Until recently it had been at least a year since I picked up a needle and thread to embroider or cross stitch and I was itching to get back into it. I took some time over the holidays to rekindle the interest and now it is back, bigger than ever. I am stitching up a storm.

One of the first things I did over the break was buy a stitchable, wooden pendant. I knew right away that I wanted to do something botanical, but I didn’t want to do the usual flower motif. With seed starting season on the brain, I first considered stitching up seeds but couldn’t come up with a pattern that looked like more than colourful blobs. Seedlings come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and I knew I could turn out something interesting. I tried stitching in little roots, but eventually removed them because it didn’t work and they ended up looking more like strange trees.

I’ve provided directions and a pattern below so that you can stitch up your own Seedling Medallion. Wear it with pride this spring as you watch brand new plants emerge from the soil in your garden.

You Will Need:

• A pre-fab wooden cross stitch pendant. I purchased this scallop-edged, wooden cross stitch pendant from The Workroom ($7). I have also found sellers on etsy here and here, but I can’t personally vouch for the quality of their pendants.
• 5- Six strand embroidery floss in shades of green, yellow, and brown.
• 1 Cross stitch needle (available at any craft store)
• Cross stitch pattern (See below.)
• An adjustable chain to hang the pendant.

How To Make This:

If you have never cross stitched before I suggest heading over to Subversive Cross Stitch to learn how.

Print out the pattern chart I have provided. You can also design your own if you’re so inclined. Stitch any combination of seedlings into your pendant. You can also try centering the largest seedling and stitching brown earth underneath and a blue sky above it.

I wanted my little seedlings to be bright and stand out against the wooden background so I used all six strands of six strand embroidery floss. I found it was too tight in places, especially around the largest seedling. I broke a needle while stitching it up! For this reason, I would suggest using three or four strands at most.

p.s.

The fabric in the background of my photo was drawn by my partner Davin. It is available over here in five colourways. He originally drew the pattern as the background for section headers in my book, Grow Great Grub.

p.s.s. As I was stitching this up it came to mind that due to the size, this reminds me of a medallion (ala Flavor Flav) more than a pendant. Perhaps I should just string up one of my wooden embroidery hoops and go all the way with it? We can start a new trend!