Punch Needle Snowflake Rug Pattern

I’m going to tell you a quick truth… right now I’m neck deep in Christmas crafting and my house is a disaster. My dining room table is COVERED with craft supplies. The only place in my kitchen that isn’t currently stacked up with something to DIY with is the stove. And that’s only because I worry about a yarn-tastic fire, or something!

There is glitter EVERYWHERE. I’ve changed my sheets twice this week for scratchy glitter bits and Opal had a shiny heinie for a while after sitting smack dab into a concoction of glue and glitter. She hid underneath my bed to avoid a bath and the glue dried ONTO MY RUG. I got to take Little Bit to the vet with a big old bald spot on her butt. Now I get to figure out how to wriggle myself under the middle of a king-sized bed to remove glued on glitter and dog hair in the middle of my rug :) Fun Christmas crafting times, right?!?

But Honestly, Christmas Crafts are Some of My Faves

And so on my birthday I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about anything. Not house cleaning, not other projects, and I was going to make myself a bright and fun red and white snowflake rug. Because this thing had been in my head for YEARS.

And guess what? I totally did. And you know what else? I am in LOVE with it. Even if I have no place to sit down to a proper meal these days :)

How to Print Your Pattern for Use

When you download the free pattern above you’ll get a ZIP file with 2 different options for printing your rug. You can print a large-scale blueprint/architectural print at a store like Office Depot for around $3 (this is sized at ARCH-D). You can also print out standard letter-sized pages on your home printer that you can piece together.

If you’d like more information we showed the two print options in more detail in our Halloween Spiderweb post, so check that out!

Selecting Colors for Your Rug

Since this is a rug that won’t be down more than a month out of the year I decided to go with inexpensive Red Heart Super Saver Yarn. I wanted the design to really pop, even from a distance, so I went with a white snowflake on a bright Cherry Red background for my colors.

Other color options I had considered included off-white snowflake on a burgundy background, bright teal on red, or white on a rich royal blue. Even though this is a fairly simple design, you can make such a striking rug with a variety of color choices!

If you’re wanting a better quality rug I’d suggest looking wool yarns instead of bargain acrylic yarn.

Transferring the Design to the Monk’s Cloth

The easiest way to transfer the snowflake design to your monk’s cloth is to first tape your pattern to a large window. I use the picture window in my master above my bath tub. And I literally stand IN the bathtub to transfer the design :)

I first tape the design to the glass and then tape the monk’s cloth on top of the paper. Run your hands over the monk’s cloth to make sure it’s nice and smooth. If not your pattern won’t be accurate and it will have a funny shape after you punch it.

While the sun is shining, use a fabric marker or a Sharpie, trace the design directly onto the monk’s cloth. Once you’ve outlined the design, mark the black parts of the design with lines or something similar. This will help you quickly identify which parts of the design to use your background color on. It may seem like overkill, but once you’ve started punching and you haven’t made it quickly recognizable, you will sit there for a moment from time the time trying to figure out which color to use :) Or, worse, ripping out work when you used the wrong color.

Building a Frame to Hold Your Monk’s Cloth

To punch your snowflake design you’ll need a frame to hold your monk’s cloth nice and taut. My frame measured 23″ x 42″ along the outer edge and 20″ x 39″ inside of punchable space.

The easiest way to create a punch needle frame…

Without needing tools like a saw the easiest way is to use 4 artist canvas stretcher bars in the appropriate lengths. You can buy these online but they tend to be much cheaper at stores like Hobby Lobby. Larger stretcher bars, like 48″ ones, even at Hobby Lobby where they tend to be the most affordable will cost you around $7 apiece. Purchasing two 48″ bars and two 24″ bars from Hobby Lobby to make a punch needle frame would cost around $20 just for the frame. But remember you can take these apart and easily store them to make another custom sized frame for future punch needle projects.

Although they may not have the exact size you’re hoping for you might need to make your frame a bit larger which can make it more unwieldy. But these stretcher bars slot together so that you just pop them together to form your frame and you’re done! For

The cheapest way to create a punch needle frame…

Costing $2 or less for one 96″ piece of lumber, furring strips are a super inexpensive way to build your own frame. For a frame as large as ours for a rug you’ll need to buy two 1″ x 2″ wood furring strips. If you don’t have a saw, or just don’t want to fuss with it, take your lengths needed to your local big box hardware store where they will also cut your lumber to size for a nominal charge (if they charge at all).

Rather than cutting the frame to have fancy mitered (angled) sides that fit together, simply straight cut. You can attach the frame together using your staple gun then screw a flat corner brace in each corner overlapping the two pieces where they form the corner to make it extra sturdy. If you have a power drill you’ll knock this out in no time but you can also use a handy dandy (and cheap) screwdriver.