GOOD THINGS IN SMALL PACKAGES
There are many beautiful cross-stitch patterns out there - intricate, detailed, elaborate, tons of colors. But really - who has time to complete something like that? If your goal is getting your projects done, you've come to the right place! I've collected lots of great sources for you with mostly free small cross-stitch patterns of varying complexity. Browse through and enjoy! I'll be continually updating and adding so don't forget to check in regularly.
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: MY CRITERIA
What I was looking for in patterns
- Size - Anything below 100 stitches I defined as small. Many of the ones I found are more in the 30-50 stitch range. Exceptions were made for long narrow designs that would work nicely on towels, bookmarks, borders, etc.
- Sufficient detail - I wanted things that had shading and a certain level of complexity. Small doesn't have to mean boring or primitive.
- Unique design - There are only so many yellow duckies you can do before you start to fall asleep. I wanted designs that didn't look like everything else out there.
- Free!! - Do I need to explain this one? :-)
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: FLORALS
Pretty flowers in pink, yellow, blue, lavendar

- Summer Border - Simple clusters of flowers that can be done as a border or as a stand alone design. Might make a nice bookmark. 32Wxx118H
- Orchid Hawaiian Delight - Lovely little design that can be repeated to make a border. 30Wx40H
- 17 Floral Charts - Designs like crocus, bird of paradise. Varying complexity and beauty. Need to register for the site to get the chart.
- Texas Bluebonnets - Hand-drawn pattern with lovely results.
- Flower Basket - Nice little basket design with a border around it. Have to add to cart, then download, but it is free.
- Spring Bouquet - Free pattern from DMC floss company. 38Wx51H
- Peony bookmark - Pink peony in a white and blue Chinese vase. 33Wx84H
- Asters in a vase - Lovely set of asters in a tall vase. 56Wx78H
- Sunflower in Pot - Large-headed sunflower in a little terracotta pot. 46Wx71H
- Violets - Trio of violets.
- Peace Flowers - Peace bro and some flowers on you as well. 65Wx69H
- Pansies - Three pansies in row. 80Wx57H
- Spring Flowers - Lovely little bouquet. 51Wx45H
- Spring in the Garden - Design from the 1997 issue of the Needleworker. Roughly 35Hx100W
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: PATTERN BOOKS
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: ANIMALS

- Chickens - Two chickens hanging out. 70Wx58H
- Bunnies and birds - Checkerboard bunny and four seasonal bird designs. All in the 57Wx57H range.
- I Love My Dog - How about you? A cute pooch deserving of love. 62Wx58H
- Whale Spraying - Cute whale lets off a spout of joy. 98Wx100H
- Rabbit Hyacinth - Shy little bunny hides behind a potted flower. 41Wx45H
- Cat at the Lighthouse - Black cat looking out the window at the lighthouse in the distance. Roughly 47Wx58H
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: MAGAZINES
Jill Oxtons Cross Stitch & Bead Weaving
Amazon Price: $56.68 (as of 11/28/2009) ![]()
Usually ships in 2 to 4 months
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: CHRISTMAS

- Gingerbread Man Scissors Fob - Smiling little gingerbread man could also be used for an ornament. 27Wx46H
- JOY Ornament - Joy with an ornament making the 'O'. 51Wx68H
- Christmas Angels & Designs - A design for each year from 1986-2005. Mostly angels, but a few of the Madonna and Baby Jesus.
- Happy Holidays Snowman - Cute snowman with a bird on his shoulder. 67Wx79H
- Trumpets - Christmas trumpets designed for a bookmark. 15Hx87W
- Waiting for Santa - Little birds decorate their birdhouse in anticipation of a visit. 37Wx51H
- Helper Elf - Everybody can use an extra hand during the holidays! 90Wx106H (Click the designer's name to see more of her stuff. Quite cute!)
- Holiday Heart - Lovely heart wreath that can be used to make an ornament.
- Angels Galore! - Seven cute flying angels that would make nice ornaments if done on perforated paper.
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: BLOG BLAB
- Craftzine.com blog : Elves in Snow Cross-Stitch Pattern
- Anna at Mochimochi Land is now offering these adorable Elves in Snow cross-stitch patterns. For just $5 get three adorable patterns featuring the Mochimochi elves. Also, final voting is now open in this year's Mochimochi Photo Contest.
- Free Flower Trio Cross Stitch Pattern
- Free Flower Trio Cross Stitch Pattern. Friday November 27, 2009. I used to work in a department store. The Friday after Thanksgiving was one of my favorite days of the year, and my least favorite. The adrenaline, the excitement of the ...
- Cross Stitch Confetti: New Quick-its and Giggle Boxer
- Cross Stitch Confetti. About Me. My Photo. Donna: I'm a lover of all things cross stitch and crafty. View my complete profile. Subscribe To. Posts. Atom. Posts. Comments. Atom. Comments. Acronyms. CC - Crescent Colours; GA - Gentle Art ...
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: ALPHABETS

