Van Gogh skull cross stitch pattern

Free patterns · Famous painting · A grinning skeleton smoking a cigarette, from Vincent van Gogh’s student painting Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette (1886).

Van Gogh skull cross stitch chart, 90 by 120 stitches, 23 colors, DMC 3023, 772, 934, 644, 520, 677, 822, 524, 310, 935, 3348, 523, 3787, 3371, 372, 829, 936, 676, 3013, 3031, 3051, 3021, 838

stitches: 90 × 120
DMC colors: 23
on 14-count: 6.4 × 8.6 in

Want to fix a few stitches?

Draw, erase and fill single stitches, swap or merge colors, clean up strays, and check against your photo.

For when you have a few projects behind you: many colors and soft shading, made from a picture. Free to stitch for yourself, as a gift, or to sell the finished piece.

Stitching tip: Strong contrast and fewer colors than most paintings: the pale skull glows against the dark green ground. Stitch the skull first and the background becomes easy filling.

Made from a picture by Vincent van Gogh (public domain).

Thread key

Everything to buy for this pattern, by DMC number.

Symbol	DMC	Name	Stitches	Skeins
⊕	3023	Brown Gray Light	20	1
⊠	772	Yellow Green Vy Lt	11	1
■	934	Avocado Grn Black	3366	2
□	644	Beige Gray Med	110	1
▣	520	Fern Green Dark	44	1
▬	677	Old Gold Vy Lt	100	1
▮	822	Beige Gray Light	99	1
▲	524	Fern Green Vy Lt	538	1
△	310	Black	109	1
◆	935	Avocado Green Dk	423	1
◇	3348	Yellow Green Lt	104	1
◉	523	Fern Green Lt	20	1
○	3787	Brown Gray Dark	164	1
●	3371	Black Brown	4284	3
◐	372	Mustard Lt	50	1
◧	829	Golden Olive Vy Dk	49	1
★	936	Avocado Grn V Dk	373	1
☆	676	Old Gold Lt	103	1
♣	3013	Khaki Green Lt	70	1
♥	3031	Mocha Brown Vy Dk	229	1
✖	3051	Green Gray Dk	244	1
✚	3021	Brown Gray Vy Dk	282	1
⬢	838	Beige Brown Vy Dk	8	1

Finished size

How big it comes out on each Aida count. The cut size adds 3 inches on every side so the fabric fits the hoop.

Fabric	Finished	Cut
14-count Aida	6.4 × 8.6 in (16.3 × 21.8 cm)	12.4 × 14.6 in
16-count Aida	5.6 × 7.5 in (14.3 × 19.1 cm)	11.6 × 13.5 in
18-count Aida	5.0 × 6.7 in (12.7 × 16.9 cm)	11.0 × 12.7 in

How to stitch it

Fold the fabric in half both ways to find the middle, match it to the center of the chart, and work outward. Each square is one full cross in 2 strands of floss.

Thread key

Finished size

How to stitch it

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