Classic bee hive needlepoint pattern
Advanced · 11 colors · 4 × 4 in · 18 mesh
Shape: SquareChange
Download free PDFPDF, US Letter · 26 KB
A dome-shaped straw hive with a dark doorway sits on a low wooden stand, with one bee flying at each side. The ground is dark purple, dotted with small pale yellow flecks.
Size and details
The chart is 72 × 72 stitches: a square ornament on 18 mesh canvas.
The chart is 72 × 72 stitches: a square ornament on 18 mesh canvas.
The chart is 72 × 72 stitches: a square ornament on 18 mesh canvas.
The chart is 143 × 234 stitches at its widest and tallest: a Christmas stocking on 13 mesh canvas, with 22,920 stitches inside its outline.
Worked in tent stitch throughout.
Worked in tent stitch throughout.
Worked in tent stitch throughout.
Worked in tent stitch throughout.
Advanced: 11 colors. Changes of color are about 2 stitches apart, leaving out the background around the picture. With 10 colors or more, closer than 4.5 apart is Advanced, 4.5 or more is Intermediate, and a design with this many colors is never Beginner.
Shape and border
| Mesh | Stitched size | Canvas to cut |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7.2 × 7.2 in 18.3 × 18.3 cm | 11.2 × 11.2 in 28.4 × 28.4 cm |
| 12 | 6 × 6 in 15.2 × 15.2 cm | 10 × 10 in 25.4 × 25.4 cm |
| 13 | 5.5 × 5.5 in 14.1 × 14.1 cm | 9.5 × 9.5 in 24.2 × 24.2 cm |
| 14 | 5.1 × 5.1 in 13.1 × 13.1 cm | 9.1 × 9.1 in 23.2 × 23.2 cm |
| 18 | 4 × 4 in 10.2 × 10.2 cm | 8 × 8 in 20.3 × 20.3 cm |
| Mesh | Stitched size | Canvas to cut |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7.2 × 7.2 in 18.3 × 18.3 cm | 11.2 × 11.2 in 28.4 × 28.4 cm |
| 12 | 6 × 6 in 15.2 × 15.2 cm | 10 × 10 in 25.4 × 25.4 cm |
| 13 | 5.5 × 5.5 in 14.1 × 14.1 cm | 9.5 × 9.5 in 24.2 × 24.2 cm |
| 14 | 5.1 × 5.1 in 13.1 × 13.1 cm | 9.1 × 9.1 in 23.2 × 23.2 cm |
| 18 | 4 × 4 in 10.2 × 10.2 cm | 8 × 8 in 20.3 × 20.3 cm |
| Mesh | Stitched size | Canvas to cut |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7.2 × 7.2 in 18.3 × 18.3 cm | 11.2 × 11.2 in 28.4 × 28.4 cm |
| 12 | 6 × 6 in 15.2 × 15.2 cm | 10 × 10 in 25.4 × 25.4 cm |
| 13 | 5.5 × 5.5 in 14.1 × 14.1 cm | 9.5 × 9.5 in 24.2 × 24.2 cm |
| 14 | 5.1 × 5.1 in 13.1 × 13.1 cm | 9.1 × 9.1 in 23.2 × 23.2 cm |
| 18 | 4 × 4 in 10.2 × 10.2 cm | 8 × 8 in 20.3 × 20.3 cm |
| Mesh | Stitched size | Canvas to cut |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 14.3 × 23.4 in 36.3 × 59.4 cm | 18.3 × 27.4 in 46.5 × 69.6 cm |
| 12 | 11.9 × 19.5 in 30.3 × 49.5 cm | 15.9 × 23.5 in 40.4 × 59.7 cm |
| 13 | 11 × 18 in 27.9 × 45.7 cm | 15 × 22 in 38.1 × 55.9 cm |
| 14 | 10.2 × 16.7 in 25.9 × 42.5 cm | 14.2 × 20.7 in 36.1 × 52.6 cm |
| 18 | 7.9 × 13 in 20.2 × 33 cm | 11.9 × 17 in 30.3 × 43.2 cm |
Mesh is the number of canvas threads to the inch; the row in bold is the mesh this chart is sized for. Canvas to cut includes a margin of 2 in (5.1 cm) of bare canvas on every side. Leave at least that much.
Paper for the PDF
Threads and canvas
Square
- DMC 550 Very Dark Violet 3,640 stitches about 25 yards
- DMC 728 Topaz 331 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 745 Light Pale Yellow 322 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 782 Dark Topaz 312 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 783 Medium Topaz 278 stitches about 2 yards
- DMC 433 Medium Brown 144 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 436 Tan 60 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 898 Very Dark Coffee Brown 58 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC BLANC White 14 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 726 Light Topaz 13 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 310 Black 12 stitches about 1 yard
5,184 stitches in the chart, about 42 yards in all. The yards are estimates for 18 mesh.
