Easter basket cross stitch pattern

Hello, everyone. I am coming with a cross stitch pattern for a small easter basket.
I was struggling a bit with figuring out how to do this and unfortunately I have no time to stitch it now to try it out but I really hope it will work. Please, if you try it, let me know how it turned out.


The basket has a hexagon as a bottom and six side pieces that have cross stitch on them. Click on the picture to get the downloadable pdf.

I figured out two ways to finish the basket - in my head.

Method 1 - sewn by hand

The 6 side pieces are embroidered and backstitched around. Then cut out with an extra 1 cm around it. Fold the fabric along the backstitch and whipstitch the sides together sewing only through the backstitches, not in the fabric. (This is how biscornus are stitched together, if you are not sure, you can google that and find intructions.)
The bottom could be Aida, but only stitch the backstitch around, no need to stitch the letters. Or you could cut a piece of fabric the same size. Basically, it needs to be a hexagon with sides as long as the bottom of the basket sides. And I hope I drew the shape well enough to fit the sides, I can tell you, it was not easy.

This way you will have the raw edges of the seam allowances and the back of your embroidery on the inside of the basket. Fold some tissue paper or a napkin in it to cover them up.


Method 2 - sewn by sewing machine and by hand, using lining fabric

No need to sew the backstitching around the pieces, instead draw the lines with a water erasable pen - on the back of the work. Put the embroidery right sides together with the lining fabric and sew with the sewing machine, following the drawn lines. But don't sew all the way around, leave a hole on the bottom to turn it inside out. Before you do that, clip the corners. Do the same for the bottom piece.

You will have 7 two-sided pieces. Fold in the seam allowance for the holes and iron them. Then sew the pieces together by hand with invisible stitch (ladder stitch) or small whipstitch or blanket stitch. Make sure to close the holes at the same time. The whipstitch or blanket stitch can be decorated with tiny beads, too.

You can make two small handles from braided yarn or fabric strips and sew them on.


Of course, feel free to use the pattern for something else if you wish. Use just one element to make a card or a small wall hanging or a picture. Enjoy.

Happy stitching.

Easter bunny free cross stitch pattern

Easter is coming! Spring is here! I am so excited. Went for a walk today and saw the first blåsippa - that is anemone hepatica, or liverwort, kidneywort or pennywort in English (according to Wikipedia). Here are a few pictures from my walk. The pink flowering bush is something we try to find every year, but I forgot the name, I will ask Stephen when he wakes up :D

I thought this is something to celebrate, so that's why I made this pattern for you. It is simple and easy, and there is still time to stitch it for Easter. It is small, so you can use it for a card or put it on a cushion or on a door hanging. Lots of colours, bunny and flowers - I hope it will lift everyone's spirits. It certainly made me happy. :D

Click on the picture to get to the pdf file.

I was busy lately, but somehow didn't manage to write on the blog. Let me make up for it. Here are a few things I have been working on.



Serendipty II is finished:

I got a new mobile so I made a new cross stitched mobile phone case.

I did lots of English paper piecing, love these hexagons. They are also perfect for using even the smallest scraps.

I think this photo I made of the hexagon paper templates turned out to be really cool. :)

I continued working on the quilt I am making for my daughter, made of 7,5 cm (=3 inch) half square triangles, I was totally crazy when I decided on this. :D But it is going to be lovely.

I also made a quilt top from some cool panels.

I am hopin to be able to finish quilting these myself. I started learning free motion quilting.

I made some softies, like this kitty...

...and this bunny.

And this is a summer bag, for going to the beach.

I also did some knitting:

a scarf,...

double knitted hat and mittens, with my own pattern...

as well as these hats. I am going to publish the pattern for these soon.

I also learnt how to knit from top down. For this little sweater I followed a pattern. Unfortunately it became smaller than expected, but I will find someone who can use it, and I am planning to knit another, slightly bigger one now.

Whoa, I got tired just from showing you all this - and this is the result of the last three months. Not too bad, is it?
I also have some more things that I started but they are far from being finished, so I will show you later.

HAPPY SPRING! :D

Running bunnies

I have got into the Easter spirit. I have been crocheting bunnies, eggs and a baby chick, although they are not finished yet, so no pictures. I haven't followed any pattern, just went ahead and improvised, and it seemed to work.