- Free Patterns Online - 45 different ones, including Greek.
- Monograms - Make your own monograms for towels and more.
- Bear ABCs - Teddy bears snuggle up to capital letters that you can change to whatever color you need.
- Nautical Alphabet - Letters with the different nautical signal flags
- Christmas Alphabet - Classic serifed letters wearing Santa hats.
- Beach Letters - Capital letters with different beach/marine motifs like whales, shells and the like.
- Antique Alphabets - French book that's been scanned in with some neat alphabets that can be used and adapted for cross-stitch purposes. Several pages worth and some pretty cool borders as well.
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: SHOW YOUR PRIDE
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: HOLIDAYS
Other than Christmas

- Valentine's Day - Be Mine, Cupid and lots of hearts.
- Easter - Bunny, chick and eggs.
- Fourth of July - Flag, stars, patriotic hearts.
- Halloween - Scary ghosts and pumpkins galore.
- Pumpkin Moon - Pumpkins and a rising moon. 55Wx55H
- Halloween Sampler - Black cats, spiderwebs, pumpkins and witches mark this holiday design. 75Wx92H
- Spring 2000 - An adorable bunny with tulip says hi to a butterfly. 53Wx36H
- Smell My Feet - Cute design with the common Halloween mantra. 97Wx99H
- Hip Hip Hooray - Teddy, bunny and kitty celebrate Independence Day. 65Wx41H
CROSS-STITCH PATTERNS AND SUPPLIES
Bid until your craft closet is full!!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand bySMALL CROSS-STITCH: OTHER DESIGNS
Just some stuff I liked

- Square of colors - A square with kind of a kalidescope design. 58Wx58H
- Antique Fire Engine - Cute little truck complete with driver. 122Wx74H
- Snowman Winter - Snowman, snow shovel and snowflakes all say Winter.
- Snowman Square - Nicely done chart of a snowman with a square on point as border.
- Coffee - Start the day off right with a cup of joe. 68Wx62H
- Summer Tree - A tire swing and lots of green leaves definitely make this a summer time tree. 45Wx46H
- Crayon Bookmark - Six crayons make a colorful bookmark design. 29Wx82H
- Baby Girl and Baby Boy - Birth announcements in pink and blue. Both 70Hx51W
- Heart & Flowers - Detailed little heart designed for use in a card. 34Wx31H
- Careless Love - French-style clown dropping hearts from the pile in his hands. 100Wx100H (check her other designs for two more clowns in the series.
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: RELATED ITEMS
SMALL CROSS-STITCH: SITES TO EXPLORE
Find that special something you're looking for
- Artecy
- Lots of nice little designs available here, along with others. Generally, the small cross-stitch patterns are in the $2 range and available for online delivery.
- Rainbow Gallery
- Lots of great small patterns include a couple of series of the months of the year, some holiday designs and others.
- Stitch Alley
- I have a few of their 177 free designs listed above. You can only download one free design at a time without making a purchase and have to register with the site to do so. But these are some great small designs that might be worth your while!
STITCHERS EVERYWHERE SAY ...
Got a source for small cross-stitch patterns that I might have missed? Want to share your joy for cross-stitching? Just want to comment on my lens? Leave your mark here!
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Reply
- puzzlemaker puzzlemaker Sep 21, 2009 @ 7:26 am
- Thank you for this list of simple (and free!) cross stitch patterns. I just had to go see the Cat at the Lighthouse pattern. My mom cross stitches small Christmas ornaments each year and I know she would love these links.
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- Jul 19, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
- Nice job! A comfortable cross stitch zone , I enjoyed very much..something more, Im happy to see here a link to one of my free xstitch patterns -Pansies.. thanks for the link.. I would like to invite you to visit my alitadesigns.com again .. the latest pattern "In memory" is dedicated to Michael Jackson - The King of Pop ..Its not a very small pattern but .. i thing it is very easy for stitching ( 2 colors, black aida) and i would like to hear your opinion about it..All the best .Lydia
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- Smarida Smarida Jul 1, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
- Great lens. Very cute patterns, I really love them!
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- Kheng Kheng Sep 12, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
- I love cross stitching and I love your lens! I visited many of the sites you have listed but it always seem different through another's eyes. I've favourited it too!
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- Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Jul 29, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
- I've done some cross-stitch in the past, but mostly I'm into sewing lately, and now especially hand stitching with felt, but Squidoo takes most of the hours I should be sleeping!
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