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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Fall Leaf Cross Stitch Patterns

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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