Square with no border
- DMC 550 Very Dark Violet 3,666 stitches about 26 yards
- DMC 728 Topaz 331 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 782 Dark Topaz 312 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 745 Light Pale Yellow 296 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 783 Medium Topaz 278 stitches about 2 yards
- DMC 433 Medium Brown 144 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 436 Tan 60 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 898 Very Dark Coffee Brown 58 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC BLANC White 14 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 726 Light Topaz 13 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 310 Black 12 stitches about 1 yard
5,184 stitches in the chart, about 43 yards in all. The yards are estimates for 18 mesh.
Line border
- DMC 550 Very Dark Violet 3,406 stitches about 24 yards
- DMC 745 Light Pale Yellow 556 stitches about 4 yards
- DMC 728 Topaz 331 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 782 Dark Topaz 312 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 783 Medium Topaz 278 stitches about 2 yards
- DMC 433 Medium Brown 144 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 436 Tan 60 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 898 Very Dark Coffee Brown 58 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC BLANC White 14 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 726 Light Topaz 13 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 310 Black 12 stitches about 1 yard
5,184 stitches in the chart, about 42 yards in all. The yards are estimates for 18 mesh.
Christmas stocking
- DMC 550 Very Dark Violet 13,758 stitches about 131 yards
- DMC 321 Red 6,126 stitches about 59 yards
- DMC 728 Topaz 662 stitches about 7 yards
- DMC 782 Dark Topaz 624 stitches about 6 yards
- DMC 745 Light Pale Yellow 592 stitches about 6 yards
- DMC 783 Medium Topaz 556 stitches about 6 yards
- DMC 433 Medium Brown 288 stitches about 3 yards
- DMC 436 Tan 120 stitches about 2 yards
- DMC 898 Very Dark Coffee Brown 116 stitches about 2 yards
- DMC BLANC White 28 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 726 Light Topaz 26 stitches about 1 yard
- DMC 310 Black 24 stitches about 1 yard
22,920 stitches inside the outline, about 225 yards in all. The yards are estimates for 13 mesh.
Thread colors are approximate screen matches to DMC numbers. Check against real thread before you buy.
The numbers are DMC color numbers, which its six-strand cotton and its pearl cotton share. Wool and silk are numbered differently: match those by eye. For how many strands and which needle, see which thread suits which mesh.
The yards are of thread as it is threaded in the needle: stitched with several strands together, a thread takes that many yards of single strand for every yard listed. For six-strand cotton on 18 mesh, the thread and needle chart gives 4 to 6 strands.
The yards are of thread as it is threaded in the needle: stitched with several strands together, a thread takes that many yards of single strand for every yard listed. For six-strand cotton on 18 mesh, the thread and needle chart gives 4 to 6 strands.
The yards are of thread as it is threaded in the needle: stitched with several strands together, a thread takes that many yards of single strand for every yard listed. For six-strand cotton on 18 mesh, the thread and needle chart gives 4 to 6 strands.
The yards are of thread as it is threaded in the needle: stitched with several strands together, a thread takes that many yards of single strand for every yard listed. For six-strand cotton on 13 mesh, the thread and needle chart gives 7 or 8 strands.
You also need blank needlepoint canvas (mono canvas) in the mesh you choose (see mesh sizes), cut to the size in the table above, and a tapestry needle.
An estimate. The length of thread one stitch uses on the front and back of the canvas, times the number of stitches, plus 30 percent for starting, ending and the tail left in the needle. Each count is estimated as basketweave or continental and rounded up to a whole yard, so the yards in all are a little more than the thread calculator gives for every stitch at once. The 30 percent is this site's own choice. The thread calculator works the same estimate for any count and mesh.
Getting it onto your canvas
This is a counted chart: one square of the chart is one stitch. Find the center of your canvas and the center of the chart (the red arrows above and to the left of the chart), and count out from there, a color at a time.
Nothing is printed on the canvas, so no transfer is needed. How to needlepoint covers the first stitches.
Downloads
- Chart for US Letter paper PDF · 2 pages
- Chart for A4 paper PDF · 2 pages
Each file has the thread key and the sizes on its first page, then the chart with a symbol in every square and a heavier line every ten. A chart too large for one page is divided over several, with two rows or columns repeated in gray where the pages join; a page may be turned on its side for a part that is wider than it is tall.
For your own stitching, gifts and handmade pieces you sell. Do not resell or share this PDF.
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