Rowan the Celtic Explorer Fox Cross Stitch Pattern

About this fox cross stitch pattern

Rowan stares out through a pair of big round goggles, its red-orange mane twisting into tight, knot-like curls above pointed ears. It wears a weathered green coat over a cream sweater, with a satchel at its side and sturdy boots, standing like an adventurer about to set off.

It suits a fantasy-decor collector, a Celtic-heritage gift or the centerpiece of a themed gallery wall. With The Wee Celtic Druid and the Celtic Yuletide Robin it makes a Celtic-inspired set; our fox round-up compares it with the other foxes. The large patterns round-up compares it with other big projects.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 22“ x 24“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 21 DMC colors, about 28 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 310 Black (5,627 stitches), B5200 Snow White (2,712), 839 Beige Brown – Dark (2,689) and 402 Mahogany – Very Light (2,509).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Advanced. At 25,666 stitches it’s a long project, roughly 260 to 430 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour. Black alone is 5,627 stitches, doing the heavy work on the curls and the goggles, and the coat and fur shift between browns and beiges gradually rather than in hard blocks.

Read our guide to planning a large cross stitch project before you cut fabric.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Finish one curl at a time. The mane’s linework interlocks, so complete each curl before moving to the next; jumping around makes it easy to join two curls that shouldn’t touch.
• Do the goggles before the face. The lenses are shaded to read as glass. Stitching them first gives you a frame to fit the eyes and fur into.
• Group the browns. 402, 839, 840, 3863 and 06 shade the coat and fur; label them in order on a floss card so the gradual changes stay smooth.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 16.0“ x 17.1“ (40.6 x 43.4 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 14.0“ x 15.0“, and on 18-count at 12.4“ x 13.3“. For the 14-count version, an 18“ x 24“ frame leaves room for a mat.

More than half the fabric stays bare, so a dark green or brown mat around it suits the explorer theme. Our framing guide covers large pieces.

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