Do you want to know how to incorporate more cross stitch into your life as a pet lover, or find the perfect gift for a pet loving friend? Whether you keep fish, reptiles, farm animals, rodents or traditional furry friends, there are ways to celebrate your non-human family through inspiring cross stitch projects. Have a look at our top suggestions for combining a love a cross stitch with a love of animals.
Pet Portraits
Probably the best way to honour your animals in cross stitch is with a pet portrait. There are countless options when it comes to cross stitch portraits, from cute and whimsical to intricately realistic portraits. Find a service that will create a custom cross stitch from a photograph of a pet and provide a list of which floss you will need to create it. These projects can take a long time to make as they can be very detailed, so it’s a lovely project to take away on holiday or to work on over a season. For something less involved, choose a custom pattern that works up on a small hoop, or you could even look for ‘line art’, like this lovely example, to create a stunning portrait that works up in no time. If you’d rather work on something cute, find a pet portrait generator that has a cartoony appearance rather than photorealistic. These adorable stitches will give a likeness of the animal, without the commitment of creating a photo-realistic representation.
Gifts For Pet Lovers
Not everyone likes having cross stitch hanging on their walls, but that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate animal themed cross stitch into a gift for your pet loving friend. For something practical, find out what size sweater they wear and buy a plain hoodie or sweatshirt in a nice colour. Use this is as the background and stitch onto it using an embroidery hoop. It could be a portrait of their cherished pet, or perhaps a catchy slogan, such as ‘Dog Mum’, ‘My Babies Have Four Paws and Fur’, ‘Dogs Leave Paw Prints Forever on our Hearts’. Another cute choice is a Webbing dog collar for a dog or cat, which a furry friend can proudly show off in this practical option.
Animal Themed Aida
If you’ve already got a pattern in mind, you can upgrade your pet project by using animal themed fabric. The design can be subtle and simple, or something which becomes a major feature of the work. At Fabric Flair we have numerous types of paw print fabrics, such as this popular design with colourful paw prints, and this one which has a more neutral tone.
Motifs
If you want to treat yourself to a cross stitch pattern book that has all bases covered when it comes to pets, take a look at Vintage Cross Stitch Dog Collection or Vintage Cross Stitch Cat Collection. A lot of dog and cat portraits, you’ll be able to find plenty of designs to incorporate into your own projects. Picture Your Pet in Cross Stitch is another title that has everything covered, from farm animals and reptiles to iconic furry friends. Remember, if you don’t want to splash out on buying a new book, many library services will carry cross stitch pattern books, or they might be able to order one in for you!
Pet Memorial Cross Stitch
Sadly, we know that our cherished pets don’t live forever, so most pet lovers we know are likely to have a fur baby in heaven. Creating a pet memorial is a nice way to remember an animal who has passed over the rainbow bridge. The memorial doesn’t have to include a portrait – a nice idea we’ve seen is a paw print adorned with heavenly wings, as well as the dog’s name and the years it lived. Tiny cross stitch memorials could be stitched onto a key chain, so the owner can always carry a sweet reminder of their pet who earnt their wings.
Ready Made Kits and Charts
When it comes to ready made cross stitch kits, you’d be hard pushed to find a more popular theme than animals. From cute kittens to baskets of puppies, the choices for ready-made cross stitch kits featuring animals are varied in size, style, and ability required to make them. Take a look on the Fabric Flair website to see our own animal charts and kits, such as Grace and Archie, two irresistible makes for dog lovers, Crowned Bird for those with feathered friends, and Brown Hare for pet lovers who keep rabbits.
If you just need a PDF pattern rather than a complete kit, you can find loads of unique ideas on Etsy, featuring animals big and small. Our favourite patterns include these sushi kittens, a dachshund in a jumper, this troop of guinea pigs, this embroidery for cheeky lovebirds, and these mischievous leopard geckos. Working up one of these simple designs on an animal print aida is a quick project that can be hung on the wall, or used to embellish a tote bag, make-up bag, device cover or other useful items.