Sunflower Cross Stitch Pattern

About this sunflower cross stitch pattern

Two rings of petals, bright yellow and deeper orange-gold, surround a round brown center flecked with darker seeds. The bloom sits on a short green stem with a leaf on each side, and a black outline makes the yellow stand out even at this small size.

It’s a cheerful, high-contrast design for a kitchen or a sunroom, and a quick summer gift. Because the stem anchors it at the bottom, it doesn’t need a big mat to look finished. The floral collection has more flowers, such as the Daffodil. If it’s your first project, read how to cross stitch for beginners before you start. For more designs of this size, see our tiny cross stitch patterns.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 9“ x 11“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 14 DMC colors, about 14 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 310 Black (417 stitches), 972 Canary – Deep (266) and 973 Canary – Bright (256).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Beginner. Black and the two yellows cover 939 of the 1,423 stitches, so the petals and outline carry the piece before you touch the smaller shading colors. Expect roughly 15 to 25 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Outline, then petals, then center. The black outline splits the two yellows petal by petal, so you won’t guess where 972 Canary – Deep stops and 973 Canary – Bright starts.
• Work the center in small sections. It mixes browns and greens in a small speckled area. Check the chart every few stitches rather than placing the colors from memory.
• Mark the tiny shading colors. Five colors, 3031, 909, 3371, 3818 and 890, are used fewer than ten times each; circle them before you start.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 2.9“ x 4.1“ (7.4 x 10.4 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 2.5“ x 3.6“, and on 18-count at 2.2“ x 3.2“. For the 14-count version, a 5“ x 7“ frame leaves room for a mat.

It fits a 5-inch hoop or a narrow frame, and stacks nicely above another small flower.

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