Cross-Stitch

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Cross Stitch Patterns

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an important holiday in the United States acknowledging the civil rights movement and King’s legacy of both nonviolent resistance and pushing against the system in the hope of changing things for the better for everyone.

Working a cross stitch pattern inspired by Martin Luther King would give you a lot of time to think about his legacy and a tangible reminder of all the work there still is to do in America and elsewhere to achieve true equality. Maybe you can stitch while listening to some of his speeches or watching a documentary about his life and legacy.

I love this MLK portrait from Eccentric Avenue on Etsy. It comes out to 10 by 8 inches on 14 count fabric and can be worked as a cross stitch, needlepoint or petit point pattern. 

Twin Stitch Studios adds a famous quote to their portrait of King, which comes out to 110 by 107 stitches or 6.9 by 6.7 inches on 16 count fabric.

The same quote is worked onto a classic sampler style design in this project from Stone Street Stitch. I like the juxtaposition of old-fashioned stitching with a timeless quote. This design is 93 by 131 stitches, which comes out to 6.5 by 9.4 inches on 14 count fabric.

And lest we forget King the radical, we’ve also got a cross stitch reminder that a riot is the language of the unheard. This one is from Bitchin Stitchin and fits in a 6-inch hoop when stitched on 14 count fabric. And this one from preseverate, with a reminder that America is still a racist country. This one is really big, so the designer recommends stitching it on 20 or 22 count fabric (and even on 22 count its still 13.7 by 5.3 inches at 301 by 116 stitches). The good news is it only uses one color of thread,  but you’re going to need a lot of it!

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Stardew Valley Cross Stitch Patterns

So many people love the game Stardew Valley, and lot of cross stitch patterns have been inspired by the villages, animals and other aspects of the game. Let’s take a look at some cute Stardew Valley cross stitch patterns.

Let’s start by getting the lay of the land with this Stardew Valley map cross stitch pattern from Not Another Stitcher. The pattern is 308 by 188 stitches. The pattern listing doesn’t indicate how many colors are used, but I’m guessing it’s a lot. It does say they are all whole stitches.

There are lots of cute characters in the game that you can stitch. If you want a little sampler of some of the villagers, check out this pattern from Pixel and Node Com. If I can count right it uses 35 colors and it measures 75 by 111 stitches, which comes out to 5.36 by 7.93 inches/13.6 by 20.1 cm.

Want more options? Pale Garden Store has a larger collection of Stardew Valley villagers to stitch, with 36 characters. Stitch the whole bunch or just choose your favorites to make a smaller project. 

Speaking of lots of options, this collection of Stardew Valley animals and symbols includes more than 100 designs for everything from ducks to cows, multiple positions for cats to be in and emotes to make them expressive. The patterns are from Vital Wonder.

Stitch up some rainbow colored Junimos along with leaves and a flower in this design from Okhami Studios. The design is 100 by 100 stitches and uses 30 colors. If worked on 14-count fabric it will fit in a 9-inch frame.

You can create scenes from Stardew Valley in every season with a set of designs from Fancy Foxglove. Each is sold separately but there’s one for each season featuring the world around your little house. Shown here is summer, with oranges and butterflies in the trees. You have the option of stitching a cat or a dog on the bench. The design is 128 by 127 stitches and uses 47 colors. On 18-count fabric it comes out to about 7 inches/18 cm square.