Teacup cross stitch pattern

About this design

This teacup is drawn in the style of old blue-and-white china: Blanc porcelain outlined in Delft blue (798), with a 799 band under the rim and around the saucer edge. The cup is seen slightly from above, so you can look in at the tea, which is brown 433 with a 435 glint. A small rose in pink and dusty rose with two green leaves decorates the front, and pale antique blue (3752) shades the right side of the cup and the well of the saucer. Three wavy wisps of steam rise from the top.

How to work it

Stitch the blue outline of the cup and saucer first. It is the frame for everything else, and the white fill is much easier to count once it is there. Then fill the tea, the rim band and the rose, and only then the white, working it in rows so the large white areas lie smoothly. The steam is single stitches in a zigzag. Work each wisp from the bottom up and keep the thread short so it does not shadow through on light fabric. Add the pale blue shading last.

Finishing ideas

At 32 × 26 stitches the teacup is about 2.3 × 1.9 inches on 14-count and 1.8 × 1.4 inches on 18-count. It makes a nice coaster insert, tea cosy patch or thank-you card. White on white can disappear, so stitch it on cream, oatmeal or pale blue fabric rather than bright white.

Colour plan

DMC BLANC White does the most work, 35% of the 476 stitches, followed by DMC 798 Delft Blue Dark at 26%. DMC 961 Dusty Rose Dark (5), DMC 988 Forest Green Med (4) and DMC 435 Brown Very Light (2) are used only a little: small details worth marking on the chart so you don't miss them. 43% of the grid is left empty.

Working notes

36 squares stand alone in their colour, with no same-coloured neighbour along a side; stitch those as you pass rather than starting a new thread for each. The busiest row changes colour 16 times.