Mouse Carrying a Giant Acorn Cross Stitch Pattern

About this mouse cross stitch pattern

A round brown mouse with a pale belly and pink nose hugs an acorn that’s taller than it is, mid-step, with one foot lifted and a drop of sweat on its forehead. The acorn still has two green leaves on its stem, and the mouse walks over a strip of brown ground scattered with orange and red leaves. Its long tail curls out behind for balance.

It’s a small, funny autumn piece: easy to read, with bold outlines and big areas of one color, and quick enough to finish in a few weeks. For a cozier autumn companion, the Red Panda with an Acorn Lantern shares the acorn theme; our fall round-up has more autumn animals.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 12“ x 12“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 15 DMC colors, about 15 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 167 Yellow Beige – Very Dark (846 stitches), 610 Drab Brown – Dark (604) and 310 Black (547).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Beginner: the mouse and the acorn are big shapes with clear black outlines, and 15 colors is a manageable number. At 3,154 stitches it takes roughly 32 to 53 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour. Almost half the fabric (45.3%) stays bare, which keeps it quick.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Start with the 310 outline. 310 Black (547 stitches) outlines the mouse, the acorn and the leaves. With it in place, the brown fills are simple to count.
• Don’t mix up the two acorn browns. 167 Yellow Beige – Very Dark (846 stitches) and 610 Drab Brown – Dark (604) make the nut and the cap, and they meet along a curved line. Stitch one completely, then the other, rather than switching back and forth.
• Add the fallen leaves last. The leaves use small amounts of 356 Terra Cotta – Medium (18 stitches), 780 Topaz – Ultra Very Dark (12) and 975 Golden Brown – Dark (61). Leaving them until the ground is done lets you place each leaf without crowding the mouse’s feet.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 5.6“ x 5.2“ (14.2 x 13.2 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 4.9“ x 4.6“, and on 18-count at 4.4“ x 4.1“. An 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

It’s also a good size for a 6“ hoop hung on a kitchen wall for the autumn months.

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