Santa with Cookies and a Robin Cross Stitch Pattern

About this Santa cross stitch pattern

A short, smiling Santa with a long white beard and rosy cheeks stands in a dark red coat with a cable-knit texture, cream fur trim and wooden buttons, holding out a plate piled with gingerbread stars, a gingerbread tree and candy canes. At his feet a robin with an orange breast sits inside a white teacup painted with holly and red berries, resting on its saucer.

It’s a classic Christmas picture with a soft, storybook look, and it suits a kitchen, a dining room or anyone who leaves cookies out on Christmas Eve. For another Christmas robin, see the Celtic Yuletide Robin; our winter round-up has more holiday designs.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 20“ x 21“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 17 DMC colors, about 22 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 543 Beige – Ultra Very Light (5,276 stitches), 3721 Shell Pink – Dark (3,092) and B5200 Snow White (3,077).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Advanced for its size and detail. At 21,285 stitches it takes roughly 213 to 355 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour. The coat’s cable knit and the beard’s white-and-gray curls need careful counting, though the fabric around Santa stays bare (44.8%).

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Stitch the coat’s cables before the trim. 3721 Shell Pink – Dark (3,092 stitches) and 814 Garnet – Dark (2,376) make the knit texture on the coat. Work the coat first, then add the 543 Beige – Ultra Very Light fur trim (5,276 stitches) on top.
• Keep the beard white clean. B5200 Snow White (3,077 stitches) and 02 Tin (1,690) shape the beard and hair. Stitch the beard after the darker coat and face around it, with fresh thread, so red fibers don’t get pulled into the white.
• Save the robin and teacup as a reward. The robin uses small amounts of 922 Copper – Light (317 stitches) and 758 Terra Cotta – Very Light (484). It’s the most fun corner to stitch, and a good break halfway through the coat.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 13.6“ x 14.4“ (34.5 x 36.6 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 11.9“ x 12.6“, and on 18-count at 10.6“ x 11.2“. A 16“ x 20“ frame leaves room for a mat.

A deep red mat picks up Santa’s coat and makes it a picture you can hang from December to the end of January.

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