Varnish & Thread: Tiny Masterpieces, 10 Beginner Mini Cross Stitch Patterns of Famous Art (PDF)

Tiny Masterpieces is a set of 10 counted cross-stitch patterns from the Varnish & Thread collection, for beginners and quick-finish stitchers: ten small famous-art charts, each about 50 stitches wide with up to 12 colours. Ten small counted cross-stitch charts after public-domain artworks, each about 50 stitches wide with no more than 12 colours and full stitches only, a manageable size for a first project: The Great Wave (Hokusai), Water Lilies (Monet), Wheat Field with Cypresses and The Bedroom (Van Gogh), La Grande Jatte (Seurat), Maples at Mama and Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa (Hiroshige), Sparrow and Snow-covered Camellia (Hiroshige), the Empress Josephine rose (Redouté) and Willow Bough (William Morris). Most are details of the original works.

This is a digital download of PDF patterns. Nothing is shipped: no fabric, floss, hoop or printed paper.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

• 10 charts across 10 designs, each as two PDFs: a black-symbol chart designed for Pattern Keeper, and a printable colour + symbol chart
• In every PDF: a cover page with the finished size, a how-to page, a floss key (symbol, DMC number, colour name, stitch count, skein estimate) and chart pages with a bold line every 10 stitches
• Varnish-and-Thread_tiny-masterpieces_Start-Here.pdf: a short Start Here guide (opening the files, printing, Pattern Keeper import, art credit)
• Full cross stitch only: no backstitch, no fractional stitches

SIZES, STITCH COUNTS AND FLOSS (DMC numbers)

The Great Wave:

• Mini: 50 × 37 stitches (1,850 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail: the wave crest and Mount Fuji, not the full print.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 3.4 in; 14-count 3.6 × 2.6 in; 16-count 3.1 × 2.3 in; 18-count 2.8 × 2.1 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: Ecru, 927, 803, 3023, 798, 931, 414, 613, 926, 318, 797, 317

Water Lilies:

• Mini: 50 × 29 stitches (1,450 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail: a group of lily pads with pink blossoms from the lower part of the painting.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 2.6 in; 14-count 3.6 × 2.1 in; 16-count 3.1 × 1.8 in; 18-count 2.8 × 1.6 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 312, 825, 3842, 502, 3809, 3808, 503, 414, 931, 3848, 3740, 3847

Wheat Field with Cypresses:

• Mini: 50 × 65 stitches (3,250 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail: the cypress trees with wheat and sky, from the right half of the painting.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 5.9 in; 14-count 3.6 × 4.6 in; 16-count 3.1 × 4.1 in; 18-count 2.8 × 3.6 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 986, 926, 523, 3768, 3829, 890, 780, 503, 934, 334, 824, 310

La Grande Jatte:

• Mini: 50 × 67 stitches (3,350 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail: the woman with the parasol and the monkey, from the right side of the painting.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 6.1 in; 14-count 3.6 × 4.8 in; 16-count 3.1 × 4.2 in; 18-count 2.8 × 3.7 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 158, 317, 501, 07, 3012, 413, 3799, 520, 642, 924, 535, 3740

The Bedroom:

• Mini: 50 × 39 stitches (1,950 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF).

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 3.5 in; 14-count 3.6 × 2.8 in; 16-count 3.1 × 2.4 in; 18-count 2.8 × 2.2 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 782, 931, 07, 3022, 731, 640, 3052, 809, 320, 3032, 3768, 734

Maples at Mama:

• Mini: 50 × 75 stitches (3,750 stitches), 12 colours, 2 chart pages (5 pages per PDF).

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 6.8 in; 14-count 3.6 × 5.4 in; 16-count 3.1 × 4.7 in; 18-count 2.8 × 4.2 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 524, 739, 3860, 3750, 535, 317, 924, 3022, 451, 3046, 824, 3032

Asakusa in Snow:

• Mini: 50 × 71 stitches (3,550 stitches), 12 colours, 2 chart pages (5 pages per PDF).

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 6.5 in; 14-count 3.6 × 5.1 in; 16-count 3.1 × 4.4 in; 18-count 2.8 × 3.9 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 738, 372, 350, 745, 642, 321, 3021, 422, 3064, 3815, 3858, 839

Sparrow and Camellia:

• Mini: 50 × 77 stitches (3,850 stitches), 12 colours, 2 chart pages (5 pages per PDF). The mini is the upper half of the print: the sparrow, the inscription and the top camellia blossoms in snow.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 7.0 in; 14-count 3.6 × 5.5 in; 16-count 3.1 × 4.8 in; 18-count 2.8 × 4.3 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 738, 739, 351, 841, 3790, 831, 840, 3023, 3022, 3864, 372, 924

Empress Josephine Rose:

• Mini: 50 × 38 stitches (1,900 stitches), 12 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail of the open rose.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 3.5 in; 14-count 3.6 × 2.7 in; 16-count 3.1 × 2.4 in; 18-count 2.8 × 2.1 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 3024, 316, 3727, 522, 3042, 523, 3363, 3726, 3362, 3861, 435, 3032

Willow Bough:

• Mini: 50 × 50 stitches (2,500 stitches), 8 colours, 1 chart page (4 pages per PDF). The mini is a detail of the leaves.

