Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Year of the Horse Cross Stitch Patterns

by

The Lunar New Year begins on Feb. 17, 2026, and ushers in the year of the horse. To celebrate, let’s check out some year of the horse cross stitch patterns. 

This 2026 lunar new year cross stitch pattern from Ptashka Lo reminds me a bit of the Olympics, which is appropriate since the winter Olympics will be taking place during the Lunar New Year. The pattern is 96 by 59 stitches and uses three colors. You can choose different colors for the lettering or the horse and for the background as well. 

Poms and Knots has a pretty pink horse to celebrate the new year. This one includes lanterns and measures 93 by 90 stitches. It’s shown on 16 count fabric which makes the design 5.8 by 5.6 inches, or 14.8 by 14.3 cm. It can be done with two or three colors, and with or without metallic thread as you like. 

This year’s horse is actually the fire horse, so you can honor that, too, with this fire horse cross stitch pattern from Ansta Shops. The pattern uses 11 colors and is 175 by 140 stitches. That comes out to about 12.5 by 10 inches, or 31.8 by 25.4 cm on 14 count fabric. 

Make a horse from red flowers with this striking monochrome design from Stitch Heart UA. It calls for 4 colors and is 95 by 89 stitches, 0r about 6.8 by 6.4 inches/17.3 by 16.2 cm on 14 count fabric.

Use a single shade of red plus white to make Lady Stitchicorn‘s red horse design, which looks like a sketch more than a cross stitch pattern. At 51 by 42 stitches it measures 3.6 by 3.1 inches or a little more than 9 by 7.8 cm, when stitched up on 14 count fabric. The sample shown is 16 count fabric and in a 3-inch hoop. 

Another take on the floral horse comes from Stonelane 1827, which has this lovely single color project that measures 199 by 200 stitches. That comes out to about 14 inches square, or 35.5 cm. 

Or make this one from Care Cross Stitch, which uses the negative space to outline the horse. It uses 3 colors and comes out to about 8 inches/20.32 cm on 16 count fabric. 

I love the My Little Pony vibes of this one from Crossweb. It’s 70 by 70 stitches and uses 12 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 5 inches/12.7 cm square. 

10 Crochet Blankets For Horse Lovers [Crochet]

5 Dream Horse Coloring Pages [Card Making]

6 Free Horse Coloring Pages [Card Making]

A dala horse for Christmas [Needle Work]

Dala Horse Ornament – DIY tutorial [Felting]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Non Stop Stitch

Non Stop Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a dizzying quantity and variety of cross stitch patterns. 

They tend to the cute/whimsical and colorful, with lots of flowers, animals, fantasy designs and some classic Ukraine inspired motifs. 

How about this super sweet Ukrainian boy and girl design? With folk inspired clothing and adorable animals, these characters can be stitched together on one piece or separately. The images were designed by Nadiia Nagorna. The boy measures 50 by 96 and uses 22 colors and blends, while the girl is 62 by 94 stitches and uses 27 colors and blends. 

Both projects involve full and half cross stitches, as well as backstitch and French knots. They are classified as intermediate patterns. 

The largest category on the site is Christmas patterns, with more than 200 options, ranging from cute animals to ornaments, Santas, snowmen and more. There are also plenty of patterns for both Easter and Halloween if you like seasonal stitches. 

In addition you’ll find lots of animal designs, from bears and foxes to cats and dogs, mice and elephants, birds, bunnies and bugs. And extensive flowers and plants section includes pretty bouquet cross stitch patterns, stitched wreaths and seasonal scenes, as well as food cross stitch patterns, like a swag of chili peppers, mushrooms on a postage stamp, persimmons and cherries. 

The fantasy and magic category leans heavy on whimsy with cute dragons, a one-eyed monster with dragonfly wings, a mermaid listening to music, and a green bearded river spirit covered in lily pads. 

And that’s not even to mention other sections like food and drinks, houses and landscapes, lighthouses, people/babies/dolls and more. There’s so much to choose from there’s no way to really categorize it all, so why don’t you head over to Non Stop Stitch and do some scrolling. I’d love to hear if you make one of their patterns!

[Photo: Non Stop Stitch]