Mardi Gras Cross Stitch Patterns

If you’re from Louisiana or just love celebrating Mardi Gras/Carnival season, these Mardi Gras cross stitch patterns are for you.

First off has to be these good enough to eat Mardi Gras cupcakes. The design is from Laser Arts Designs and they don’t say exactly how many colors are in each piece but they range from 20 to 25 maximum. It measures 205 by 126 stitches, which comes out to 14.6 by 9 inches/37.2 by 22.9 cm on 14 count fabric, or 12.8 by 7.9 inches/32.5 by 20 cm on 16 count.

The fleur de lis is a classic symbol of Mardi Gras, even more so when it’s worked in purple, green and gold like this design from Manuels Hobby Barn. This pattern uses five colors and has a design area of 222 by 244 stitches. On 14 count fabric that comes to 15.9 by 17.4 inches, or 40.3 by 44.2 cm.

Speaking of fleur de lis, this Louisiana love cross stitch pattern is super sweet and includes the outline of the state and a fleur de lis. It’s worked in four colors, and the pattern listing says they used 12 count fabric (if you use 14 it will just be a little smaller). The listing doesn’t give the size but you can check it out at Emmas Art and Design Co.

Keep your books in the holiday spirit by stitching up a Mardi Gras bookmark. This one from Povitruly Handmade uses 16 count fabric and 7 colors. It comes out to 31 by 103 stitches and they suggest using a piece of cloth that’s 10 by 20 cm (that’s 4 by 8 inches) and the pattern includes finishing instructions for turning it into a bookmark.

This last one is really just an idea that you can use in lots of different ways for Mardi Gras and beyond. It’s a Mardi Gras bead border that comes from Silverberry DesignsFL, and while it’s shown in yellow, green and purple you could change the beads to any colors you like for other holidays or just to make a fun border on a different project. As shown it is 126 by 98 stitches, which covers 9 by 7 inches or 22.9 by 17.8 cm, but the pattern repeats regularly so you could make it smaller or larger as you need.

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Colorful Mardi Gras Cross Stitch Patterns

This post is inspired by a post I saw over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch about why small cross stitch patterns are great, but I can tell you my own stories of cross stitching woes, too.

I have always been a fan of small projects because I just don’t have that much stamina when it comes to cross stitch (or much else). I feel like an hour of knitting or crocheting gets you a lot more to show for your time than an hour of cross stitch, especially when you’re working on a complicated project.

Which is why a project I started for my daughter probably more than a year ago is still unrecognizable as its subject because I’ve barely done any work on it. (I’d like it to be done either for her birthday in September or for Christmas, so I’d better get over my big-project issues and get to stitching.)

The post covers a lot of reasons to love small projects, including that they are light on your budget (both monetary and time wise). It also looks at the basic supplies you need for projects big or small and gives you lots of ideas for how to use small cross stitch projects as decor or to make into gifts.

There are also tips for success when working on small projects. You might think it’s fine to rush but attention to detail is super important when you’re working on a small scale because a misplaced stitch or two can really make a difference when there are relatively few stitches in your project to start with.

Check out the post over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch, and let me know what you love about small cross stitch patterns. Or if you’re a fan of the epic projects, let me know that, too. Maybe you’ll convince me to give it more of a try!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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