Smiling Santa Claus

This small Santa wears a red hat with a pompom, and his big white beard fills nearly the lower half of the design. The black outline is made of full cross stitches, so there is no backstitch waiting for you at the end. Among Christmas cross stitch patterns it is a good size for anyone who wants to finish before the holidays.

Where should you start stitching this Santa?

Start with the nose. It sits almost exactly at the centre of the chart, so you can find your first stitch by folding the fabric in four. Outline the nose in black, fill it with the skin tone, then count out to the two eyes, which are only a few stitches each. From there follow the black line of the moustache, the brows and the mouth, and move outwards to the hat and the edge of the beard. With the outline done, the white beard needs almost no counting.

The level is medium because of the face. The eyes, brows, moustache and mouth share a small space, and one misplaced stitch changes the expression. Set an eye a row too high and Santa looks surprised. Check each feature against the nose before you carry on.

How do you keep the red off the white?

Red and black threads shed fibres, and every one of them shows on B5200. Stitch the beard, moustache and hat trim first and leave the reds of the hat, coat and cheeks until last. On the back, avoid carrying red behind white stitches, because it shadows through. Bring each white stitch up through an empty hole and take it down into the hole it shares with black or red, so the needle does not drag dark fluff to the front. If you plan to wash the finished piece, test the 347 on a scrap of fabric first.

Which fabric and finish suit it?

The background stays unstitched, so the fabric colour becomes part of the picture. On white Aida the beard melts into the ground, while cream or pale blue separates it straight away. On Aida 14 the design comes to about 9.1×9.4 cm, which suits a small hoop hung on a door or tree, a frame, a folded card with a window, or a little gift bag.