Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake
- Easy
- 50×60 stitches
- 2 DMC colors
- ≈ 3 skeins
- Aida 14: 9.1×10.9 cm
A red Christmas bauble with a large cream Nordic snowflake and two zigzag bands. Two DMC colors and no backstitch.
- Size
- 50×60
- Stitches
- 2,018
- DMC colors
- 2
- Skeins
- ≈ 3
- Level
- Easy
- Time
- ≈ 20 hours
No sign-up · colour and b/w · works with Pattern Keeper
Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern: description
Why this ornament suits a first Christmas project
This free Christmas ornament cross stitch pattern uses two colors, with no backstitch and no shading. The shapes are large and straight-edged, and a counting mistake shows up right away. Allow about 20 hours, which fits into a few weekends before the holidays. On Aida 14 it comes out at 9.1×10.9 cm, a good size for a small Christmas cross stitch to hang on the tree.
Which thread goes first, and how to keep the snowflake even
Start with the cream DMC 543 and finish the snowflake and both zigzag bands before you pick up the red DMC 304. With those in place the red only fills the spaces between them, roughly two thirds of the stitches and the calmest part of the work. Red floss also sheds a little fluff, and pale stitches stay cleaner when they go in first.
Fold the fabric in quarters to find its center, then count down the chart to the heart of the snowflake. It sits a few rows below the middle of the chart because the cap and loop fill the top. Make your first stitch on the middle row of the horizontal spoke. The upright spoke is one stitch narrower than the horizontal one, so the center block is not square. The left and right halves mirror each other exactly, while the lower spoke runs a little longer than the upper one. Stitch each left branch, then its right twin, and compare them.
Work the red outward from the middle and leave the loop for last. The fabric stays bare inside it, so end your thread and restart on the far side, since red carried across the back would show through.
Which fabric to use and how to finish it
The background stays bare, so the fabric color is part of the picture. White and ivory Aida both work, and a natural linen shade looks more rustic. Dark green, navy or black fabric swallows the red edge of the ball.
To hang it on the tree, back it with felt, cut around the ball leaving a small margin, sew the edges together and attach a ribbon behind the cap, because the stitched loop is only a drawing. For a Christmas card, choose a folded card with a window a little larger than the design and tape the fabric in from behind.
The main colours are DMC 304 Red Medium (68%) and DMC 543 Beige Brown Ultra Very Light (32%). On 14-count Aida it comes out at 9.1×10.9 cm, on 18-count at 7.1×8.5 cm. You'll need about 3 skeins of DMC floss.
Made in the PatternHoop editor: width 50, 2 colors. Photo and pattern under CC BY 4.0: share and use them, crediting «PatternHoop (patternhoop.com)».
- Where to start
- the centre: stitch 25, row 30
- Stitched area
- 9.1×10.9 cm on Aida 14
- Aida 14 to buy
- 19×21 cm
- Chart pages in the PDF
- 1 colour + 1 b/w
Shopping list
DMC floss for the Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern
Tick the threads you already have at home.
| I have it | Color | DMC | Name | Stitches | Skeins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| symbol ■ | 304 | Red Medium | 1,37268% | 2 | |
| symbol □ | 543 | Beige Brown Ultra Very Light | 64632% | 1 |
- 304 Red Medium2 skeins
- 543 Beige Brown Ultra Very Light1 skein
Every DMC thread color with its number — in the palette
The Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern by zones
It's easier to stitch in parts: here is what each third of the height holds.
Toprows 1–20
356 stitches · 18%
- DMC 304 · 74% Red Medium
- DMC 543 · 26% Beige Brown Ultra Very Light
Middlerows 21–40
944 stitches · 47%
- DMC 304 · 64% Red Medium
- DMC 543 · 36% Beige Brown Ultra Very Light
Bottomrows 41–60
718 stitches · 36%
- DMC 304 · 71% Red Medium
- DMC 543 · 29% Beige Brown Ultra Very Light
The Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern on different fabric
| Fabric | Embroidery | Inches | Fabric with margin | Strands | Needle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aida 11 | 11.5×13.9 cm | 4.5×5.5″ | 22×24 cm | 3 strands | size 22 |
| Aida 14 | 9.1×10.9 cm | 3.6×4.3″ | 19×21 cm | 2 strands | size 24 |
| Aida 16 | 7.9×9.5 cm | 3.1×3.8″ | 18×20 cm | 2 strands | size 26 |
| Aida 18 | 7.1×8.5 cm | 2.8×3.3″ | 17×18 cm | 2 strands | size 26 |
How to stitch the Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern in 4 steps
Prepare the fabric
Cut Aida 14 to 19×21 cm: 5 cm of margin on every side.
Sort the threads
The pattern uses 2 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 Red Christmas ornament with Nordic snowflake pattern
2 DMC colors, about 3 skeins in all, stitched with 2 strands on 14-count Aida.
50×60 stitches: 9.1×10.9 cm on 14-count Aida, 7.1×8.5 cm on 18-count.
For Aida 14, a piece of 19×21 cm: the design plus 5 cm on every side for the hoop and framing.
The pattern has 2,018 stitches — roughly 20 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.
