Wolf in a Pastel Forest Cross Stitch Pattern

About this wolf cross stitch pattern

There are no outlines and no shading: flat triangles of lavender, sage and navy stand in for a forest, each tree split down the middle into two tones, and a blue-gray wolf pauses between the trunks. It’s a modern cross stitch pattern, closer to a screen print than an illustration.

It suits a minimalist or Scandinavian-style room where a cute, outlined character would look out of place, and it’s a wolf without the howling-at-the-moon cliché. The design is square, which makes framing straightforward. Our large cross stitch patterns round-up names it the best first big project.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 19“ x 19“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 7 DMC colors, about 11 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 932 Antique Blue – Light (3,688 stitches), 564 Jade – Very Light (3,278), 209 Lavender – Dark (3,210) and 823 Navy Blue – Dark (2,710).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate only for its length. With 7 colors and no single-stitch details anywhere (even the smallest color, 30 Blueberry – Medium Light, covers 902 stitches), the chart is very easy to read. At 17,408 stitches, expect roughly 175 to 290 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour; it’s a big project you can stitch in front of the TV.

Our guide to planning a large cross stitch project suggests it as a first big piece.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Keep every top stitch crossing the same way. Large flat areas show uneven tension more than detailed ones; on a 3,688-stitch block of 932 Antique Blue – Light, a few crosses going the wrong way catch the light.
• Stitch each tree in two passes. Do one half, then the other, and count the dividing line carefully; that center split is what makes the trees look three-dimensional.
• Keep all seven colors threaded. With so few colors, a separate needle for each saves ending off at every color change.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 12.9“ x 12.7“ (32.8 x 32.3 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 11.2“ x 11.1“, and on 18-count at 10.0“ x 9.9“. For the 14-count version, a 16“ x 20“ frame leaves room for a mat.

A thin black or natural oak frame keeps the modern look; skip a busy mat so the flat colors stay the focus.

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