Santa’s Helper

A ginger cat fast asleep on the mantelpiece, with two red stockings hanging below and the decorated tree just behind: a Christmas scene to work in counted cross stitch, following the chart stitch by stitch on evenweave Aida.

With 42 colours and plenty of shading in the fur, the brickwork and the ornaments, this is a demanding project, better suited to stitchers who already have some cross stitch experience. A hoop or frame and a small pair of scissors are also useful and are not part of the kit; the picture frame shown in the photo is not included. Once finished, it makes a picture to hang up over the holidays or a hand-stitched Christmas gift.