By Cross Stitch Library · October 10, 2026
One penguin offers a tiny wrapped gift to another as pink hearts float overhead — a sweet cross-stitch for Valentine's Day, engagements and anniversaries.
Your pattern is at the end of this page, right after the stitching guide below.
One penguin leans forward with a small wrapped gift held out in both flippers; the other clasps its flippers together, eyes shut, cheeks pink. Hearts drift in the air between them.
Penguins have a famous reputation for courting with a gift — the stone a gentoo offers its mate — and this design turns that into a small, wordless story. It makes a good engagement, wedding or anniversary gift, and it works for Valentine’s Day without leaning on red: the palette is grays, whites and soft pink. More than half the fabric is left bare (56% unstitched), which keeps it light and gives space to add initials or a date underneath if you want to personalize it. For the same bird in a much sillier mood, see our Penguin in a Hawaiian Shirt.
The two penguins are built from DMC 924 Gray Green Very Dark (2,536 stitches), 168 Pewter (1,839), 318 Steel Gray (1,385) and 1,798 stitches of B5200 Snow White for the bellies. The shapes are large and rounded, with soft shading across the bellies rather than hard detail. At 11,732 stitches it’s a steady medium-length project.
The gift in the middle is the smallest detail and the one people will look at first: 612, 739 and 09 (126 stitches between them) make up the box and its bow, all within about 20 stitches. Work it in one sitting with the chart enlarged. The pink cheeks are only 30 stitches of DMC 761 — save them for last so they stay crisp. If you’re adding names or a date below, plan the lettering before you start and leave at least 10 rows of space under the ice line; it’s much easier than squeezing text in afterward. It’s one of the examples in our guide to planning a large cross-stitch project, and our finishing and display guide covers framing it as a gift.
Choose your paper size and color or black & white, then download the The Penguin Proposal PDF chart and thread list — free, no sign-up.
