Moroccan Lantern Cross Stitch Pattern

I’ve had this pattern in my collection of things to share with you for a while, thinking maybe I would look for more lantern patterns or items with a Moroccan theme to share with you along with it.

But you know what? This design is pretty enough to stand all on its own for a post.

The designer, Vivsters on Etsy, calls these Moroccan lanterns, and I think they’d be great as a decoration in a house with boho style or to use in your house around Ramadan, Diwali or any other holiday that involves lanterns.

The pattern is shown with all of the lanterns overlapping, but when you purchase the pattern you also get individual charts of each lantern so you can stitch them separately, just add one to a project, or stitch them all in a row instead of bunched up together.

But I really like this look of them being all gathered together like they are hanging on a patio. The colors are so lush. The pattern uses 30 colors and six blends to achieve this painterly look, and the designer advises you can use two or three strands of thread together as you like (noting that working with three strands gives a “more luxurious look”).

Speaking of which, check out this post for more on how cross stitches look when you use a different number of threads.

The designer used DMC threads but says they are willing to provide the colors for other thread manufacturers if you have another brand you prefer.

The pattern as shown is 250 by 23o stitches, which comes out to almost 18 by 16.5 inches on 14 count fabric. The designer advises leaving about five inches all around when you frame it.

It’s also suggested to use charcoal, gray or navy fabric, which will allow the lanterns to pop.

You can get this pattern on Etsy.

[Photo: Vivsters]

I don’t usually cross stitch text or add words to my cross stitch projects. Sometimes I will sign things using basic block lettering worked in backstitch (luckily my initials are pretty easy to stitch), but if you give your cross stitch as a gift or otherwise want to personalize it, adding text is a great way to go.

But if a project didn’t already come with text, and you don’t want to draw your own, you’ll need a good cross stitch font that you can use for your project.

I like collecting fonts that are easy to read and to stitch and that would be good for lots of different uses.

For example I really like this bold alphabet font from Cross Stitch with Art, which has both capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers if you need them for dates or other information on your design. The capital letters are an inch/2.5 cm/14 stitches tall, which makes it easy to figure out how much space you need to leave for them. It’s a nice, basic, readable serif font you can use for lots of project.

If you want a script font that’s still really readable, check out Magic Calligraphy from Soft Pattern Designs. This hand drawn font has upper case letters around 28 stitches tall, with lower case letters mostly being around 20 stitches (though the ones that go up or down a lot like f, p and y are bigger). The numbers also vary a bit in size but range from 25 to 29 stitches.

Sometimes you just want a classic font that looks like sports lettering, and in that case you’re going to need Varsity, an all caps font from Stitch Mod. This one has letters that are 21 stitches tall, and it includes capital letters and numbers. But there are definitely times this one would come in handy!

Another sometimes useful and really cute font is this alphabet block letters alphabet from Stitch Junction. These letters are all upper case and look like classic building blocks, and there are also numbers available. This one would be perfect for a birth announcement project or some other cross stitch for the baby’s room.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out this post with 85 free cross stitch fonts for you to try!

Have you read?