Sloth with a Coconut Cocktail Cross Stitch Pattern

About this sloth cross stitch pattern

The sloth sits back in teal sunglasses and swim shorts, a lei of little flowers around its neck, holding a coconut with a straw and a leaf garnish. It has fully committed to vacation mode, which is the whole joke for an animal famous for never rushing.

It works as a beach-house or patio piece, or a housewarming gift for someone just back from vacation. With the Capybara on a Beach Towel and the Penguin in a Hawaiian Shirt it makes a beach trio, and the Gamer Sloth with Headphones shows the same animal in a very different mood. Our funny patterns round-up has more animals on vacation.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 11“ x 12“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 24 DMC colors, about 24 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 612 Drab Brown – Light (860 stitches), 310 Black (773) and 610 Drab Brown – Dark (577).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate. The two browns and black make up just over half the design in large, easy blocks, but 24 colors means plenty of thread changes in the lei and the coconut. Expect roughly 40 to 65 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Fill the face and body first. With 612 and 610 in, it’s much easier to see whether the sunglasses and features in 310 Black sit correctly.
• Treat the lei as its own small project. Its flowers use several low-count colors, such as 813 Blue – Light and 3850 Bright Green – Dark; stitch it after the body so they’re not woven in among the big color passes.
• Leave the coconut’s teal for last. 598 Turquoise – Light is a small, distinct area that’s easy to place once everything around it is stitched.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 4.3“ x 6.0“ (10.9 x 15.2 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 3.8“ x 5.2“, and on 18-count at 3.3“ x 4.7“. For the 14-count version, an 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

It’s taller than it is wide, so it suits a narrow frame or a 7-inch hoop in a beach-themed room.

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