross Stitch Patterns

The other day I shared some cross stitch patterns for pumpkins, but if you’re ready to stitch up some fun for spooky season, here’s a little collection of jack o’lantern cross stitch patterns to get you started. (Of course, uncarved pumpkins are perfect for now through Thanksgiving, but it’s always good to have options.

This easy jack o’lantern cross stitch pattern from StitchnSkulls on Etsy is worked on black cross stitch fabric so all you have to do it stitch the face. This one is perfect for framing in a round hoop (you’ll need a 4-inch hoop since the design itself is about 2.9 by 2.6 inches, and you want space around it). In total the design is 41 by 36 stitches and uses one color.

Another easy Halloween cross stitch pattern is this little jack o’lantern from Bella Rose Crafts on Etsy. It’s just a basic carved pumpkin, with a little bit of stem and vine, but in this case basic is also really cute. This one is also shown on a 4-inch hoop though the design is a little bit smaller at 2.07 by 2.21 inches.

Craft with Cartwright’s free pumpkin cross stitch pattern looks like a treat bucket complete with handle. It uses two colors and measures about 2.6 by 3 inches on 14 count fabric.

Make an array of pumpkin faces for a single project, or use them individually, with this design from Etsy seller CrossStitchFoxy. It’s shown with orange fabric and the pumpkins stitched in black, but you could also do the opposite, or use white or ercu and pumpkins of any color you like. The full design is 82 by 82 stitches, or 5.8 inches square.

I already shared a collection of black cat cross stitch patterns, but here’s another one that also fits over here. The Pumpkin Patch Big Stitch design is from Kooler Studio (designed by Barbara Baatz Hillman) and available from LoveCrafts. It features a black cat with a jack o’lantern and is 57 by 40 stitches.

One of the easiest ways to make a cross stitch project more personal is to add text to it. Whether you’re adding the names of people getting married to a generic floral cross stitch design, birth information to a project on theme with the new baby’s room or just adding a word or phrase that’s meaningful to you, adding words to cross stitch projects make them that much more special.

But if you’re not working with a project that already has text built in, or you want to change the text that’s there, that can feel a little daunting.

Caterpillar Cross Stitch has a great guide to adding names and words (as well as numbers) to projects, which talks you through what to consider and how to actually go about adding text to a cross stitch project successfully.

You’ll need to think about what kind of font you want to use and if you’re using back stitched letters or larger filled letters, how much space you need and how the letters work together in the text you’re planning to make sure it’s readable.

Their post includes common pitfalls such as running out a space or ending up with text that’s off center and how to avoid them (spoiler: chart out your text before you stitch!).

The whole post is really helpful if you’ve never added lettering to a project before and don’t know where to start. I like to use block letters in back stitch when learning how to add text to cross stitch, but of course there are tons of lettering options. Check out this collection of cross stitch fonts if you want to see some different things you can try.

And head over to Caterpillar Cross Stitch to get more tips for how to successfully add lettering to your cross stitch projects. They also have their own alphabet and number charts you can buy to add text to your stitching.

Have you ever added text to a cross stitch project? I’d love to hear how it went!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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