DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Winter Cross Stitch Patterns

A beginner cross stitch patterns for children to make for winter!  The pattern (with words) works well as a bookmark on 11 or 14 count aida cloth (though those counts are a bit harder for the kids to use as the stitches are smaller).  Without words it gives a square result that makes a nice picture on plastic canvas or 6 count aida (terrific for beginners!).

The words on these projects require backstitching.  If you're just starting to learn cross stitch, you can skip the words.

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!  It does make the project take a lot longer.

Materials:

• printer,
• paper,
• embroidery floss (see the template for recommendations for the colors needed)
  • feel free to substitute colors!
    • ex:  silver for the snowflake instead of light blue.
• Aida cloth with a low number (6 count Aida is 6 stitches per inch while 10 count is 10 stitches per inch...  The lower the number, the bigger the project ends 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 cross stitch template of choice.
• 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.

Printable Craft Templates:

• After printing, close the template window to return to the main page.
• If the template doesn’t fit on one page, adjust your printer margins:
  • In most browsers: Print → More settings → Margins → Minimum
  • Or use Page Setup / Printer Setup in your printer dialog

Snowflake   (color)   or   (B&W)

Printable version of these instructions