Pumpkin Cross Stitch Patterns

I feel the urge to rush fall along this year and kind of want to head right into spooky season (thus the posts about haunted houses and ghosts!) but I know we should also take a moment to give fall its due. And I do love fall, which is why I shared some fall leaf cross stitch patterns, too.

I thought one way to celebrate fall without getting too Halloween would be to look for some pumpkin cross stitch patterns that aren’t jack o’lanterns. These can be used to decorate all the way through Thanksgiving, and some of the little ones you could even stitch on cloth napkins for your holiday table, like the mini pumpkin pattern from Craft with Cartwright.

This one is just 39 by 36 stitches, or less than 3 inches around, and it uses three colors.

The individual pumpkins in this pumpkin sampler could be stitched individually on smaller projects if you wanted. It’s from Cross with Me on Etsy and features plain pumpkins in different colors and plaid pumpkins. As shown it measures 7.5 by 7.36 inches and is 105 by 103 stitches. It uses five colors.

One cool thing about cross stitch is that you can use designs made for other crafts to make cross stitch projects. For example, beading charts also use squares and you can stitch the same pattern just fine. This pumpkin stack from Bracelet Book includes the word Boo but you could just stitch those areas in the same color as the pumpkin if you want to keep it plain.

Demented Stitchers on Etsy has a pretty pumpkin cross stitch pattern that looks like it was stenciled. This is a great one for beginners to try as it’s only 71 by 76 stitches, or about 4.4 by 4.7 inches on 14 count fabric, and it uses three colors.

For a bit of a fancier look, try this scroll pumpkin pattern from Annie’s. It’s rated easy and it looks like it uses about five colors.

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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

If you like repeating cross stitch designs, borders you can use on other projects or as bookmarks, florals and Japanese-inspired designs, you’ll want to check out 200 Japanese Cross Stitch Designs by Saeko Endo. This collection of 200 cross stitch charts is low on instruction but big on inspiration for those who are comfortable taking a chart and running with it.

The book includes a brief introduction to the needed supplies and basics of stitching, but mostly is just photographs of finished designs and the charts that go with them. The charts vary widely in size and there can be anywhere from one to six charts printed on a single page.

Many of the designs are repeating patterns, but the chart shows a larger version so you can see how the repeats go together. Each chart has marked what portion is repeating and how many stitches and rows it includes. Other than that the charts are not numbered, but there are darker lines every five rows to help you count.

The patterns all range from one to three colors, and some include half cross stitches or back stitching, but most are full stitches.

The book is arranged into categories of motifs: geometric patterns, retro patterns, traditional Japanese patterns, floral and fauna and borders and pictorial motifs.

My favorites are the Japanese designs, many of which are recognizable from woodcuts, kimono designs and traditional shashiko embroidery. You’ll find cherry blossoms, suns, knots, and simple line designs that would be lots of fun to stitch.

There are a few pages devoted to different ways to modify charts such as changing colors, changing the way to design is repeated, flipping and rotating designs.

Other than that you’re on your own for how you actually want to use these designs. Of course they can just be stitched and framed but it might have been nice to see some of the projects stitched and staged in a way you might use them in everyday life (repeating motifs as coasters, or a bigger design turned into a pillow, for example).

Sometimes it helps to see designs used in different ways to get you thinking about how you might use them yourself. If you don’t need that creative push, this is a fine book full of patterns you’ll have fun playing with in different ways.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 200 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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