Stitch up a Sweet Diwali Greeting

I try to share cross stitch patterns for lots of different holidays and occasions, even if they aren’t something I’m that familiar with. Thanks to the large Indian population where I live, I have learned a little bit about Diwali through the years and love to share information about this festival of light.

Diwali is all about the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, and it is celebrated by Hindus and other Indian religions. It is celebrated on the Hindu calendar so it moves around between September and November, and the celebrations last for several days.

There are many symbols related to Diwali but one of the most common is the clay lamp or diya, which pays respect to the sun and symbolizes the light of wisdom.

The diya is the focus of this pretty Diwali cross stitch pattern with the sentiment “Spread Light, Spread Joy” and the diya held in two cupped hands.

The design is from Luba Davies Atelier on Etsy, and it measures 125 by 125 stitches. On 14 count fabric that would make it 9 by 9 inches, or 22.68 cm. If you want to make it smaller, using 18 count fabric would make it 7 inches on each side, or 17.64 cm.

I love the look of this using a brightly colored cross stitch fabric, but of course you can use whatever you like and what fits with your decor. You could also change the colors for the hands if you wish to show a darker skin tone.

As it is written the pattern uses 10 colors, and it incorporates full cross stitches, back stitch and French knots.

You can find the pattern on Etsy.

Looking for more Diwali cross stitch patterns? Check out this pattern for a diya, this one showing hanging lanterns and this pretty mandala that’s similar to a Diwali ragnoli.

[Photo: Luba Davies Atelier]

I’ve done embroidery on paper before and it’s a lot of fun. You can use a needle to punch out a particular shape to stitch, or my favorite thing is to take a copy of an old photograph or a page from a magazine and add stitched details to the original picture.

One thing I haven’t tried but would also be fun to do is cross stitching on paper.

This is a technique that requires a fair amount of preparation because you need to find a pattern you can easily transfer and print it at actual size, then use the pattern itself to help you decide where to put the holes in your paper. And then after all that you can do your stitching.

It’s a pretty straightforward process, but Crewel Ghoul has a great tutorial that walks you through how to do it step by step. It even includes a sample pattern you can print out and try for practice.

The post also has tips for starting and finishing your threads so that the back looks as neat as it can, if that’s something that’s important to you. (When I have done embroidery on paper I usually just tape the thread end to the back. If the back were going to show I’d probably just cover it with more paper.)

Stitching on paper is a fun way to make bookmarks or greeting cards, but you also need to make sure your paper is thick enough to support the holes you’ll be making in it. This post has a good rundown of materials you’ll need and what kind of paper is best. She used watercolor paper but I’ve used card stock and scrapbook paper that was a little thicker than the average printer paper.

You can always test a little on the paper you’re considering to make sure it will stand up to the project.

Check out the post, which includes a video, over at Crewel Ghoul for more tips for cross stitching on paper. Is this something you’ve tried before? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

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