Kelly Morgan

We all like something for nothing and when it comes to our cross stitch patterns this is no different. Luckily the immense competition for subscribers to cross stitch websites means that there are literally hundreds of free patterns just itching to be downloaded and stitched. Everything you could ever want to stitch is out there…you just have to find it!

Before you do anything you obviously need an idea of what you'd like to stitch. So! For example, are you interested in animals, people, cars, religion, birds or trains? Have you got a special occasion in mind that will require a certain type of design? Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, births and marriages all need a different type of pattern and simply putting in 'free cross stitch pattern' into a search engine will not find you what you are looking for any time soon!

Be specific if you are searching for free counted cross stitch patterns on the internet, otherwise you will literally be searching for days. Alternatively you could try a cross stitch directory such as www.google.com/Top/Arts/Crafts/Needlework/Cross_Stitch/Patterns/ which provides a large number of links to websites offering free patterns.

I tried some of the links and there are many beautiful patterns ranging from cute little animals, which are ideal for newbies and can be completed in a matter of hours, right up to cross stitch replicas of classic paintings that even I wouldn't attempt! This is only one of many such directories but in my opinion the websites listed have a great range of patterns that cater for all occasions and all levels of skill.

Some websites offer patterns for products such as Christmas ornaments, greetings cards, jewellery box covers and other items that make fantastic gift ideas. If like me you enjoy giving your loved ones something unique and special to them rather than a generic gift that they won't remember receiving in a few weeks, then cross stitch is a great way to do this and if you can find a free pattern that depicts something of interest to whoever the gift is for, then so much the better (they need never know it was free!).

Christmas card patterns are wonderful because often they are so small that a) they can be stitched in an hour or two and b) we normally have enough left over pieces of thread and fabric to make them without paying out for extra materials. This means that you can send personalised greetings cards to family and friends that will stay in their memories forever. Advanced stitchers can change the words and names around so that a Christmas card can become a birthday card and so on. Plus there are a number of free alphabet charts available online, one that caught my eye being the traditional Celtic alphabet which can be found at www.celticxstitch.ie/cgi-bin/stitches.cgi 

So what do you do if you don't have regular access to the internet or you have a limited download level? Well you probably already have a subscription to a number of the big cross stitch magazines and there are regular free patterns in those. However, these may not be of interest to you in which case you should ask your family to buy you a cross stitch book of your choosing as a birthday or Christmas gift. Although these patterns aren't technically free they don't cost you anything to buy so from a personal point of view they are free! 

You can also design your own patterns and charts with some squared paper and a few colored pencils. This is a great way to learn as you go and also to produce something that is 100% unique, which makes it a very special way to celebrate a once in a lifetime event such as a wedding or the birth of a child.

Free patterns are there to be used so go ahead and make the most of them. Cross stitch as many as you want because trust me, you will never run out of new ones to do.