Retro Cross Stitch Patterns

October 23, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I don’t know why sometimes random things catch my eye and I decide to do a post about them, but it gives you a little peek into my world and what I’m thinking about, so we’ll go with it.

I think the original design that got me thinking about retro cross stitch patterns was shown to me on Pinterest when I was looking for something else, and I filed it away as something I wanted to post about at some point. As a child of the ’80s I love these designs, and the colors are a lot of fun even if you don’t remember that era. Or you can stitch them for your parents LOL.

The first one was this set of retro TV cross stitch patterns from The Pixel Cottage on Etsy. It shows the test pattern, a fuzzy screen and random pixels that you just had to be there to experience. The full design is 51 by 56 stitches (or about 3.6 by 4 inches) and uses nine colors. These would be cute stitched individually, too.

Home Sewn Stitches on Etsy has another cute collection of retro patterns, but in this case its a set of six designs for a Rubik’s cube, television, floppy disk, slatted sunglasses (don’t even ask), a boombox and a cassette tape (with pencil, of course!). Each of these designs fits in an 8-inch hoop, and they’d be perfect to stitch up for your TV room.

If classic cassettes are your style, Tiny Modernist has a cross stitch pattern that is just cassette tapes with different colors. You can stitch them all together in one project or make them separately. A single one would be perfect to stitch for a birthday card for a friend of a certain age. The full design is 64 by 96 stitches, or about 4.6 by 7.9 inches on 14 count fabric.

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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

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Designer Spotlight: Design For Cross Stitch

If you’re a fan of detailed and colorful cross stitch patterns, Design for Cross Stitch might have a pattern you want to try. This Etsy shop is based in Spain and has more than 50 designs with a focus on animals, holidays and landscapes.

I’m just going to start with the first pattern that caught my eye when I visited the site, which is this Sakura by the Lake project. This pattern is 200 by 200 stitches and the whole background is stitched, so it’s definitely not for a beginner, but it’s stunning and would be amazing to make for someone who loves Japan. Despite the detail it only uses 24 colors. Worked on 14 count fabric it will measure 14.64 inches, or 37.19 cm.

There are a few other landscape designs, including a canal in Venice and a few cabins in the woods.

The shop also has some cute animal cross stitch, with big, round faces and often holding a warm beverage. Holiday projects focus on Christmas and Halloween. Most of the patterns have a cute, chibi-like feel, but there are some that are more detailed and realistic as well. Take for examples the flower patterns, which are full of details and soft colors.

You’ll also find some fun bookmark cross stitch patterns with a watercolor feel, as well as some that look kind of like paint pouring turned into stitches.

If this sort of stuff sounds like fun to you, check out their Etsy store at Design for Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite cross stitch designer who I haven’t featured yet? Let me know in the comments or share more about them by clicking on “suggest a DIY” at the center top of the page and let me know the details. I’d love to share the designers you’re enjoying with a wider audience.

[Photo: Design for Cross Stitch]

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