Home Sweet Home Cross Stitch - Free sewing patterns

While we adore discovering new ways of embellishing our homes, there’s something so satisfying about recreating traditional techniques. Amanda Walker’s framed embroidery hits the sweet spot between individuality and retro charm, showcasing the ease and accessibility of cross-stitch. It’s compact and straightforward, so it’s ideal as a first project, and the choice of fabric gives it a vintage quality that will feel as though it has always been a part of your living space. Hoop-hoop hurrah!

Essentials

Aida fabric, oatmeal
Six-stranded embroidery thread, various colours
Embroidery hoop, 15cm

1 Cut a square of Aida large enough to fit the embroidery hoop. Place between the two layers of the frame and pull so the fabric is flat, tightening the outer hoop. Separate two strands from a length of coloured thread and thread an embroidery needle.

2 Work outwards from the centre of the canvas, using the chart. Pass the needle from the back through the lower left hole of a square, leaving 2.5cm of thread behind. Sew through the top-right hole and over to the lower left of the next. Continue in this manner, then reverse to complete the stitches, working from right to left.

3 For the stems of the flowers, use a backstitch in a dark green embroidery thread. Bring the needle up from the back and sew across the square, or move diagonally across the square and through, miss a square and bring the needle out, then stitch backwards to create a continual line.

4 When you have completed the cross stitch, sew a broken circular border around the edge using three strands and a running stitch. For precision, draw a pencil line around a dessert bowl onto the work and sew over it, making a second row 3mm from the first. Finish the ends of the stitched lines with tiny rose buds and fasten a pink bow to the top of the hoop.