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I'm a big fan of cross stitch, but most kits on the market aren't to my taste. Kittens, cherubs and country scenes are all very well and good, but not something I want to spend hours and hours carefully stitching. Discovering Etsy has been a Godsend for me as it allows me to buy cross stitch patterns that are to my taste and (vitally) as the patterns are PDF files, I don't have that pesky "international shipping charge" to worry about that pushes up the cost so much for me in the UK. Here are some of my favorite Star Wars themed patterns that I have either completed, or that are on my to-do list.
1. Pixel People – Star Wars: A New Hope
The Pixel People line from weelittlestitches on Etsy includes several Star Wars designs, as well as the New Hope pattern here. There's an "allies" pattern and a matching "enemies" one too – the latter including an adorable Boba Fett. None of the currently available patterns include characters from the prequels; whether that's a good thing or not is down to your preferences. There are also some free patterns available on their blog if you want to give the craft a trial. The free patterns currently include the cast of Futurama and The Avengers.
2. A Tale of Woe – R2D2 and C3PO
Possibly one of the trickiest pieces on this list, simply due to that insane blackwork border. This design looks absolutely amazing once completed, as I can attest from having completed it myself over a period of several months. This is the only Star Wars design from Crafty Companion whose shop, contains many Doctor Who designs and an amazing Firefly bookmark pattern featuring a Jayne Cobb Hat wearing owl.
3. Han Shot First
We all know it's true. If you want a simple piece that shows your allegiances to any visitors to your home, this design should make it clear where you stand. The "Needles and Pins" Etsy store actually specialises in "de-motivational, insulting and just down right vulgar" cross stitch patterns (so you probably don't need me to say that many are NSFW) and her work was recently included in the set design for the HBO show Girls.
4. Queen Amidala
Love or hate The Phantom Menace, there's no denying that Queen Amidala's red senate outfit was pretty iconic (not to mention impractical.) The Geeky Stitchery store has several single character designs from both the original trilogy and the prequels, right now I'm imagining stitching Anakin's lightsabers with shiny pearlescent thread...
5. It's a Trap!
There are several Star Wars quote pieces in the pixystitches store, but is there a more memorable Star Wars quote than this? The store contains a large selection of quote based designs, some purely text and others mixed with pictures. There's also a free pattern available weekly on the pixystitches website, updated every Friday.
If you complete any of these designs (or any geeky needlework), the please share it with us in our Flickr group. We'd love to see what you've been making.
