DIY Cross Stitch Holiday Planter Box

Cross stitch is the first bit of sewing my mother taught me when I was younger. I haven’t done much of it in the last ten years or so, but I love that now it seems to be making a comeback in the most fun ways! Non-traditional cross stitched items have been popping up in various craft projects for the last year or two. I thought it was the perfect addition to make a plain wooden box into something super festive for the holidays!

Supplies needed to make your own cross stitch planter box:

• Unfinished Wood Planter Box
• Yarn
• Large Needle
• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Downloadable Cross-Stitch Patterns
• Transfer Paper
• Sandpaper
• Pencil
• Drill

Lightly sand any rough areas on the planter box then paint all of the outside and the inside walls.

Print and trim the cross-stitch patterns. Center a pattern on one long side of the planter and tape down. Place transfer paper between the pattern and the planter, graphite side down. Use a pencil to lightly circle each corner of every colored square until the entire pattern is transferred to the box.

Note: If the graphite leaves behind unwanted dark spots on the planter you can go over the area again with paint after completing the next step.

Use a drill with a bit large enough for your yarn needle to fit through, and drill holes through all of the transferred markings.

If you are decorating both sides with cross-stitch, go ahead and do all of the drilling before any sewing.

Lightly sand the outside and inside of the box. Add another layer of paint if necessary.

Thread the yarn on a large needle, taping the end if needed to get it through the eye of the needle. Begin creating the X’s for the cross-stitch pattern. Use the paper pattern as a guide as needed.

Trim any “fuzzies” as needed that the yarn may have created. The insides of the box will look a bit messy, but filling the box with florals or other fun holiday items will hide that away.

I just love how it turned out! I can use one side for Christmas and the other for the winter.

Michele

Michele is the creator behind The Scrap Shoppe, a craft and DIY blog. She is a wife and mommy to 2 fun little boys. She gave up a job in science to pursue her dream of spending more time with her boys and becoming a full time blogger. The Scrap Shoppe focuses on creating fun, creative, and unique craft and DIY projects for the home that anyone can recreate.