Cotton needlepoint patterns

A stem of cotton, upright: open bolls on a woody stem, each boll a few rounded tufts of fluff bulging out of a star of dry pointed husk.

It is drawn in several styles. All are four inches square on 18 mesh, and most can be made round; levels run from beginner to intermediate. Pale tufts need a ground with enough color to show them, so choose the background first.