St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Cross Stitch Patterns

Gnomes are a fun way to decorate for any holiday, but it seems like they are especially welcome at St. Patrick’s Day. Are gnomes Irish? I don’t know, but they are pretty cute in green.

This one from Favorite Gnome, for example, has a stocking cap covered in shamrocks and long red braids. It uses 21 colors and measures 69 by 111 stitches, which comes out to 12.5 by 20 cm, or 5 by 8 inches on 14 count fabric.

Get some luck of the Irish from your St. Patrick’s Day gnome with this fun design from Neni Design Crafts, which includes a horseshoe and a bag of gold. The design is 80 by 99 stitches, which comes out to 14.5 by 18 cm, or 5.7 by 7.1 inches or 14 count fabric (there are other counts shown in the listing if you want your design to be smaller.

Cross Stitch Foxy adds a beer to their Irish gnome, whose hat has green spots. This one is 72 by 67 stitches and uses 12 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 13 by 12 cm, or 5.2 by 4.8 inches.

Vitalyia Mishchuk’s leprechaun gnome at Cross Stitch Patterns has backstitched shamrocks on his hat and a latte in his hand. It uses 34 colors and comes out to 22.32 by 23.40 cm, or 8.79 x 9.21 inches on 14 count fabric with a stitch count of 123 by 129 stitches. If you like this style she has a whole set of seasonal gnomes that are cheaper to buy as a set.

And if you want to get totally silly with your St. Patrick’s Day cross stitch gnome, check out this design from Piccola Parigi. I really want to call it cheeky even though it’s not that, but we can say thank goodness for a long beard and a well-placed shamrock! The design is 84 by 88 stitches and uses 26 colors. On 14 count fabric that comes out to 6 by 6.29 inches, which is about 15 by 16 cm.

Unique St. Patrick’s Day Cross Stitch Patterns

Funny St. Patrick’s Day Cross Stitch Patterns

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Cross Stitch

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Easter Gnome Cross Stitch Patterns

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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