By Cross Stitch Library · October 19, 2026
A badger strides across a patch of clover hugging a giant pink peony on a long leafy stem — a sweet woodland cross-stitch for spring walls and flower lovers.
Your pattern is at the end of this page, right after the stitching guide below.
A badger on its way somewhere important, nose in the air, carrying a pink blossom nearly as big as its own body over one shoulder like it’s delivering it to someone.
The joke is the scale: the flower takes up most of the top right of the chart, and the badger has to lean back to hold it. Underneath is a strip of grass, clover and bare earth that gives the figure something to walk on, while the rest of the background is left as fabric — about half the grid is unstitched. At 145 x 172 stitches it finishes 10.4“ x 12.3“ on 14-count Aida, which fits an 11“ x 14“ frame without a mat or a 12“ x 16“ frame with one. Unlike most of our woodland animals it has nothing to do with fall, so it can go up in spring and stay there; it would also make a good gift for a gardener or someone who grows peonies. For the same animal in a fall mood, see Badger’s Spiced Brew, hugging a mug of cider, and The Woodland Badger Wizard in its leafy hat.
All 12,811 stitches are full cross stitches, and there’s no tricky technique — the work is in the shading. The blossom alone is 2,546 stitches split between four pinks (3354, 963, 223 and 315) laid in short curved runs to draw the petals, so expect to change color often in that part of the chart. If you’ve finished a medium-sized piece before, this is a comfortable next step.
The outlines and the face stripes are DMC 939 Navy Blue Very Dark, not black — it’s the biggest color at 2,630 stitches, so buy both skeins from one dye lot. The badger’s dark body is DMC 535 (1,809 stitches); the thread list calls it “Ash Gray – Very Light”, but on the chart it’s a deep charcoal, so don’t assume you’ve picked up the wrong skein. Stitch the petal lines in 315 Antique Mauve first: they’re only 433 stitches, but once they’re in, the spiral of the bloom shows up and the lighter pinks are easy to fill between them. Leave the single stitch of B5200 for last — it’s the highlight in the badger’s eye, and it’s easy to lose under a fill color if you stitch it early. All three of our badgers are compared in our badger pattern round-up.
Choose your paper size and color or black & white, then download the Badger Carrying a Peony Blossom PDF chart and thread list — free, no sign-up.
