If you love cottagecore decor and thrifted furniture makeovers, this DIY cross stitch chair is such a fun project. I found a $15 cane back chair at the thrift store and transformed it by stitching a rose pattern directly into the caning using yarn. The result is a sweet cottagecore style accent chair that looks like something out of a storybook.

The best part is that the cross stitching doesn’t damage the cane, so it can easily be removed later if you want to change the design.

Cane chairs work perfectly for cross stitching because the holes in the caning act like the grid of a traditional cross stitch pattern. Instead of fabric, the chair becomes the canvas! Let’s get started!

DIY cross stitch chair

SUPPLIES

Thick Yarn in 5 colors- Blossom, Potion, Raspberry, Cilantro, and Grass
Yarn Needles
Scissors
Cross Stitch Pattern

before

I found my caned chair at the thrift shop for $15. Even though the caning was damaged on the back, I saw potential in the chair. I wanted to try to fix it before re-caning it.

step 1- tighten the caning

The caning on the back of my chair was so wavy- it looked terrible! But did you know you don’t have to re-cane a chair that has this issue? Here’s the trick!

Start by getting a rag wet was hot water. Then place the rag on the back of the caning (where it’s more porous) for 10-15 minutes. During that time I used a steamer on the rag to keep it hot. I had a water bottle with hot water to spritz on the caning.

After soaking for 15 minutes, remove the rag and start blow drying on the hottest setting. Use your hand to shape the caning into place. We found putting a grill glove on protects your hand from the heat.

As the caning dries, it shrinks back into place and will be taut again! I was so excited that it actually worked!

Tips Before Starting Your Cross Stitch Chair

Choose thick yarn so the stitches are visible from across the room.
Print your pattern instead of working from a phone.
Start from the center of the design to keep it balanced.
Use a yarn needle with a large eye to easily thread bulky yarn.

step 2- start the cross stitching

Next, now that the caning is looking good, start with the cross stitching! For the pattern, I found a free pattern on Pinterest and printed it out. Having it printed is key!

Beginning is the hardest part with this project. I found it overwhelming, but the key is to find the center of your pattern and the center of the chair. Take the corresponding yarn color, put it on a yarn needle, and go from one circle to the second circle diagonal from it. Then cross it. Then cross the stitch. On the back, tie a knot to secure it. I tied triple knots and then trimmed the tail.

Hot tip- make sure to use the thickest yarn you can find. I looked at lots of examples of cross stitch chairs and if the yarn or string was thin, the pattern was barely visible. Or I saw people with thin yarn who covered each stitch 4 times to get a thick look! This will add hours to the stitching, so I don’t think it’s worth it.

Then continue on! I like using one color and working across the chair to fill in each stitch with that color. As I went, I marked my pattern. For the first stitch I marked a 1, the second stitch a 2, and so on. This made it easy to see my last stitch and not get lost in the pattern.

Work in one section at a time. If there’s a big gap until the next section of that color, tie a knot, and cut the yarn. Then begin in the next section and tie a new knot to secure it. I like completing one section to have it filled in, so I had a few strings of yarn going in the different colors. As long as you don’t tangle up the different yarn strands, this works nicely.

step 3- finish the cross stitching

And now, keep going! Turn on a movie or audio book and just stitch. This took me a few hours to do. There is a bar on the back of my chair and sometimes I’d loop over it. The good news is that the caning is so open, it’s easy to back track and push the yarn back through to remove a stitch if this happens or you go off pattern.

A little trick that helped me was if I was looking at the front of the pattern to figure out my next stitch, I’d push my pencil through the hole I wanted to cross stitch next. Working from the back, I’d pull out the pencil and then stitch in that spot. That helped me so I didn’t lose my spot.

In the beginning, it’s a little hard seeing how the pattern will translate into the picture. But by the time I’d gotten the rose complete and moved onto the leaves and bud, it was exciting to see it come to life! My canvas (back of chair) was too small to completely fit my whole pattern, but I did as much as I could and I think it still turned out nicely.

Remember, no one will see your pattern, so if it’s not exact, it’s not a big deal.

step 4

Lastly, I found a chair cushion thrifting. It has a cute ruffle and is in a rose pattern that works nicely with the cross stitch!

I put that on the chair to finish the transformation from mid century chair to cottagecore chair!

after

I am so thrilled with how this turned out! It’s sweet and the rose cross stitch is really cute!

The cool thing about this project is that the cross stitching doesn’t harm the caning! So if you ever tire of it, it can be snipped off and you’ll have a blank slate again.

The yarn on the back actually adds to the comfort of this chair. This is a chair that won’t be sat on much, so I’m not worried about wear with the yarn. But it is cozy and so cute!

Time required

Time Required: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Beginner
Cost: $37

price breakdown

For this project, I bought the chair for $15. I had 3 skeins of yarn on hand (leftover from this giant cross stitch pegboard art I did a few years ago). So I bought 2 more skeins of yarn for $18. The chair cushion cost $4 from the thrift store. In total I spent $37 on my new chair! That’s the magic of thrifting, you can get a totally custom look for not a lot of money!

faq

Can you cross stitch on a cane chair?
Yes! Cane chairs work perfectly because the holes act like the grid in cross stitch fabric.

Does cross stitching damage the cane?
No. The yarn simply passes through the holes and can be removed later without harming the chair.

What kind of yarn should you use?
Thick yarn works best so the pattern is visible and the stitching goes quickly.

I love how this DIY cross stitch chair turned out- the rose design feels so sweet and vintage. This would be adorable in a bedroom corner, a reading nook, or even a craft room. Mine is in my living room and looks so charming! You could also stitch different patterns depending on the season- florals for spring, strawberries for summer, or mushrooms for fall.

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