Gamer Sloth with Headphones Cross Stitch Pattern

About this sloth cross stitch pattern

The sloth stands with chunky blue over-ear headphones on its head, one long arm folded across its belly and an expression somewhere between unimpressed and ready for a rematch. It’s an indoor, gaming-room sloth rather than the usual tropical one, drawn with a bold outline and shaggy brown fur.

It’s an easy gift for a gamer who likes sloths, or a fun shelf piece for a game room. For the same animal in a completely different mood, see the Sloth with a Coconut Cocktail; our funny animal round-up has more.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 12“ x 13“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 21 DMC colors, about 21 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 3032 Mocha Brown – Medium (1,674 stitches), 645 Beaver Gray – Very Dark (1,140) and 310 Black (1,067).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate. Three colors cover 3,881 of the 5,166 stitches, about three-quarters of the design, so the size is manageable once those blocks are in. The rest are small amounts for the face, the claws and the headphones. Expect roughly 50 to 85 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Block in the fur first. 3032 Mocha Brown – Medium is nearly a third of the design. With it in, you have the sloth’s whole shape to work the shading against.
• Then add shading and outline, in that order. Stitch 645 Beaver Gray – Very Dark next and 310 Black last, so the darkest details sit crisply on a finished base.
• Do the headphones as one section. The blues (3843 Electric Blue, 747 Sky Blue – Very Light, 3766 Peacock Blue – Light and 995 Electric Blue – Dark) sit in a small area. Stitch them once the head is filled, so you can keep the headphones symmetrical.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 5.3“ x 6.9“ (13.5 x 17.5 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 4.6“ x 6.0“, and on 18-count at 4.1“ x 5.3“. For the 14-count version, an 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

A black or electric-blue frame suits a game room and matches the headphones.

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