Santa Ornament
Cross Stitch Pattern

". . . His eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!"

The story of birth of the Christ child from the Bible is my favorite at Christmas. Like any blockbuster, it has drama, suspense, great characters that you care about. It has heart.

Most importantly, it has redemption. I love a story with a happy ending. And, as they say, it is "based on actual events!" It is, after all, "the reason for the season."

My second favorite Christmas story is "The Night Before Christmas."

Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" privately for his children. It was later published, for the first time, in 1823. What is amazing to me is that this personal, loving gesture is primarily responsible for the way the English-speaking world perceives the story of Santa!

This Santa Christmas Ornament is the same size and has a similar appearance to the Joy, Hark, Hope, Peace, and Let It Snow ornaments. So if you are stitching a collection, this fits right in.

It has a faux-round shape, meaning the actual ornament is square but it has the "feel" of round because it's a circle that surrounds the center design.

The back has an excerpt from the Christmas story. It is personalized with the year and the always-important "from" names. You could easily substitute the verse with a greeting and "to" names, similar to those previous ornaments.

Click here for a free printable Santa Ornament cross stitch pattern.

How to use it

Our Santa ornament is one of several patterns for the holiday that you can stitch quickly. Even beginners will appreciate how soon they can have a finished ornament, ready for giving or display.

They make wonderful gifts for...

• family
• friends
• teachers
• coworkers
• ...one by one or as a set.

Design details for the Santa ornament

Stitch Count: 64 high x 64 wide

Fabric and Approximate Finished Design Sizes:

9 ct. Aida 7 1/8" high x 7 1/8" wide

11 ct. Aida 5 7/8" high x 5 7/8" wide

14 ct. Aida 4 5/8" high x 4 5/8" wide

To calculate other fabric and finished design sizes, use our handy stitch count table.

I embroidered on 14-count Aida with DMC 6-strand cotton floss, then accented it with Kreinik specialty flosses. The front and back are stitched on two separate squares, then connected with half stitches. The ornament is padded, then finished off with a gold ribbon hanger and surrounding fringe.

Stitch complexity

• 1/4 stitches and 3/4 cross stitches
• Backstitches
• Daisy stitches (for bell hangers)
• Full cross stitches
• Half stitches (for sewing sides together)
• French knots (for punctuation)

If you are unfamiliar with any of these stitches, click on the links above or on the specific stitch under the Tutorials section of the left menu.