This is a simple cross stitch pattern (no words), but it's fairly large.  It has 8 different colors which is a lot of a first time pattern but it a nice "medium difficulty" project for pre-teen children.  This is one that makes a great pillow (see the "How to Cross Stitch" directions for exactly how this is done) and is fun to make as a "team" (mom can stitch some too) or as an older (teenage) sibling to make for a younger sibling or cousin.

To learn more about cross stitching, check out our "How to Cross Stitch" directions.

When I do these projects with the girls, I encourage them fill in the backgrounds with blue (in this case) cross stitch instead of leaving it unstitched.  The long rows of single colored stitches are terrific practice.  But it's completely up to you!  It does make the project take a lot longer.

Materials:

• printer,
• paper,
• Embroidery Floss Used:

  

  • feel free to substitute colors!
    • If your child wants a pink fish don't get stuck... just substitute pink floss for the orange
    • If you have left over floss lying around you can use that too (ex:  black for the eyeball instead of cornflower blue)
• Aida cloth with a low number (6 count Aida is 6 stitches per inch while 10 count is 10 stitches per inch...  The lower the number, the bigger the project ends up being and the easier it is for a beginner to complete)
  • 6 count would give you a 6.7 x 5.2 inch finished project
  • 8 count would give you a 5.0 x 3.9 inch finished project
  • 10 count would give you a 4.0 x 3.1 inch finished project

  OR

• plastic canvas,
• embroidery hoop (a must! unless you're using plastic canvas),
• needle (20 or 22 work well, but any that fit 3 strands of floss will do).

Instructions:

• Print out the template of choice.
• Fold cloth in half and then in half again to find the center.
• Place hoop around cloth.  Start as close to center as you can.
• Cut about 18 inch pieces of floss and divide in half (so you have 3 strands of floss to work with).
• Start cross stitching!  To learn more about cross stitching, check out our "How to Cross Stitch" directions.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Fish Cross Stitch Template   (color)   or   (B&W)

Print friendly version of these instructions