| Size | 49 × 49 stitches |
|---|---|
| Colours | 7 · DMC |
| Total stitches | 957 |
| Difficulty | Challenging (4/5) |
| Finished on 14-count | 3.5 × 3.5 in (8.9 × 8.9 cm) |
| Finished on 16-count | 3.1 × 3.1 in (7.8 × 7.8 cm) |
| Finished on 18-count | 2.7 × 2.7 in (6.9 × 6.9 cm) |
| Licence | CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for personal use with credit |
Materials
About this design
This mandala is a garden seen from above. At its heart is a pale flower with a centre of DMC 745 Yellow Pale Light, petals of 3326 Rose Light and touches of 3350 Dusty Rose Ultra Dark, circled by eight heart-shaped leaves in 3364 Pine Green. An octagonal ring of 3363 Pine Green Medium separates the centre from an outer circle of eight rosebuds, shaded from 3354 Dusty Rose Light into the deep 3350. A ring of tiny sprigs in 3347 Yellow Green Medium dotted around the edge finishes the piece and blurs the outline, so it looks planted rather than drawn.
How to stitch it
We rate this one a four out of five. The stitches themselves are simple, but the design is made of many separate small motifs with fabric between them, so you will start and finish threads often. Work the octagonal green ring first, counting from the centre of the fabric; it is the backbone of the design and everything else can be counted from it. Then stitch the centre flower and leaves inside the ring and the rosebuds outside. Leave the outer sprigs until last and finish each one off separately, because green carried across the open fabric would show through.
Finishing ideas
At 49 × 49 stitches the mandala is about 3.5 inches across on 14-count and 2.7 inches on 18-count. A 5-inch hoop gives it a pleasant margin, and it makes a lovely centre for a cushion panel or a gardener’s gift card. Antique white or pale sage fabric suits the palette better than bright white.
Colour plan
DMC 3354 Dusty Rose Light does the most work, 20% of the 957 stitches, followed by DMC 3350 Dusty Rose Ultra Dark at 19%. Every colour is used at least 21 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. 60% of the grid is left empty.
Working notes
No square stands alone in its colour, so every colour works up in solid blocks. The busiest row changes colour 22 times.
Anchor equivalents
The nearest Anchor colour for each DMC colour in this pattern, measured as ΔE 2000: up to 3 is very close, up to 6 close, up to 10 approximate.
This is an original CraftPatterns design, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: stitch it, share it and gift what you make — please credit craftpatterns.app and don't sell the pattern itself. Want to change it? Open it in the cross stitch editor.
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