Hello and welcome back for some more cross stitching fun (at least I hope you are having fun)!
Today I am sharing with you my first cross stitch bride and groom. Just like my family portraits, these are easy to plan, stitch–and turn out so cute.
This particular cross-stitch bride and groom is my older sister and her husband, but I hope you see just of easy it would be to stitch up a bride and groom you and hubby!
First off, let me introduce my sister, Ruth.
Here she is with her husband almost 11 years ago, on their wedding day.
Ah, so young and clueless–like we all were on our wedding days!
They were, always have been, and continue to be a great couple.
I swear, they never fight.
They just get along so well.
From the start, they have been a wonderful model of marriage and I had fun transforming them into little cross-stitch people.
Just like the family portrait, the first step is to plan out your project.
To do this, print out this BLANK CROSS STITCH GRID and grab some color crayons (my colors are crazy–I could only find a box of glitter crayons!).
I have provided a pattern for this project that you can use as a guide when creating your own cross stitch bride and groom.
As you can also see, some things you have to make a few adjustments!
I changed my bride’s arms and added a few stitches to my groom’s neck.
That’s why we plan before we stitch!
Once you have created your pattern grab some 14 count Aida cloth and get stitching!
Here is a tutorial from coloring your Aida cloth to whatever color you like.
And, here is the font I used, for your personalization.
Use a rich variety of colors and stitch with three threads at a time–this will help to fill in the stitching area more completely.
As with all cross stitch projects, it is wise to do all of the cross stitches 1st.
This project also calls for back-stitching and french knots to add details.
Do these things after all of the cross stitching is done.
Below you can see a (terrible phone) picture of my project before I did any of the backstitching or french knots.
On the pattern below you will see several red dots–these are french knots and I think they make really cool-looking flowers.
If you are intimidated by french knots like I was pull up youtube and watch some videos.
There are so many great videos to teach you this stitch.
Practice for 15 minutes and you will master the french knot, really!
Also, the dark black lines are backstitch. I did these stitches with 1 black thread.
Finally, add a little lettering–I added their names but in future projects, I plan on adding the date as well.
There you have it! And below is a pattern for this project.
Note that I made all of my white stitches pale yellow so that they would actually show up on the pattern!
Oh, and one last thing!
My sister, like I said, has been married almost 11 years, and in those 11 years much is the same–they are still a wonderfully loving, fun couple–but a lot has also changed.
They are now the parents of 5 kids, they live on a farm, and (maybe most thrilling of all) my sister is a blogger!
Check out her blog HERE, and her beautiful family below.
Thanks for being here,
Hi
My friends are getting married in April.
Would you be willing to create a bride groom? What is your fee?
I don’t make patterns for others anymore. Sorry
Hello Nancy,
I and my fiance are getting married in May and we wanted to cross stitch a picture of us just how you do. We dont know how to generate a pattern so that the two little people would look like us… Could you give us any advise please?
HI,
I love your work! Can you tell me the finished size of the cross stitch bride and groom #1?
Thanks,
Kathy
Hi! The finished version, stitched on 14 count adia cloth (which is pretty standard) is about 4″ wide and 7″ tall. I also offer custom wedding cross stitch patterns in my etsy shop if you’d like me to whip up a pattern for you: https://www.etsy.com/listing/259525673/custom-cross-stitch-pattern-wedding-2
Hi Nancy, like the majority of the comments so far, I’m curious as to how you created the bouquet. Most of the french knot tutorials I’ve seen result in very small looking knots or “flowers”. How did you get your flowers to look bigger? Did you use more than 2 or 3 threads and/or wrap the thread around the needle more than twice? Thanks so much for your insight. It’s a lovely cross-stitch!
-Stephanie
In order to get bigger knots you need to use 2 or 3 threads and wrap the thread around the needle a few more times. Experiment with this a few times and be warned that the bigger your try to make a french knot the less perfect it will look. Happy stitching!
Hello Nancy, your work is amazing. My best friends are getting married this May and I tried making one for them. I did a few changes in the design and got stuck in the final touches. My worry right now is in making those little flowers. Could you please tell me how to make them? Your response will really be appreciated.
I did the flowers with a french knot. Takes a little practice to get that stitch down but there are a ton of great video tutorials. Cruise around youtube!
Thank you so much Nancy!
Thanks Nancy for the kind words. It is amazing that it has been 11years. I would have to say they have been the best 11yrs of my life so far. Such a cute project. Thanks and hope to see you soon.
Hey Ruthie! Now you know why I asked what color your flowers were!