DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Cross Stitch for Mom

Two beginner cross stitch patterns for children to make for mother's day!  The first pattern (large heart) works great with plastic canvas or aida cloth.  The second pattern would be best with a small count Aida cloth (6 or 8)

I rate these projects as Age 10+ as they take quite a time commitment.  Unless your child is quite committed to crafting (or to making something for mom), I wouldn't recommend you try it much younger... having said that, my 6 year old daughter loved doing the first one on a plastic canvas.

To learn more about cross stitching, check out our "How to Cross Stitch" directions.

When I do these projects with the girls, I encourage them fill in the white backgrounds with white cross stitch instead of leaving it unstitched.  The long rows of single colored stitches are terrific practice.  But it's completely up to you!

Materials:

• printer,
• paper,
• embroidery floss (see the template for recommendations for the colors needed)
  • feel free to substitute colors!
    • If your child wants an orange flower don't get stuck... just substitute orange floss for the dark pink.
    • If you have left over floss lying around you can use that too (ex:  black for the mouth instead of purple).
• Aida cloth with a low number (6 count Aida is 6 stitches per inch while 14 count is 14 stitches per inch...  The lower the number, the bigger the project (and the stitches) end up being and the easier it is for a beginner to complete)
  OR
• plastic canvas.
• embroidery hoop (a must! unless you're using plastic canvas).
• needle (20 or 22 work well, but any that fit 3 strands of floss will do).

Instructions:

• Print out the template of choice (we have two different templates to choose from).
• Fold cloth in half and then in half again to find the center.
• Place hoop around cloth.  Start as close to center as you can.
• Cut about 18 inch pieces of floss and divide in half (so you have 3 strands of floss to work with).
• Start cross stitching!  To learn more about cross stitching, check out our "How to Cross Stitch" directions.

Craft Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

"Mom" in large heart Template  easiest

I "Heart" Mom with flowers Template

Printable version of these instructions