Gingerbread house with icing roof
- Medium
- 60×62 stitches
- 6 DMC colors
- ≈ 6 skeins
- Aida 14: 10.9×11.2 cm
A gingerbread house with a white icing roof, a peppermint window and candy canes by the red door. Six DMC colours, medium difficulty.
- Size
- 60×62
- Stitches
- 2,692
- DMC colors
- 6
- Skeins
- ≈ 6
- Level
- Medium
- Time
- ≈ 27 hours
No sign-up · colour and b/w · works with Pattern Keeper
Colors
- 434 Brown Light×757
- B5200 Snow White×750
- 938 Coffee Brown Ultra Dark×695
- 347 Salmon Very Dark×410
- 19 Autumn Gold medium Light×51
- 910 Emerald Green Dark×29
Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern: description
This free gingerbread house cross stitch pattern has a snowy icing roof, a peppermint window and two candy canes by the red door, all in six DMC colours. Among Christmas cross stitch patterns it sits at a medium level, since the colours change often.
Where to start on the gingerbread house
Start with the round peppermint window in the upper middle of the chart. It holds the fiddliest stitching in the design, and everything else can be counted from its dark ring in DMC 938. From the window, work down to the heart and the arch over the door, then out to the walls and up the two slopes of the roof.
The left and right halves are close to mirrored, apart from the door knob, so the second cane and the second column of sweets go faster than the first. Keep an eye on the chart anyway, because some outlines differ by a stitch.
Which colour comes next
In each section put in the 938 outline first, then the white icing in B5200 while the work is still clean. Red DMC 347 follows for the door, the heart and the stripes. Gold 19 and green 910 are the smallest amounts at 51 and 29 stitches, for the round sweets and the door knob, and can wait. Leave the brown 434 until last. It is the biggest fill at 757 stitches, and by then it only has to close the gaps between the decorations.
The narrow white curls beside the heart and the red and white bands on the canes take the most concentration. On the canes the thread changes every few stitches, so it helps to keep two needles threaded.
Fabric and finishing
The outlines and icing are all stitched, so the fabric shows only around the house. Pale blue Aida is the natural choice, because the white roof stands out on it like snow against a winter sky. On plain white the dark outline still holds the roof's shape, though the icing blends into the cloth. Stay away from dark fabric, where the outline would disappear.
On 14-count Aida the house measures 10.9 by 11.2 cm and takes about 27 hours, so it is worth starting a few weeks before Christmas. The near-square shape sits well in a hoop or a small frame, and it would also work on a cushion or the lid of a cookie tin.
The main colours are DMC 434 Brown Light (28%), DMC B5200 Snow White (28%), and DMC 938 Coffee Brown Ultra Dark (26%). On 14-count Aida it comes out at 10.9×11.2 cm, on 18-count at 8.5×8.7 cm. You'll need about 6 skeins of DMC floss.
Made in the PatternHoop editor: width 60, 6 colors. Photo and pattern under CC BY 4.0: share and use them, crediting «PatternHoop (patternhoop.com)».
- Where to start
- the centre: stitch 30, row 31
- Stitched area
- 10.9×11.2 cm on Aida 14
- Aida 14 to buy
- 21×21 cm
- Chart pages in the PDF
- 1 colour + 1 b/w
Shopping list
DMC floss for the Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern
Tick the threads you already have at home.
| I have it | Color | DMC | Name | Stitches | Skeins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| symbol ■ | 434 | Brown Light | 75728.1% | 1 | |
| symbol □ | B5200 | Snow White | 75027.9% | 1 | |
| symbol ▲ | 938 | Coffee Brown Ultra Dark | 69525.8% | 1 | |
| symbol △ | 347 | Salmon Very Dark | 41015.2% | 1 | |
| symbol ● | 19 | Autumn Gold medium Light | 511.9% | 1 | |
| symbol ○ | 910 | Emerald Green Dark | 291.1% | 1 |
- 434 Brown Light1 skein
- B5200 Snow White1 skein
- 938 Coffee Brown Ultra Dark1 skein
- 347 Salmon Very Dark1 skein
- 19 Autumn Gold medium Light1 skein
- 910 Emerald Green Dark1 skein
Every DMC thread color with its number — in the palette
The Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern by zones
It's easier to stitch in parts: here is what each third of the height holds.
Toprows 1–21
520 stitches · 19%
- DMC B5200 · 48% Snow White
- DMC 938 · 27% Coffee Brown Ultra Dark
- DMC 434 · 18% Brown Light
Middlerows 22–41
1,085 stitches · 40%
- DMC 434 · 40% Brown Light
- DMC B5200 · 26% Snow White
- DMC 938 · 20% Coffee Brown Ultra Dark
Bottomrows 42–62
1,087 stitches · 40%
- DMC 938 · 31% Coffee Brown Ultra Dark
- DMC 347 · 25% Salmon Very Dark
- DMC 434 · 21% Brown Light
The Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern on different fabric
| Fabric | Embroidery | Inches | Fabric with margin | Strands | Needle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aida 11 | 13.9×14.3 cm | 5.5×5.6″ | 24×24 cm | 3 strands | size 22 |
| Aida 14 | 10.9×11.2 cm | 4.3×4.4″ | 21×21 cm | 2 strands | size 24 |
| Aida 16 | 9.5×9.8 cm | 3.8×3.9″ | 20×20 cm | 2 strands | size 26 |
| Aida 18 | 8.5×8.7 cm | 3.3×3.4″ | 18×19 cm | 2 strands | size 26 |
How to stitch the Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern in 4 steps
Prepare the fabric
Cut Aida 14 to 21×21 cm: 5 cm of margin on every side.
Sort the threads
The pattern uses 6 DMC colors: lay the skeins out by the numbers in the table above.
Start in the centre
Find the middle of the fabric and of the chart: the PDF marks the centre with arrows on the page edges.
Mark your progress
Cross off finished areas on the printout, or open the PDF in Pattern Keeper.
Questions about the Gingerbread house with icing roof pattern
6 DMC colors, about 6 skeins in all, stitched with 2 strands on 14-count Aida.
60×62 stitches: 10.9×11.2 cm on 14-count Aida, 8.5×8.7 cm on 18-count.
For Aida 14, a piece of 21×21 cm: the design plus 5 cm on every side for the hoop and framing.
The pattern has 2,692 stitches — roughly 27 hours at 100 stitches an hour.
Yes. The symbols in the PDF are text, so Pattern Keeper reads the chart and the legend.
Yes, in the PatternHoop editor: upload a photo, pick the size and the number of colours, and the pattern is ready in a second, for free.
