Monstera Leaf Cross Stitch Pattern

About this monstera cross stitch pattern

One big leaf fills the design, with deep splits along its edges, oval holes near the center vein and a short stem at the bottom. Several greens, from bright chartreuse to dark forest, give the leaf its curve and depth.

The monstera is the houseplant everyone recognizes, and this gives it the treatment cross stitch usually saves for roses and sunflowers. It works as a statement piece in a plant-filled room, or with the Bonsai Tree for a houseplant pair. The floral collection has more. To display it, see how to frame and finish cross stitch. It is also in our summer cross stitch patterns, next to the Hibiscus.

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: 12 DMC colors, about 12 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 703 Chartreuse (1,280 stitches), 906 Parrot Green – Medium (1,162) and 890 Pistachio Green – Ultra Dark (957).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate for its size and greens rather than any technique. Chartreuse and Parrot Green – Medium cover 2,442 of the 4,830 stitches, and the other greens handle the shading and the pale edges, several in very small amounts. Expect roughly 50 to 80 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Block in the two main greens first. Work 703 and 906 across the whole leaf before any shading. Going color by color rather than section by section keeps you from losing your place in a leaf whose halves look almost the same.
• Label every green. With twelve greens in the chart, a labeled floss card is the easiest way to keep them straight.
• Save the single stitch for last. 912 Emerald Green – Light appears only once. Place it at the end so you’re not hunting for one square in a sea of green.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 5.9“ x 6.9“ (15.0 x 17.5 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 5.1“ x 6.1“, and on 18-count at 4.6“ x 5.4“. For the 14-count version, an 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

A simple black or white frame keeps it modern, and it also fits an 8-inch hoop.

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