Capybara on a Beach Towel Cross Stitch Pattern

About this capybara cross stitch pattern

The capybara lies back on a bright, patterned beach towel with its eyes closed and its paws on its belly, wearing a blue-and-yellow striped hat and floral trunks. It’s a comic take on the animal’s famously relaxed reputation rather than a nature portrait, and the busy towel gives the design a strong diagonal shape.

It’s a fun gift for a capybara fan, a summer-house wall or anyone who needs a reminder to take a day off. With the Penguin in a Hawaiian Shirt and the Sloth with a Coconut Cocktail it makes a beach-themed trio; our funny animal round-up has the full set.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 13“ x 12“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 25 DMC colors, about 25 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 310 Black (766 stitches), 437 Tan – Light (710) and 3772 Desert Sand – Very Dark (639).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate. The capybara itself is simple, but the towel is where the detail is: many small accent colors in a repeating pattern. Black, Tan – Light and Desert Sand – Very Dark cover just over half the design, so once they’re in you’re mostly filling small areas.

At 3,945 stitches, expect roughly 40 to 65 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Outline first, then the body. The 766 stitches of 310 Black anchor every shape. Follow with 437 and 3772 for the capybara before you start on the towel.
• Leave the towel until the animal is done. It uses most of the small accent colors, and they’re much easier to place once the capybara’s outline sits on top of it.
• Watch the one-off colors. 823 Navy Blue – Dark and 472 Avocado Green – Ultra Light are used for a single stitch each. Keep the chart open beside you rather than placing them from memory.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 6.9“ x 5.7“ (17.5 x 14.5 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 6.1“ x 5.0“, and on 18-count at 5.4“ x 4.4“. For the 14-count version, an 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

It’s wider than it is tall, so hang it in landscape orientation; it also makes a good front for a summer cushion.

What’s in the free PDF

• A cover page and a one-page overview with a preview of the design
• The chart, split across as many printable pages as you choose, in color or black and white, with a symbol for every DMC color, center lines, a mini-map showing which part of the design each page covers and a color key on every page
• The thread list: DMC number, color name, number of stitches and skeins to buy for each color
• The finished size on 11-, 14-, 16-, 18- and 28-count Aida