Temperature Cross Stitch Patterns

As the turn of a new year happens it seems like lots of people are thinking about different ways to document the year to come. One crafty project that has become a popular way to chart a year is temperature projects.

I feel like these started with knitting and crochet, choosing a color for each temperature range and working a row of the color that corresponds to the high temperature for that day. But cross stitchers have taken on this project idea, too, and honestly these patterns only scratch the surface of what’s out there.

You can make your daily high temperature a leaf on a branch of a tree (one branch for each moth of the year) with this design using 20 colors from Stitchin Mommy.

Or make each month a flower with this one from Zahra Design Studio. It has a range of 30 colors and suggests using the high or the average temperature for each day.

I have shared this one before but I love the potion shelf temperature cross stitch pattern from Teeny Weeny X Stitch because it’s not as obviously a temperature project. There are lots of little details and different shaped bottles to keep it interesting all year.

Keep track of both the highs and lows each day with this pattern from Kristi’s Corner Needle, which uses two color birds to track each day. Each row of birds represents a month.

Or make each day a tiny heart with this design from Apricot Polka Dot. The hearts change orientation from day to day and each is only five stitches, so it’s pretty low commitment to keep up with.

You can also make your temperature project a row of colorful cats, thanks to K Sew Creations By Kim; track the temperature and the phases of the moon with Tiny Stitchery Co’s design; or make a fun galaxy motif with this pattern from Climbing Goat Designs. So many fun ideas!

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]

Have you read?