Valentine’s Day Bookmarks to Cross Stitch

Making little projects for Valentine’s Day is a lot of fun, and if you’ve got a book lover on your list, you can stitch them a heart-filled valentine bookmark.

I made one a few years ago (this is a great beginner cross stitch project because you don’t even need cross stitch fabric, you can just use burlap ribbon) and I use it all the time. It’s a really nice size (about 8 inches long) but you can make yours shorter if you like and just stitch fewer hearts on it. I like that it has different colored hearts on it, too, but you could make them all the same color or use variegated thread to get a different look.

Looking for other options? I found this cute one from Mollie Johanson at the Spruce that has little filled in hearts and outlined hearts that are a little wider. Hers uses 16 count fabric folded back on itself to cover the back. You can customize the size depending on how wide you make your fabric, and you could also add or remove hearts from this one if you want.

The Venn diagram for book lovers and cat lovers is pretty much a circle, so why not combine both with this Valentine and cat themed bookmark? The design is from Stitching Fairy Crafts on Etsy and includes a black cat and hearts. It measures 105 by 30 stitches and it looks like it uses four colors. The pattern includes finishing instructions to make it a bookmark, or you can frame it.

Or how about some word art on your bookmark for your valentine? This on features love written in script with a little drop shadow. It’s worked over 112 by 34 stitches, which is about 8 by 2.5 inches on 14 count fabric, and uses three colors. The design is great for beginners and is sold by Cross Stitch with Art on Etsy.

Next Pattern:

Cross Stitch Patterns Featuring a Heart Shape

I recently shared a review of the book Lit Stitch, and in the lengthy introductory materials there were a few paragraphs — enough to warrant their own heading — about how, or more accurately, whether, to fix mistakes in your cross stitch.

The conclusion was that for the most part no one will notice if, for instance, you stitch the wrong color for a stitch or two in a project that has many colors all worked together.

“No one else will notice” is used as reasoning for not fixing mistakes in knitting, crochet and other crafts, too, and I think that’s valid, as long as you also don’t notice.

If you know enough about yourself to know that every time you wear a sweater or look at a finished cross stitch project your eye will be drawn to that errant purl stitch or the extra stitch, by all means, fix it. Especially in cross stitch, if the mistake is minor, it shouldn’t take long to fix and you’ll feel a lot better about your project.

Of course, there are also times other people might notice a mistake. Say you’re stitching letters and you add an extra stitch or two on one side so now the letter doesn’t match the others. Again, easy fix to remove those extra stitches, so go ahead and do it while you can.

I also subscribe to the rule from the drama that anything that can’t be seen from the seats doesn’t matter on stage. Maybe in a house it’s the six-foot rule. Stand as far away from your piece as you think a person is likely to be close to it when it’s on display. If you can’t see any mistakes, there aren’t any mistakes.

I’d love to hear how you deal with mistakes in your cross-stitching, or if you consider them mistakes at all!

[Photo: y x from Pixabay]

Get the book here: Lit Stitch