Stitch a Bookmark Covered with Autumn Leaves

I’m going to be on a leave kick here for a little while because I’m so excited they’re finally turning and falling a little bit where I live.

This little cross-stitch leaf panel from Nancy Spruance Designs is perfect as a bookmark, and you can make the leaves all green, all fall colors or show a transition from green to brown or anything in between. She suggests colors to make the leaves transition as shown, but you can do whatever you like. Maybe even try a variegated thread to make color changes within the leaves easier.

I turned the chart sideways to make the picture fit our blog better, and you likewise could work the leaves in any direction, even lining them up tip to stem if you want.

You could also run a repeating pattern of leaves down the center of a table runner, or even use the leaves as a “frame” for another fall-themed cross-stitch project.

[Photo via Nanacy Spruance Designs.]

Looking for more Bookmark charts and cross-stitch patterns? Check these out on Etsy

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Fall Leaf Cross Stitch Patterns

The designs from Bella Rose Craft look like they would be good for beginner cross stitchers and others who like relatively simple and small designs that are quick to finish for gifts or decor.

I’ll mention up front that this Etsy shop based in Indiana has no organization whatsoever. There are two categories: kits and patterns. So it’s a bit of a treasure hunt to find what you might be interested in.

As mentioned there are lots of minis and small looking projects with simple lines and minimal colors. There are holiday projects, animals, summer motifs like palm trees and beach umbrellas, a bathtub with a rubber duck, some text based designs (like hoppy spring and merry and bright), some biblical and religious designs, flowers, bunting and more.

On a site like this its difficult to pick something representative of the whole page, but I liked this bees and beehive design, so it’s the one I picked to share. This one illustrates a lot of my general points about the patterns from this shop. It’s small (2.79 by 2.57 inches, or about 7 by 6.5 cm on 14 count fabric), it looks like it’s all whole cross stitches and probably uses only six colors, and a couple of colors are only used for a handful of stitches.

Of the 300 plus cross stitch patterns available as of this writing, 140 are also available as cross stitch kits. These would be great to give as gifts if you’re trying to get someone interested in cross stitching. The kits include the pattern, fabric and floss, and you can choose to have it include a needle or not. The hoop is not included but the patterns explain what kind of hoop is shown if you want to get one to match.

So if you’re looking for cute, beginner friendly patterns for yourself or you’re trying to be a crafty enabler for someone else, check out Bella Rose Craft on Etsy.

[Photo: Bella Rose Craft]

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