Review: Cross Stitch for the Earth

If you’re a fan of a nature theme or know a nature lover you want to stitch for, Cross Stitch for the Earth by Emma Congdon has some fun options for you.

The 20 projects in this book include pro-environment sayings and projects featuring animals and nature scenes. Each pattern includes an overview of the stitch count, how many threads were used to stitch the project, finished size and a shopping list. The charts are spread out on two to four pages, so they are pretty good sized for easy reading (only the smallest designs are shown on just one page).

One of my favorites is one illustrating the quote “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” This project is 130 by 190 stitches, and uses 27 colors to illustrate a bear, eagles, whales, jellyfish, mountains and more.

Another cute one is “the world is full of magic,” which includes Arctic animals like polar bears, seals and a narwhal. It is 131 by 197 stitches and uses 25 colors.

There are a couple of round projects that are somewhat smaller (100 by 100 or 101 stitches) that fit in a round hoop for display, such as one with trees and the saying “take care of the earth and she will take care of you.” You’ll also find a set of four little hoops around the 65 by 65 stitch range that would be perfect for hanging in your recycling area, with sentiments like “Earth Day every day” and “Less plastic is fantastic.”

There’s also a stunning and colorful four seasons sample that includes animals and natural scenes. It’s 200 by 130 stitches and uses 23 colors, and would be so fun for a kid’s library or homeschooling space.

The book includes an overview of supplies to help you get started at the front of the book, and a techniques section at the back that includes tips on preparing fabric, how to cross stitch and back stitch, following charts and more helpful info. There’s also a chart at the back listing the DMC and Anchor numbers for all the threads used in the book if you want to substitute.

Cross Stitch for the Earth is a great book for nature lovers and environmentalists who want to illustrate quotes about nature in beautiful stitches.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 20 patterns. Published 2021 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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30 Bookmarks To Cross Stitch For Kids

The other day I shared some cross stitch patterns with ornaments on them, so this time around I wanted to share cross stitch patterns that you can use as ornaments. It would be fun to do a whole tree in your craft room with cross stitch ornaments, or just add a few to your tree or give them as gifts.

These little quilt inspired cross stitch patterns from Flamingo Toes look like ornaments and fit in 3-inch hoops, which are perfect for hanging on the tree or using to decorate a gift. I love the pastel colors on these but you can use more traditional Christmas colors if you like.

This cute Christmas tree from Lagodargetoshop uses a single color and fits in a 4-inch hoop, but you could make it smaller if you wanted by trimming the last ornaments and gifts from the sides, or just stitch the tree without any other embellishments. Either way it’s a cute addition to your holiday tree.

Stitched Modern has a super cute collection of retro Christmas ornament cross stitch patterns from designer Gera. This is a printed pattern that will be shipped to you. Each pattern is about 40 by 56 stitches, or 2.9 by 4 inches/7.4 by 10 cm on 14 count fabric. To work the whole set you’ll need 20 colors of floss.

These snowflake ornaments from Our Little Handmade Home are each about 2.5 inches/6.4 cm when stitched on 14 count fabric, and they use a single color of floss. They are pretty in red but you could also do white on a blue or black background, or whatever suits your other Christmas tree decorations!

From the description it sounds like this set of vintage style cross stitch characters is presented as one large chart, but the photo from Sampler Antique Stitch shows each of them stitched up as their own little ornament, so it gets included here. You’ll find Santa and snowmen in different poses in this cute collection.

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