“Grumpy Cat”

I wanted to make projects with my new size 7 Aida cloth for myself and Christmas gifts. I found dozens of patterns. I saw the “Grumpy Cat” a few years ago and I decided that if I found a pattern, I would make that for myself. So my first size 7 Aida cloth cross stitch project is this “Grumpy Cat.”

I ordered the size 7 Aida cloth when I found out it existed. I looked on Amazon as one cannot find size 7 Aida cloth at the craft stores. Most stores carry only size 11 through 28.

Most cross stitching and Needlepoint projects are done with size 14 Aida cloth or canvas. Aida cloth is also called Monk’s cloth.

I had comfortably worked with size 7 plastic canvas for the last 6 years. So last year I jumped on the sale of Amazon package of 10 yards of 60 inch Adia or Monk’s cloth [ Amazon # B0019CWSVC ] for under $25.00 USD!! Now it is much higher in price, one package left at $78.00 USD.

I had to wait 2 months for the order to come through. But it was worth it because you pay over $5.00 USD now for one 12 inch x 18 inch piece [30.48 cm x 45.72cm]. You can purchase Aida cloth for less expensive prices by the yard in the more common sizes in some of the big box craft stores.

Floss Colors

I did not have some of the yellows and beige embroidery floss colors for the cat. Grumpy cat is a Siamese cat with beige and dark brown to black tails and high lights on their faces. The real Grumpy Cat “Tardar Sauce”, is pretty dark colors and she does not really have any yellow, she does have beige.

So the colors are not perfect, they are a bit yellow, but since Grumpy cat is a *real* cat, you can choose to make her look like “Tardar Sauce” the real Grumpy Cat or one can take license on the colors!

I used a round hoop and 6 strands of a variety of DMC and other brands of embroidery floss. Some of the floss is floss that I got from kits I did or some that were left overs I got from second hand stores. I also buy floss in bulk packages.

To make it easier I enlarged the cat part of the pattern from the print out on my computer so I could see the colors better as there was no color code on the actual pattern I used.

I use my smartphone also to look at pictures of patterns and I can enlarge the digital photo to see the details as I am legally blind.

I also looked at a photo of another cross stitching project of Grumpy cat to get an idea of colors and style also. I had to figure out how I wanted to place the cat and the word on the cloth itself. I counted out the stitches. I decided because the word took up so much room I placed it at the bottom of the cat.

Grumpy Cat embroidery project

Link for the Grumpy Cat pattern I used.

Here is the pattern as I found it before I edited it to make it larger.

I “Googled” Grumpy Cat and cross stitch to get the photo from online for free. I liked this one the best with the word “Whatever!”

This pattern is for:

Fabric: 14 count Aida cloth
Grid Size: 120 Wide X 28 High
Design Area: 8.00 inches x 1.71 inches (112 x 24 stitches)

You can add any words you want with the cat.

Project Specifics

Time required: many days
Difficulty: medium
Cost: up to $20.00

Materials:

Aida cloth any size – 14 [unless you want to use a larger grid, ie: size 7 ]
Embroidery Floss

Tools:

Pattern
Embroidery needle
Embroidery hoop or frame
Scissors
Ruler to measure your Aida cloth
Plastic tape to cover ends of the Aida cloth so it does not fray

Grumpy Cat pattern close up

Above is a photo of the cat area of the enlarged pattern so I could see the colors I needed of embroidery floss. I added this photo to my gallery on my smartphone so I could refer to the colors and pattern.

This makes it easier for me to count the stitches. I counted out how many stitches the entire project was. Then I added more Aida cloth to make it large enough for a wall decoration in a frame.

Since the Aida cloth is 7 holes or squares per inch, it works up fast and much larger than a grid half the size or size 14 Aida cloth – being 14 holes or squares per inch.

I used a Sharpie pen to make a tiny spot, a + on the cloth to where the center was and the four corners of the cat. I also marked off the word “Whatever” where I wanted it to be worked in whole cross stitches. You can also use black or contrasting floss to make an X for your center. Then just clip the stitch after you do not need it anymore.

Eyes only!

Here is the outline of Grumpy cat starting with his eyes. I used all three strands for each BLACK stitch. All stitches in this project are a complete X cross stitch.

Next I worked with the red part of his nose. Then I worked around that part.

After I did the nose and her blue part of her eyes, the three stands looked too thin so went over the blue eyes and stitched again. After that the rest of the stitches I used all 6 strands.

Next I did the face outline then the body outline and filled in all the black stitches. Next I did the grays in the face and body. The last I did was the yellows.

I ran out of the one color of yellow, so I had to use 4 different shades of yellows!

The only thing I noticed in comparison with a real cat is that this pattern of Grumpy cat does not show his whiskers!

Lastly I added the word ‘Whatever’, in red floss going back to the three strands of floss.

Counting done – easy after that

Once I got the outline done it worked up fast because you don’t have to count as much.

Being legally blind, I have to find projects that I can do that are not too small or too intense. I get tired very easy and so I can only work for about 1 hour and have to take a break sometimes a lot less work time.

I worked on this for about 5 days total, that is a couple of hours each evening. The final photo of Grumpy cat!

The area of the pattern in the project will vary with the size Aida cloth you use. The word Whatever in the project is about 61 holes, that is almost 9 inches in width for a size 7 Aida cloth with 7 holes per inch.

If you make this project I would love to see it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sherry Atbutterfly enjoys crafting with Plastic Canvas and yarn to make all kinds of decorations and fun items for the home. Many of her craft articles feature detailed tutorials and lengthy instructions. This is what she loves to do, She is a teacher. She is also involved with Early American History, Family History and genealogy. Sherry is legally blind.