I was also trying to put together an Easter bunny chart. I might have to do some more work (or rather playing) on this, but here is the first version. I tried many different colours for the bunnies' fur but couldn't settle for anything really. Finally I decided on something neutral, however, when I get down to stitching this, I am almost sure I would use some variegated thread, and perhaps some really crazy colour, too, like purple or blue. :D

Please feel free to improvise yourself and let me know how it turns out.

Happy stitching :)

Easter biscornu cross stitch freebie

Sorry for the misleading title, but I realised that I need to put the cross stitch freebies in the title otherwise they get lost and nobody sees them. :D This happened to my Easter eggs - the blog statistics show that much fewer people saw those than the other patterns.


But now that you are here, I can admit that first you have to suffer through my sewing and stitching pictures before you see the freebie. (Unless you scroll down :D :D) .

Some of you might remember that I bought a new sewing machine not long ago. My regular visitors might even remember that I started to learn how to sew clothes last summer - using the sewing machines in school because my old one gave up. Now I can sew whenever I want, and my own machine is so much better than the ones in school. So here is my first blouse I made with it:



I used this peasant blouse tutorial to make the pattern, but had to adjust it a bit. Maybe it was me, but when I sewed together the parts, I didn't get a nice round edge at the neckline, but at each meeting point there was a pointed edge, or a triangle protruding - so I simply had to cut those off. Also, I measured myself and then added a bit because I wanted a loose fit - and the result has become more a tent than a blouse. :P It is OK, I can wear it, and it is actually a good feeling that I have at least one piece of clothing that is not too tight or too small, as everything seems to be lately. But I think I would like to redo it if one day I have the patience to take it apart, cut the pieces smaller and then sew together again.
The fabric comes from one of my second-hand shopping sprays, I think it might have been a curtain, but I thought "peasant blouse" right away when I saw it.

Then I finished a bag that I started sewing a month or so ago, in school, whenever I had a few minutes at the end of the day, but could never do really much. It is a bag from Cath Kidston's Sew! book, the cover kit that was given with the book. I didn't have to cut anything, just sew it together. Which, of course, would have been boring so I decided to add lining, and then also added a zippered pocket to the lining. I had to take out the zipper once and sew it again, and it is still not perfect, my top-stitching could also be better, but all in all I am happy with it. I am still learning my machine and this was a perfect little project for that.






I have also started making a dress, cut out the pieces but had to stop, my back doesn't want me to sew again. :( Have to rest it for a few days.

I have done quite a lot of cross stitch, I made squares for the charity I like to help. We are making quilts for sick children and also for an orphanage. If you want to join, stitch or perhaps donate some money for the quilts, here is the Facebook group.

Some of my stitched squares:




(I just noticed that the fairy on the right misses her magic wand, need to add it quickly.)



It warms my heart to know that a child will find some happiness in them - a child who very much needs every minute of happiness.


And finally, as a reward for those who managed to stay with me through this long post: my Ester biscornu.




Find the downloadable pdf pattern here.

You will notice that I have changed the colours of the letters. I wanted to sew a nice pink button in the middle but of course, couldn't find one. So I used one without colour and sewed it on with pink decorative stitches.

Happy stitching, my friends. Wishing you all a quickly approaching spring (OK, not for those in Australia, but the rest :D :D ).

Assissi Easter eggs freebie

Here is another Easter cross stitch pattern for you all to stitch: little eggs with assissi technique. Try using variegated thread for them.




Happy stitching

Easter minis - free cross stitch patterns

Another set of minis, hope you will like them :)

Easter egg in blackwork - free pattern

Last year I designed an Easter egg in blackwork, so I thought I would like to do the same again. I have been wondering what look one can get using blackwork "assissi-style" that is stitching the background and leaving the pattern empty. Well, not empty in this case, but less full, anyway :) This is the result.




I think it is just the right size for a card or a door-hanging for welcoming guests. What is your opinion? I think it should be stitched in some bright spring colours. What colours would you choose?

Hope you enjoy stitching it. Please, share photos if you stitch it. :)

One more Easter pattern

I seem to be in the whimsical mood lately LOL.

I designed another Easter pattern and named it "Whimsical Easter hanging". I think you can see why :)

easter chicken

I designed this for an Easter exchange. You can choose to stitch the whole pattern, or, as I did, cut out the chicken from yellow Aida and stitch the pattern on it. Then I buttonhole-stitched it to a piece of fabric to make a small ornament. Actually, finishing it this way was not easy, so perhaps stitching the yellow would be worth it after all. :)



Here is what I made of it - some colours are different, but I always do that, change colours as I go. :)

Hope someone out there will like it. :)