Year of the Dragon Cross Stitch Patterns

The coming new year is the year of the dragon in Chinese astrology, so let’s celebrate with some year of the dragon cross stitch patterns.

The green dragon cross stitch pattern from Creative House Pattern (via Etsy) also features the year prominently, with a landscape worked into the numbers and the dragon perched on top. It’s not super traditional, but still fun. This one is 112 by 84 stitches and uses eight colors.

I always love the Chinese New Year patterns from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, and the year of the dragon one is no exception. Include the year at the top or leave it off for a decoration you can pull out every 12 years! The pattern actually comes with all the numbers so if you want to personalize it with the birth year of a dragon in your life that would also be fun.

For a more traditional Chinese dragon look to your year of the dragon cross stitch, try this pattern from The Art of Cross Stitch on Etsy. The pattern is worked in three colors and measures 6 by 8 inches on 14 count fabric (80 by 103 stitches).

Or make this gorgeous red and gold dragon from Care Cross Stitch. It comes out to 8 inches/20.3 cm on 16 count fabric and uses three colors. I think this would look especially cool if you used metallic thread for the gold circle around the outside of the project.

You can also stitch the zodiac symbol for a dragon rather than the dragon itself, as in this pattern from Holly’s Hobbies UK. This one uses a single color and is about 50 by 50 stitches, or 3.6 inches/9 cm square on 14 count fabric.

And if you want a project that will last you the entirety of the year of the dragon, check out this amazing dragon from Unconventional X-Stitch. At 317 by 516 stitches and a whopping 87 colors, this project would be a true labor of love but such an amazing work of art to have in your home through the year of the dragon and beyond.

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Year of the Rabbit Cross Stitch Pattern

I recently wrote a post on my blog about using a stitchable journal cover and I mentioned that you can make your own stitched cover for a journal by using perforated paper instead of buying a stitchable notebook.

I have to admit, though, that I’ve never used perforated paper for cross stitch myself. I definitely want to because I think it would be great to use for bookmarks that don’t fray and have a little more stability, for example.

Sirious Stitches has us covered, though, because they did a deep dive into all things perforated cross stitch pattern that is worth the time to read through.

The post mentions that a lot of people use perforated paper for cross stitch because they buy an ornament kit that uses it. I’ve never seen these (or at least never noticed that that is what they were) but it’s a great idea to make small projects like ornaments in this way. It also talks about the pros and cons of using cross stitch paper, where to buy it and how to make your own.

Making it yourself is an awesome idea because if you already have a pattern in mind you can just make holes in your paper where you need stitches to be and leave the rest solid. This would be ideal for making greeting cards, for example.

In addition to kits and sheets you can often find the paper pre-cut into different shapes you can use to make your own designs, no real pattern required.

The post also includes tips and advice for how to stitch on perforated paper that you’ll want to check out before you try your first project.

I’m super intrigued by the idea of using perforated paper for cross stitch and will probably be trying it out soon. Have you used it before? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Check out the post over at Sirious Stitches for more information.

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

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