Year of the Rabbit Cross Stitch Pattern

The other day I shared a funny rabbit cross stitch pattern to celebrate the year of the rabbit.

This one is no less cute but a little more reflective of the Lunar New Year celebration, featuring lots of the color red and the year on lanterns.

The pattern is from Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and measures 58 by 67 stitches. It comes out to about 4.1 by 4.8 inches on 14-count fabric.

You can purchase the pattern for download from Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

[Photo: Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.]

The Chinese zodiac, which assigns an animal to each year in a 12-year cycle, is based on a traditional Chinese belief that the universe is divided into 12 parts, each associated with a different animal. The 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

The belief in the Chinese zodiac is rooted in ancient Chinese culture and mythology. The animals in the zodiac are believed to have been chosen by the Jade Emperor, who asked all the animals in the kingdom to race across a river. The first 12 animals to arrive at the other side would be rewarded with a place in the zodiac. The story goes that the rat and the cat, both very cunning and clever, asked the ox to help them across the river. However, as they were crossing the ox, the rat pushed the cat out of the way and landed first, becoming the first of the zodiac animals.

Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac is said to have certain characteristics and traits that are associated with the people born in that year. For example, those born in the Year of the Rabbit are believed to be gentle, diplomatic, and good at managing relationships.

Additionally, the Chinese zodiac is also related to the Chinese astrology, in which the animals are also related to the five elements of Chinese astrology: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each year in the zodiac cycle is represented by an animal and one of the five elements, and it is believed that the element associated with the year influences the personality and fortunes of those born in that year.

Chinese zodiac is widely used and recognized in Chinese culture, many people still consult the Chinese horoscope for guidance in everyday life, for example, some people believe that the animal representing the year they were born will have an effect on their personality and future.

I don’t usually cross stitch text or add words to my cross stitch projects. Sometimes I will sign things using basic block lettering worked in backstitch (luckily my initials are pretty easy to stitch), but if you give your cross stitch as a gift or otherwise want to personalize it, adding text is a great way to go.

But if a project didn’t already come with text, and you don’t want to draw your own, you’ll need a good cross stitch font that you can use for your project.

I like collecting fonts that are easy to read and to stitch and that would be good for lots of different uses.

For example I really like this bold alphabet font from Cross Stitch with Art, which has both capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers if you need them for dates or other information on your design. The capital letters are an inch/2.5 cm/14 stitches tall, which makes it easy to figure out how much space you need to leave for them. It’s a nice, basic, readable serif font you can use for lots of project.

If you want a script font that’s still really readable, check out Magic Calligraphy from Soft Pattern Designs. This hand drawn font has upper case letters around 28 stitches tall, with lower case letters mostly being around 20 stitches (though the ones that go up or down a lot like f, p and y are bigger). The numbers also vary a bit in size but range from 25 to 29 stitches.

Sometimes you just want a classic font that looks like sports lettering, and in that case you’re going to need Varsity, an all caps font from Stitch Mod. This one has letters that are 21 stitches tall, and it includes capital letters and numbers. But there are definitely times this one would come in handy!

Another sometimes useful and really cute font is this alphabet block letters alphabet from Stitch Junction. These letters are all upper case and look like classic building blocks, and there are also numbers available. This one would be perfect for a birth announcement project or some other cross stitch for the baby’s room.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out this post with 85 free cross stitch fonts for you to try!

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