Anyone familiar with Native American culture knows that they hold fast to their traditions and spirituality. When choosing a Native American counted cross stitch design you will most likely find depictions of the people, animals, and other items that are important to them.

The themes represented in the patterns reflect the power and the legend that the indigenous people of North America feel towards animals and plants. Other ideas like bravery, generosity and honesty are also represented as themes in the motifs.

Items representing animals important to the indigenous American natives, including bears, coyotes, cougars, ravens, wolves, eagles, and the white buffalo, are often a part of the Native American counted cross stitch designs. Specific items, like eagle feathers, are usually present either in the headdresses of the clothing being worn or incorporated in some other manner.

Besides eagle feathers, you might find charts with a peace pipe, which was smoked for ceremonial and spiritual uses. The peace pipe was also used in prayers to the four directions - North, South, East, and West - the divisions of the Native American medicine wheel. The medicine wheel represents the circle of life - north (white) for old age, west (black) for adulthood, south (red) for childhood, and east (yellow) to depict the beginning of life, or infancy.

Native Americans have used stitchery and beadwork throughout their history. In their traditional ceremonies, like the Sun Dance, they dress in traditional clothing. One tribe, the Seminoles of Florida, have used different sized scraps of fabric - from tiny to large - to create cotton patchwork clothing to either wear or sell. Some Native American cross stitch patterns include this Seminole patchwork as a decorative border.

Native Americans have always used items from nature for their ceremonial clothing and jewelry. Beads were carved out of bone, animal horns, hooves, turtle shell and wood. They've also animal teeth and other items like porcupine quills for chokers and breastplates used in dancing.

When the traders began arriving in the 1800s, Native Americans switched to using larger glass beads that they called "pony beads" because of the trader's horses. In the 1840s, the peyote stitch began to be used with smaller beads in multiple colors. Many Native American counted cross stitch designs use seed beads in the patterns based on the traditional use of beading.

Hobbies Products on our marketplace

Julia Wigham is an experienced writer and co-owner of Patterns Patch cross stitch forums. An online cross stitch community whose members get free: patterns, articles and tutorials. Visit our colorful => cross stitch blogs today!