Anchor Mexican Dancing Lady - 0022500-00001-09 - Downloadable PDF

Anchor Mexican Dancing Lady Embroidery Pattern – Designed by Vivienne Powers

The Anchor Mexican Dancing Lady is a vibrant, culturally inspired cross stitch embroidery pattern designed by Vivienne Powers and published by Anchor in association with Quail Publishing Limited. Available as a free downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level design celebrates the colour, movement, and festive spirit of Mexican folk art through the timeless craft of counted cross stitch. It is an ideal project for embroiderers who have mastered the basics and are ready to work with a rich, complex palette and a detailed figurative design.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a stitched portrait of a Mexican dancing lady, a decorative embroidery piece capturing the flowing costume, bold colours, and dynamic pose associated with traditional Mexican dance. The finished design measures 150 stitches wide by 160 stitches high, which translates to approximately 27.2 cm wide by 29 cm deep on 14-count fabric, making it a substantial and display-worthy piece. The design reference number is 0022500-00001-09.

Techniques Used

• Whole cross stitch – the primary technique used to fill the design, worked using 3 strands of Anchor Stranded Cotton for solid, well-defined coverage
• Back stitch – used for fine detail, outlining, and definition within the design, worked using a single strand of Anchor Stranded Cotton for precision and delicacy

Cross stitch is a form of counted embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are placed on an evenweave or Aida fabric following a charted grid. Each square on the chart corresponds to one cross stitch on the fabric. Back stitch is typically worked after the cross stitch is complete and adds crisp outlines and intricate detail that bring a design to life. The combination of these two techniques is characteristic of high-quality figurative cross stitch and is what places this pattern at an intermediate difficulty level.

Stitches Used

• Cross stitch (whole stitch) – worked with 3 strands of stranded cotton
• Back stitch – worked with 1 strand of stranded cotton for fine line detail

Materials Required

The pattern calls for Anchor Stranded Cotton (Art. No. 4635000), a 6-strand divisible embroidery thread sold in 10-metre skeins. The palette is extensive and richly varied, reflecting the vivid, multi-coloured aesthetic of Mexican folk costume. The full list of colours required includes:

• Cross stitch colours: #0001, #0099, #0027, #0029, #0059, #1005 (x2), #0044, #0047 (x2), #0046 (x2), #0335 (x3), #0925 (x2), #0314, #0298, #0307, #0308, #0310, #0403, #0236, #0218, #0217, #0216, #0189 (x2), #0187 (x4), #0209, #0203, #0390, #0001

The quantities noted in brackets indicate the number of skeins required for each colour, with #0187 requiring the most at four skeins and #0335 requiring three skeins, suggesting these are the dominant tones in the design.

The recommended needle is a round-end embroidery needle, size 24, which is the standard tapestry-style needle used for counted cross stitch on evenweave or Aida fabric. The blunt tip allows the needle to pass through the fabric holes without splitting the threads.

Pattern Format and Accessibility

The Anchor Mexican Dancing Lady pattern by Vivienne Powers is available as a free downloadable PDF, making it immediately accessible to embroiderers of all backgrounds. The pattern is rated intermediate, meaning it is best suited to those with prior experience in counted cross stitch who are comfortable managing a large colour palette and working with both cross stitch and back stitch techniques. The design is copyright Quail Publishing Limited 2021 and Vivienne Powers, and is distributed