Witch Kitten with Skull and Pumpkins Cross Stitch Pattern

About this witch kitten cross stitch pattern

Chin resting on one paw and the other raised in a peace sign, a fluffy cream kitten in an oversized witch hat pouts a kiss at you. Around it on a dark stone ledge sit a human skull, two small pumpkins and a stack of leather-bound books. It’s the witchy, slightly gothic side of Halloween, but the kitten’s expression keeps it funny.

Treat it as a statement piece: a framed wall centerpiece for October rather than something for a small hoop. It’s made for fans of spooky-cute decor and anyone with a sassy cat of their own. For a smaller witch cat, see the Black Kitten with Jack-o’-Lanterns; for the witch herself, Witch at Her Cauldron. It is the biggest chart in our free large cross stitch patterns round-up.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 25“ x 23“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 22 DMC colors, about 37 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 939 Navy Blue – Very Dark (11,767 stitches), 844 Beaver Gray – Ultra Dark (7,640) and 451 Shell Gray – Dark (7,053).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Advanced and is a serious project: 37,299 stitches, roughly 370 to 620 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour. Three dark colors make up more than 70% of the stitching across the hat, the cape, the outlines and the ledge. The fur is the hard part, where the kitten’s fluffy outline breaks into scattered single stitches of gray and cream.

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

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Start with the face. The blue eyes are only 122 stitches (931 and 3761), and the pink nose, lips and paw pads are 141 stitches of 3778. Getting the expression right early keeps you motivated through the long stretches of navy and gray.
• Tick off the ledge as you go. 844 Beaver Gray – Ultra Dark and 451 Shell Gray – Dark look alike under artificial light, so mark finished blocks on a printed chart.
• Use a scroll frame. At this size, a hoop big enough would crush the stitches you’ve already finished; a scroll frame or Q-snaps keep them flat.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 18.3“ x 17.0“ (46.5 x 43.2 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 16.0“ x 14.9“, and on 18-count at 14.2“ x 13.2“. For the 14-count version, a 20“ x 24“ frame leaves room for a mat.

A black or deep purple frame suits the gothic mood and makes the kitten’s blue eyes stand out.

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