Yawning Puppy Cross Stitch Pattern

About this puppy cross stitch pattern

A sandy-tan puppy with big floppy brown ears and orange patches around its eyes opens its mouth in a huge yawn, showing a pink tongue, while one front paw comes up to rub its eye. It stands on short legs with a little tail, outlined in thick black.

It’s a quick, funny picture for anyone who knows a puppy that’s always ready for a nap, and it suits a bedroom, a dog bed corner or a card for a new puppy owner. For a puppy with more energy, see the Puppy Eating a Burger; our funny cross stitch round-up has more animal expressions.

What you need

• Fabric: 14-count Aida in white, cut to at least 12“ x 12“ (3“ around the design for hooping and framing).
• Thread: 18 DMC colors, about 18 skeins in total, stitched with two strands. The main colors are 310 Black (1,124 stitches), 3047 Yellow Beige – Light (1,007) and 435 Brown – Very Light (725).
• Needle: a size 24 tapestry needle.
• Stitches: full cross stitches only, with no backstitch.

Difficulty and stitching time

It’s rated Intermediate because the face, ears and open mouth use several close browns and pinks in a small space. At 4,534 stitches it takes roughly 45 to 76 hours at a steady 60 to 100 stitches an hour, and about 31% of the fabric stays bare.

Tips for stitching this pattern

• Stitch the black outline first. 310 Black (1,124 stitches) is a quarter of the design. It’s thick, and it separates the ears from the face clearly, which makes the browns easy to place.
• Fill the tan body next. 3047 Yellow Beige – Light (1,007 stitches) is the puppy’s main color. Fill it in big areas before you start the patches.
• Watch the two pinks in the mouth. 3858 Rosewood – Medium (343 stitches) and 3859 Rosewood – Light (336) make the tongue and the inside of the mouth. Stitch them together, checking each row, so the tongue’s shape comes out clearly.

Size, fabric and framing

On 14-count Aida the finished design measures 5.7“ x 5.9“ (14.5 x 15.0 cm). On 16-count it comes out at 5.0“ x 5.1“, and on 18-count at 4.4“ x 4.6“. An 8“ x 10“ frame leaves room for a mat.

In a 7“ hoop it makes a nice gift for a new puppy owner.

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