Anchor Aromatic Plants - Thyme and Borage Pot Holders - 0060044-00901_11 - Downloadable PDF

Anchor Aromatic Plants – Thyme and Borage Pot Holders Embroidery Pattern (Design No. 0060044-00901-11)

This free downloadable PDF embroidery pattern from Anchor Studio guides stitchers through creating two charming cross-stitched pot holders featuring classic aromatic herb and flower motifs: Thyme and Borage. Designed and published by MEZ GmbH under the Anchor brand, this is an ideal intermediate-level project for embroiderers who are comfortable with counted cross stitch on evenweave fabric and want to produce a practical, decorative kitchen accessory.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces two individual pot holders, each featuring a different botanical design worked in counted cross stitch. The finished embroidered motifs are then incorporated into a fabric pot holder construction using coordinating cotton fabric such as gingham. The two designs are:

• Thyme Pot Holder – a delicate herb sprig motif with a finished embroidery size of 6 × 6 cm
• Borage Pot Holder – a charming borage flower motif with a finished embroidery size of 5.5 × 7.5 cm

The overall embroidery working area for each piece measures 10 × 17 cm, stitched onto a 17 × 17 cm piece of white evenweave fabric before being assembled into the finished pot holder using 49 × 25 cm of coordinating cotton fabric (such as gingham, available from specialist suppliers). All materials listed are specified per individual pot holder.

Techniques Used

Counted cross stitch is the sole embroidery technique used throughout both designs. This classic needlework method involves placing X-shaped stitches in a grid formation by counting threads on an evenweave fabric, allowing for precise, repeatable results. Cross stitch is worked in two stages: the lower diagonal stitch is worked first from left to right across a row, and then the upper diagonal stitch is worked back from right to left, completing each X. This two-pass method ensures neat, consistent coverage and is the standard approach for counted cross stitch on evenweave fabric.

Because the fabric is an evenweave (meaning the warp and weft threads are of equal thickness and evenly spaced), stitchers count actual fabric threads rather than holes, giving great accuracy and a clean finish. Each cross stitch in this pattern is worked over 2 fabric threads in each direction, producing a balanced, medium-sized stitch that suits the botanical motif style well.

Stitches Used

• Cross Stitch – the only stitch required; worked over 2 fabric threads each way using 2 strands of Anchor Stranded Cotton

Materials – Thread

Both designs use Anchor Stranded Cotton (8m skeins, reference prefix 4635000-#), worked with 2 strands throughout. Stranded cotton is a versatile 6-strand divisible embroidery thread; using 2 strands gives good coverage on the specified evenweave count while keeping the motifs crisp and detailed. The colour palettes for each design are as follows:

Thyme – Thread Colours

• Anchor #23
• Anchor #26
• Anchor #226
• Anchor #241
• Anchor #246
• Anchor #271

1 skein of each colour is required for the Thyme design.

Borage – Thread Colours

• Anchor #1
• Anchor #129
• Anchor #176
• Anchor #246
• Anchor #352
• Anchor #875
• Anchor #