Nutcracker Cross Stitch Pattern (Free PDF)
A classic Christmas nutcracker soldier: a tall black hat with a gold band and a red plume, a white beard around the big wooden jaw, a red coat with gold buttons and epaulettes, blue trousers and black boots on a little stand. Tall and narrow, so it fits bookmarks, ornaments and door hangers.
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What you need
The full chart is 20 stitches wide and 62 high: 834 full cross stitches in 8 DMC colors, rated easy. On 14-count Aida, cut a piece at least 7.5 × 10.5 in (19 × 27 cm), which leaves 3 in spare on every side, and a 6-in hoop holds the whole design. One skein of each color is enough.
| DMC thread | Stitches | Spread over | Thread | Of a skein | If it is out of stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321 Red | 242 | 2 areas | 3.2 m | 13 % | 349 Coral Dark |
| 310 Black | 213 | 9 areas | 2.8 m | 12 % | 3371 Black Brown |
| 797 Royal Blue | 90 | 2 areas | 1.2 m | 5 % | 796 Royal Blue Dark |
| 951 Tawny Light | 82 | 3 areas | 1.1 m | 5 % | 948 Peach Very Light |
| 725 Topaz Medium Light | 79 | 11 areas | 1.1 m | 4 % | 19 Autumn Gold medium Light |
| 815 Garnet Medium | 66 | 8 areas | 0.9 m | 4 % | 814 Garnet Dark |
| Blanc White | 60 | 5 areas | 0.8 m | 3 % | 3865 Winter White |
| 3326 Rose Light | 2 | 2 areas | 0.1 m | under 1 % | 776 Pink Medium |
Thread for 2 strands on 14-count (how it is worked out).
Reading this chart
The center of the chart is column 10, row 31, a Red stitch.
Red has the largest connected block, 224 stitches. Topaz Medium Light is the most scattered: 79 stitches in 11 separate spots.
A row uses about 2.7 separate runs of thread on average; the busiest is row 32, with 9. The chart is a mirror image left to right, so you can check the second half against the first.
Budget roughly 4 hours to 8.5 hours (how we estimate that). New to charts? Read how to read one.
Finished size
| Fabric | Finished size | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| 11-count | 1.8 × 5.6 in | 4.6 × 14.3 cm |
| 14-count | 1.4 × 4.4 in | 3.6 × 11.2 cm |
| 16-count | 1.2 × 3.9 in | 3.2 × 9.8 cm |
| 18-count | 1.1 × 3.4 in | 2.8 × 8.7 cm |
Ideas for using it
- Bookmark (it is tall and narrow)
- Tree ornament
- Christmas door hanger
Stitching tips
- Stitch the black hat and boots first; they frame the figure.
- Swap the red coat for green or blue to make a whole row of nutcrackers.
- On 18-count Aida it is about 1.1 × 3.4 inches, a nice ornament size.
Free for personal use, and you may sell a few pieces you stitched yourself. Details in the terms.
More christmas and winter patterns
All Christmas cross stitch patterns · All free patterns · Turn your own picture into a chart like this