Cross Stitch Bible Bookmarks

Hello! I am freshly back from SNAP! Bloggers conference and have a million new ideas swirling around in my head.  

Mostly, however, I have been thinking about how I need to make good on what I wrote in this post, about being a Catholic blogger and allowing my faith to take more of a lead in my creating and blogging.  

It is my hope that this project, Cross Stitch Bible Bookmarks, will help push me in that direction. And maybe drag you along with me!

As you well know, I am an embroiderer (see here), but I rarely do or post about cross-stitch.  

Despite this, cross stitch is how I first got into embroidery.  

Every summer my sisters and I would pick out a cross-stitch project for 4-H. And work on it slowly throughout the summer with the intention of bringing it to the fair.  

Some projects actually made it to the fair…many did not.  

My mother still has a very simple project I made years ago hanging above her kitchen sink.  

As an adult, I followed my older sister’s lead and cross-stitched elaborate Christmas Stockings for both of my children.  

Although cross stitch isn’t quite as creative as other forms of embroidery, I still really enjoy the precise shapes you can make with cross-stitch. And how relaxing it can be to put your feet up in the evening and follow a pattern.

However, big cross-stitch projects can be overwhelming…much like reading the Bible.  

I have read through the Bible a couple of times, but I fail to read the Bible every day.  

I need to, I want to add that to my daily schedule, but it is a bit overwhelming. Which is exactly how the devil wants us to feel about it, right?  

So, I have decided that I am not going to be paralyzed by the feeling of being overwhelmed.  

Instead, each day I am going to read just a little, focusing on the reading of the days. And thus bring scripture into my daily living and being.

Like that goal of reading just a little of the Bible daily, these bookmarks are small and simple, a good reminder that just a little each day is enough, and that little will bring us closer to God.

If you are interested in making one or both of these Cross Stitch Bible Bookmarks, the patterns are below.  

Just click the links below the image to download and print.  

I used color while designing these patterns, but feel free to select your own color schemes.

Bookmark 1 Pattern  //  Bookmark 2 Pattern 

Once you have the pattern the steps to complete this project are pretty simple.  

I used a smaller count cross stitch cloth, but that is up to you.  

The larger the stitches, the larger you cross will turn out, and vise versa.

With the cross stitching complete, I cut out a piece of complimentary wool felt and placed that behind the cross-stitched cross.  

Then, while back-stitching on the border (either in a big rectangle as in #1 or as a tight perimeter as in #2) I attached the cross stitch fabric and the felt, as well as a ribbon in the bottom center.

Once the cross-stitching and back-stitching are done, the next step is to cut out around the cross.  

Cut three stitch places away from the border.

Finally, fray the edge, one stitch width.

And, there you have it.  

I thought that these little Cross Stitch Bible Bookmarks would make a nice little Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift…or any sort of gift.  

We all need to be in The Word more, and sometimes a simple, handmade gift is a nice gentle reminder (perhaps to ourselves).  

Do you have a special Bible Bookmark?  

I’d love to hear about it!

Thanks again for being here!  

And, as always, if you decide to give this project a try, I’d love to see it.  

And, feel free to check in with me every now and then about my daily dose, although small, of Scripture.  

I would love it if you helped me stay accountable!

All the best, and happy holy reading,