Flower Crown Ghost Cross Stitch Pattern

About this ghost cross stitch pattern

The ghost has a wavy hem, two little arms, a sweet smiling face with blushing cheeks and a ring of tiny flowers and leaves on its head. A navy outline holds it together, and almost the whole design is stitched, so it looks solid and bright even though it’s small.

It’s Halloween for people who want nothing scary in the house: good for a child’s room in the fall, a quick hostess gift or a seasonal swap in a small frame. Pair it with the Duckling in a Ghost Costume, or see our cute patterns round-up for more gentle designs.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 9“ x 10“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 13 DMC colors, about 13 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 819 Baby Pink – Light (668 stitches), 939 Navy Blue – Very Dark (463) and 3033 Mocha Brown – Very Light (169).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Beginner. The pink body and the navy outline cover 1,131 of the 1,525 stitches, so once those two are in, the ghost’s shape and face are essentially done. The flower crown adds small touches of color, not shading. Expect roughly 15 to 25 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Outline before the pink. The wavy hem has several tight curves. With the 463 stitches of 939 Navy Blue – Very Dark down first, you can fill the 819 Baby Pink – Light without guessing where it should stop.
• Treat the crown as its own small project. Five flower colors (745, 3078, 827, 3766 and 564) sit in a tight cluster at the top. Stitch it last, once the body is finished, so each tiny flower’s colors stay separate.
• Use it as a first project. With so few big color areas, it’s a good piece to practice keeping your stitches all crossing the same way.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 2.9“ x 3.3“ (7.4 x 8.4 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 2.5“ x 2.9“, and on 18-count at 2.2“ x 2.6“. For the 14-count version, a 5“ x 7“ frame leaves room for a mat.

It’s small enough for a 4-inch hoop, a greeting card or a hanging ornament.

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