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Free famous painting cross stitch patterns

Free cross stitch patterns of famous paintings, all old enough to be in the public domain: Van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night, Klimt’s The Kiss, Monet’s water lilies, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Hokusai’s Great Wave and Munch’s The Scream. Each is a free printable PDF with the chart, a DMC thread key and how many skeins to buy.

Tips for stitching a famous painting

  • Most paintings are 120 stitches on the long side, about 8.6 inches on 14-count Aida. Expect several weeks of evenings; a finer 16 or 18-count fabric makes the piece smaller, not quicker.
  • Paintings use 24 to 32 colors, many of them close shades. Put each skein on a numbered floss card or ring before you start.
  • Work in 10 × 10 blocks, the heavy grid lines on the chart, and mark each block off when it is done. It keeps your place and shows your progress.
  • Every square is stitched, so the fabric color matters less than with small motifs. White or antique white 14-count Aida is the usual choice.

More free patterns

Browse all free patterns, or the Halloween patterns, or the Christmas patterns, or the Animal patterns, or the Landscape patterns. To stitch your own photo instead, use the pattern creator.

Questions

Is it legal to cross stitch famous paintings?

Yes, for these. Every painting here is in the public domain because the artist died long ago: Van Gogh in 1890, Klimt in 1918, Monet in 1926. Each pattern page links to the image it was made from, and you may sell what you stitch.

How long does a famous painting cross stitch take?

A 120 × 90 pattern has about 10,800 stitches. Many stitchers manage 100 to 200 full stitches an hour, so plan on roughly 55 to 110 hours, or a few months of relaxed evenings.

Can I make a pattern of a painting that is not here?

Yes. Save a picture of the painting and open it in the pattern creator on our home page. Patterns up to 60 × 60 stitches are free; a bigger one is a one-time $3.99 for that pattern.

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