Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Make Stitching Big Charts Easier by Gridding Your Fabric

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how to grid cross stitch fabric

This is a super brilliant thing to do if you are working on a large cross stitch project and getting a little lost or your stitches aren’t ending up quite where they are supposed to be.

When working from a large chart you can make grid lines on your cross-stitch fabric and on your chart, which makes it so much easier to find where you are in the pattern and where your stitches need to go as you are working.

Peacock and Fig has a full tutorial on how to do this. I feel like this makes it a little easier to work without having to be completely focused at every moment; just pay attention to the section of the grid that you are on.

Have you ever gridded your cross stitch fabric, or do you like to live dangerously? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Peacock and Fig.]

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Have you read?

Mini Pumpkins and Jack o’Lanterns to Cross Stitch

I just can’t resist sharing a few more Halloween cross stitch patterns when they are as cute and quick to stitch as these!

This boo cross stitch from Luzatolye was the first little Halloween cross stitch pattern to catch my eye. I love the pumpkin Os! At just 23 by 8 stitches and using four colors, you can stitch it up in no time. On 14 count fabric it measures 1.6 by.5 inches, or about 4 by 1.27 cm. 

Another cutie from the same designer is this jack o’lantern with a witch hat. Another four-color project, this one is 14 by 18 stitches, which is an inch by just a little more than an inch, or around 3 cm square, worked on 14 count fabric. 

If you like your minis a little bit bigger, this jack o’lantern with leaves is from White Protea Art and measures 47 by 28 stitches. That comes out to 3.4 by 2 inches, or 8.5 by 5.1 cm, when stitches on 14 count fabric. It uses nine colors. 

Or there’s also this little cutie from that same designer. I love the little leaf on top of the pumpkin. At 33 by 36 stitches, it comes out to 2.4 by 2.6 inches, or 6 by 6.5 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric. I think it uses around eight colors. 

Template Love Create also has two mini jack o’lantern cross stitch patterns that I like (I swear I didn’t plan to do two from each of the same designers, it’s just the whimsy of an Etsy search!). There’s one that is more round and one that’s oblong, which I like because it’s different from most of the pumpkin patterns you see. The pattern listings say both are six colors (though they look like four to me) and 28 by 28 stitches, but I don’t think that can be true. Either way they both fit in a 3 inch hoop and would be a super cute little addition to your Halloween decor.