Finished size: 11-count 4.5 × 4.5 in; 14-count 3.6 × 3.6 in; 16-count 3.1 × 3.1 in; 18-count 2.8 × 2.8 in (Aida, 1 stitch per square; 28-count evenweave over two = 14-count).

DMC floss: 543, 524, 989, 3013, 3046, 368, 371, 642

PATTERN KEEPER

The symbol PDF is designed for Pattern Keeper: real font symbols, a key with Number and Name columns, Letter-size pages of up to 60 × 70 stitches and no overlapping rows, following Pattern Keeper's published import guidance. It has not yet been tested in the app itself, so I don't call it compatible. It also prints normally.

THE ARTWORKS (ALL PUBLIC DOMAIN)

The Great Wave:

Title: Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai

Date: ca. 1830–32

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45434

Water Lilies:

Title: Water Lilies

Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)

Date: 1906

Museum: Art Institute of Chicago

Source: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16568

Wheat Field with Cypresses:

Title: Wheat Field with Cypresses

Artist: Vincent van Gogh

Date: 1889

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436535

La Grande Jatte:

Title: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884

Artist: Georges Seurat (French, 1859–1891)

Date: 1884–86, border added 1888–89

Museum: Art Institute of Chicago

Source: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992

The Bedroom:

Title: The Bedroom

Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)

Date: 1889

Museum: Art Institute of Chicago

Source: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/28560

Maples at Mama:

Title: Maples at Mama, from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige

Date: ca. 1857

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37096

Asakusa in Snow:

Title: Kinryūsan Temple at Asakusa, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo"

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige

Date: 1856

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56689

Sparrow and Camellia:

Title: Sparrow and Snow-covered Camellia (Tsubaki)

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige

Date: ca. 1845

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56949

Empress Josephine Rose:

Title: ‘Empress Josephine’ or Frankfort Rose (Rosa turbinata), from "Les Roses" by Claude-Antoine Thory

Artist: Pierre Joseph Redouté

Date: 1817–24

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/762055

Willow Bough:

Title: Willow Bough

Artist: William Morris

Date: 1887

Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/384022

These artworks are in the public domain, and each museum released its image under CC0 (Open Access).

Credit: chart designs by Varnish & Thread after the public-domain works listed above (credit lines are in each PDF).

Chart design by Varnish & Thread. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the museums or DMC.

HOW THIS PATTERN WAS MADE

The charts are generated by software from the public-domain museum image: the program crops and resizes the artwork, groups its colours, matches each one to the nearest DMC floss number and lays out the symbols and pages, and the results are checked. No AI image generator was used. The cover and preview images are digital previews rendered from the chart, not photos of stitched pieces, so real stitching will look slightly different. This description was drafted with an AI writing assistant and checked against the chart files.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD

1. Right after checkout your download page opens, and the download link is also emailed to you.
2. Download all the files to a computer or tablet. Each .zip unzips into one folder per chart, with its two PDFs.
3. Unzip: double-click on a Mac, right-click > Extract All on Windows, or tap the zip in the Files app on iPad/iPhone.
4. Print the colour PDF at 100% (actual size), or import the symbol PDF into Pattern Keeper. Start with the Start Here guide.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Is this pattern good for a beginner?

A: Yes. Every chart here is a mini, about 50 stitches wide with no more than 12 colours and full stitches only, a manageable first project.

Q: What fabric and floss do I need?

A: Any Aida or evenweave works. The finished sizes above are given for 11, 14, 16 and 18 count. Colours are DMC stranded cotton numbers, and the key in each PDF estimates how many skeins you need. No materials are included.

Q: Does it work with Pattern Keeper?

A: The symbol PDF is designed for Pattern Keeper's published import guidance (font symbols, Number and Name key columns, pages of up to 60 × 70 stitches). It hasn't been tested in the app yet. If an import doesn't work, email me and I'll help or adjust the file.

Q: Are the pictures photos of the finished stitching?

A: No. The cover and preview images are digital previews made by computer from the chart, not photos of a stitched piece. Real stitching will look slightly different.

Q: How do I download it?

A: Your download page opens right after checkout and the link is emailed to you. Download the files, unzip them, then print the colour PDF or open the symbol PDF in your chart app.

Q: Can I get a refund?

A: Refunds are available within 14 days for a file problem I can't fix, or for a duplicate order. Email todorgan@gmail.com with your order details.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Digital PDF download. Nothing will be shipped.
• For personal use. Please don't share or resell the PDF files. You're welcome to sell or gift items you stitch from them.
• Thread colours use DMC floss numbers. Varnish & Thread is not affiliated with DMC.
• Questions or a problem with a file? Email todorgan@gmail.com.