Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

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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Halloween Sampler Cross Stitch Patterns

Stitch up something a little different for your Halloween decor with these Halloween sampler cross stitch patterns. From the traditional to the slightly offbeat, I think there’s something for almost everyone here. 

This cute little sampler from Juko Patterns includes a haunted house, black cats, spiders, bats and pumpkins, a skeleton, crow and ghost among other delights. The design is 142 by 150 stitches and uses 7 colors. On 14 count fabric the design comes out to 10.1 by 10.7 inches or 25.8 by 27.2 cm. 

ONESEO has a cute vintage style Halloween sampler with cats, pumpkins, ghosts, a witch, spider web, potion bottles and other cute designs. This would be a fun one to stitch as is or to pull out little details to use in different projects. Or both! As shown the design is 200 by 200 stitches and uses 16 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 14.3 inches square or 36.3 cm. 

Another cute Halloween design is this October sampler from Sosae Caetano. This sweet design full of pumpkins, candy corn, ghosts and witch hats looks easy to stitch and comes out to 4.75 by 8 inches (that’s about 12 by 20 cm) on 14 count fabric. The pattern notes don’t say but it looks like it uses 7 colors. 

This All Hallows Eve samplers form Autumn Andrea features an alphabet, a black cat, a few crows and pumpkins, and other elements like a cauldron, skeleton and owl. This one is a gigantic 437 by 352 stitches, which comes out to 31.21 by 25.14 inches, or 79.27 by 63.85 cm on 14 count fabric. It calls for 28 colors. If that all sounds like too much you could always just stitch a portion such as the cat or one of the crows to add to your Halloween display. 

On the traditional but still kind of silly side of the spectrum, there’s this Plum Street Samplers design called Grim Gourds, featuring some grumpy looking pumpkins, a black bird and an alphabet. This one is a printed pattern sold by Hollis Hands Create, and the pattern measures 97 by 90 stitches and uses five colors. 

The Colours of Halloween design from Stitchrovia never fails to make me smile and want to look closer. It features squares of different colors and patterns and their Halloween meaning, from a full moon to a magic potion, candy corn and slime. Such a fun idea! It measures 119 by 180 stitches, and uses 24 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 8.4 by 12. 9 inches, or 21.4 by 32.8 cm.