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Needlework/Cross Stitch Charts
We've been creating and uploading small (3" x 3") needlework charts of heraldic charges that can be downloaded or printed out and which you can then work yourself for nearly eleven years now. Along with each chart is the pattern
information, the floss color descriptions and numbers (though there is no obligation to follow these color recommendations slavishly. You may prefer to select different tints or colors, as indeed sometimes our own needlework artist
has when working from these charts).
To view or download any of these charts, simply click on the hyperlinked name.
The needlework chart for May is an open (that is to say, without a cover or roof over it) stone well.
Our needlework chart for April was a nautical charge, a ship's mast and sail.
The needlework chart for March was a furison, a hand-held steel used with a flint to light fires. Furisons appear on the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Our needlework chart for February was a domesticated bird used not only as food but in some areas like a watchdog or guard warning of the approach of people, a goose.
The free needlework chart for January was a tool used by bakers, a baker's peel, with three "planchets" or small round cakes upon it. When we were visiting Bruges, Belgium a few years ago, there was a coat of arms used as a shop sign that had a red background with three golden baker's peels, each with three white/silver planchets, all looking very much like the one in this needlework chart.
Our free needlework chart for December was an old relative of the harp, a lyre.
The needlework chart for November was a martial charge, a chape (not to be confused with chapé) or crampon, sometimes called a banderoll. It is the metal guard at the end of a scabbard.
Our free needlework chart for October was a nice companion to the September chart, a beehive ("beset with bees," that is with bees flying about it).
The needlework chart for September was an insect not infrequently found in heraldry, a bee.
For our needlework chart for August, I was seriously tempted to take last month's charge, do two of them, and then change the pips on each die to ermine spots, thus making a "pair of fuzzy dice." You should be grateful; I manfully resisted that temptation! So instead, August's chart is a different gaming item, a game board or chessboard.
The needlework chart for July was an old gaming piece (versions have been found as far back as the Romans), one half of a set of dice, a die.
Our needlework chart for June was relatively rare charge in heraldry, an heraldic whale. It looks a lot like the heraldic dolphin, but the tail is different, and it has two blowholes on the top of its head as well as large tusks in its mouth. Whale heads are found in the canting (punning on the surname) arms of Whalley.
We also sell packages that include each year's charts of these charges we have done (at this point, twelve years in all). Or you can purchase a CD-ROM with 144 charts of these heraldic charges in .pdf format. More information on these sets, including a list of the charges contained in them, can be found here.
Other needlework charts available for sale, and information on contacting us about creating customized needlework charts for you, can also be found on our Needlework page here.
Questions? Comments? Compliments? Complaints? Suggestions for improvement? Or just want to share your successes (or difficulties) with our "free stuff"? Write, call, or e-mail us at the address, telephone number, or e-mail addresses here.