A close-up sunflower in full golden bloom, with two little bees working the dark center and a third resting on a leaf below — this pattern is all about warm color and soft, photographic depth. The blurred green-and-gold background behind the flower gives it an almost photo-realistic feel once it’s stitched up.
It’s a wide design rather than a tall one, and at 40 colors it’s a more approachable palette than some of our other large pieces — the real commitment here is the size, not the color-matching.
In this article:
Pattern At a Glance
- DifficultyAdvanced (Large Project)
- Fabric14–28 ct Aida
- Stitch Count300 × 188 stitches
- Finished Size (14 ct)approx. 21.4 × 13.4 in / 54.4 × 34.1 cm
- Colors40 Anchor thread colors
- Estimated Time120–200 hours, depending on skill level and pace
Pattern Preview
Here’s how the finished piece comes together — layered golden petals, a richly textured dark center, and that soft, out-of-focus garden green behind it all.
Materials & Supplies
- Aida fabric, 14–28 count, in White, Antique White, Cream, Ivory, Pale Blue, Soft Aqua, Light Oatmeal, or Natural Linen-Look
- Anchor brand embroidery thread (40 colors) — note this pattern uses Anchor threads, not DMC or Gamma, so double-check your color numbers before substituting
- Tapestry needle, size 24–26
- Embroidery hoop or frame large enough to comfortably move around a 300-stitch-wide design
- Embroidery scissors
- Thread organizer or bobbins (handy for keeping 40 colors sorted over a long project)
Your download includes both the full-color chart and a black & white symbol-only chart, so you can work from whichever is easier on your eyes.
Tips for This Pattern
- This one is wide rather than tall (300 × 188), so if you’re using a hoop, plan to shift it across the fabric in sections rather than trying to stretch the whole width at once.
- The blurred background uses a lot of closely related greens and golds — stitch a small test swatch of two or three neighboring shades first so you can tell them apart before committing to the larger background areas.
- This is a full-coverage design, so the soft bokeh background is stitched too, not left bare. Budget your thread accordingly.
- Consider starting with the sunflower center, where the bees sit — it’s the visual focal point and gives you an early sense of how the finished piece will read.
- Work from the center out to keep the whole design aligned across a project this wide.
Color & Symbol Guide
All 40 colors below are Anchor brand threads. Each symbol in the chart corresponds to one color — the number in parentheses is how many stitches that color covers in the full design.
Download Your Pattern
Get PDF ColorPattern for Free
Watch Ad to Unlock DownloadGet PDF Black & White Pattern for Free
Watch Ad to Unlock DownloadFAQ
What size fabric should I use?
At 300 × 188 stitches, your finished size depends on the fabric count you choose:
| Aida Count | Finished Size |
|---|---|
| 14 ct | 21.4 × 13.4 in / 54.4 × 34.1 cm |
| 16 ct | 18.8 × 11.8 in / 47.6 × 29.8 cm |
| 18 ct | 16.7 × 10.4 in / 42.3 × 26.5 cm |
| 20 ct | 15.0 × 9.4 in / 38.1 × 23.9 cm |
| 22 ct | 13.6 × 8.5 in / 34.7 × 21.7 cm |
| 25 ct | 12.0 × 7.5 in / 30.5 × 19.1 cm |
| 28 ct | 10.7 × 6.7 in / 27.2 × 17.1 cm |
Lower counts (14–16) give you larger, easier-to-see stitches; higher counts (22–28) give a finer, more detailed finish but take up noticeably more wall space at this stitch width.
Is this pattern DMC, Gamma, or Anchor thread?
This pattern’s color chart is provided for Anchor brand threads — not DMC and not Gamma. If you’d rather stitch with DMC or Gamma, you’ll want a conversion chart to cross-reference each of the 40 colors before you start, since the numbering systems don’t match up directly.
Is this a good pattern for beginners?
Not as a first project. It’s rated Advanced (Large Project) mainly because of its size — 300 stitches wide is a real undertaking to hoop and manage, even though the 40-color palette itself is fairly approachable. It’s best suited to stitchers who’ve already finished at least one full-coverage piece.
How long will this pattern take to finish?
Expect somewhere in the range of 120–200 hours, depending on your stitching speed and how many hours a week you can put in. The width makes it a longer haul than a similarly-stitch-count square design, since you’ll be repositioning your hoop more often.
What’s included in the download?
You’ll get both a full-color chart and a black & white symbol-only chart, so you can pick whichever is more comfortable to stitch from.
Final Thoughts
There’s a reason sunflowers are such a popular cross stitch subject — that mix of bold petal color and intricate, textured center gives you both the satisfaction of big blocks of color and the reward of detailed close-up work. Adding the bees gives the whole piece a little extra life and a good excuse to bring in some near-black shading against all that gold.
If you stitch this one up, we’d love to hear how the background greens turn out — that soft blurred effect really depends on how smoothly your shade transitions read from a distance.
📌 Pin one of these to save the pattern!
