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I was standing in Home Depot looking for a piece of precut plywood that was just right but I didn’t find it. But I DID find 2′ x 4′ piece of peg board. I grabbed it and started walking toward the back. Russell “What are you doing with that?” Me: “I’m going to have it cut.” Russell: “Why?” Me: “Because I’m going to make a huge-ass cross stitch out of it.” Russell: “…”
While the fellow was cutting my piece into two conveniently sizes 2′ x 2′ pieces of pegboard I felt like rubbing my hands together like an evil super villain or a praying mantis because I felt like a genius. How crafty am I?!? As it turns out someone else published the idea before me!
I’d been working on my gigantic peg board cross stitch little by little and one evening when I was going through my Bloglovin’ feed (actually taking a break from stitching this massive thing on my bed) when I saw it. Someone else and already posted a gigantic peg board cross stitch tutorial on Design Sponge. I yelled “Russell I’ve been scooped!” to which he responded. “Okay.”
The one at Design Sponge (in case you didn’t click the link) uses the full 2×4 size to cross-stitch the family name in a single color and takes around 5 hours to complete. By comparison mine is half the size and took approximately 8-9 hours total using 7 colors of yarn. While they both are based on the same premise, they are totally different projects. If you dig this one, definitely check out the other.
For this project you will need:
- 2′ x 2′ square foot piece of pegboard (have a 2′ x 4′ board cut into two)
- cross stitch pattern – I used this one from The Cheekiest Monkey of All
- yarn in 4 colors for the petals
- yarn in 2 colors for the leaves
- yarn in a background color
- black spray paint
- oversized plastic needle (made specifically for yarn)
- tape and/or hot glue gun
First you’ll need to find a pattern that will work with 23 stitches by 23 stitches. I tried working something up or finding a pattern online but I kept having a specific pattern in mind that I couldn’t find. At my wits end I started searching Pinterest where I found it. The reason nothing I worked out made me happy was because I had this absolutely perfect pattern burned into my brain. Since Mrs. F, aka the cheekiest monkey of all, had the pattern online I decided I was destined to use her brilliance!
It was slightly too big so I took my ruler and marked out 23×23 making sure that I was able to keep the bulk of the pattern’s detail.
My peg board was originally white and that didn’t go with the color scheme in my mind. A cheap dollar can of black spray paint and I was all set to get to work.
In the pic above is a yarn needle. They sell them as plastic or metal and I have both. Be warned that pegboard this large is kind of awkward to work with. The metal needles are SHARP and trust me that you’re going to jab yourself a time or two. Go plastic. You can find them at hobby stores but I got 2 for $2 at Wal-Mart by the crochet and knitting needles.
To be good and visible you’re going to have to double it up. Simply string your yarn on the needle and tie a knot at the end. Each stitch will be made out of 2 strands rather than 1.
Alternatively you could purchase really thick yarn but I had a problem with that for 2 reasons. 1 – thick yarn is considerably more expensive for considerably less. 2 – there weren’t enough colors to accommodate my pattern well.
In the very beginning I just let the end of my yarn dangle while I was stitching but with changing colors frequently the excess started to get in the way. I began using tape to tack down the yarn hanging out at the beginning and end of each section.
Also because this is a timely undertaking, I would tape my pattern and needle onto the back of the board when I was done for the time to keep from losing them.
This is actually where I was when “I got scooped”. See how often the colors change? It seems like a pain in the neck but the end result is so fantastic that it’s worth it!
Now all of the tape on the back was well and good until it started raining for like 4 days straight. The humidity had tape falling off and winding up everywhere. As a result, I busted out my handy dandy hot glue gun and affixed the ends and snipped the edges. In the end it’s a lot cleaner, anyway.
Put an oversized picture hanger in the middle with a heck of a lot of hot glue.
And here is an up close of the action. It’s kind of like a Monet painting in that the closer you get, the harder it is to make out the image the xs make. Be sure that you have a space to hang or place this big boy where you have plenty of room between you and the hanging. I tested my cross stitch out in a smaller room (my office) and it was more difficult to make out and it was distracting.
And here it is hanging on my kitchen/dinette area wall! I purposefully placed it somewhere I can see it when eating at the table or sitting in “my spot” in the living room. I love, love love this sucker. Thanks again to the cheekiest monkey for creating a fascinating pattern and sharing it on her blog!
