Making a H.I.M. Cross-Stitch Pattern

His Infernal Majesty, in all his cross-stitch glory.

I first remember coming across Powerpuff Girls' HIM when I was in middle school and very easily frightened (I write this while a Vincent Price movie is playing in the background - I've become much braver). I would say his face haunted me about as much as the rabbit's skull face in Donnie Darko (which I watched in film class, located in the school's basement - unfair) and the white demon face in The Exorcist, neither of which I am currently brave enough to Google. I just rewatched a HIM clip and I'm guessing all you had to do to scare me in 2000 was put an echo on your voice and wear thigh-highs.

Somewhere around college when I began to Toughen Up™️, I came across HIM again and began to appreciate the gender ambiguity that's at work in his character. There's a tiny doubting voice in my head that's wondering if this is another example of villainous characters made more villainous by their queer-coding - maybe so? But I remember being pleasantly surprised by the way HIM's character played with gender norms. Revisiting scenes of childhood with a new, more critical lens on gender presentation was and is a lot of fun for me, and reconsidering HIM was a little step on that journey.

In the spirit of celebrating characters who reflect the multilayered nature of gender, I decided to create a cross-stitch pattern of HIM. It actually began as an embroidery piece a couple of years before I knew how to cross-stitch. I decided to write a little about my process of making the pattern in case this is something you're interested in doing yourself. I know everyone in my life is tired of me saying, "It's actually surprisingly easy," and, "I know I always say that but this is actually really easy," BUT I think it's actually true this time (like I do every time).

The rest of these were gifted, thrifted, or lifted (JK couldn't think of a rhyme for "I paid for it")

Maybe this is already obvious to you, maybe not - but I remember being like, "Whoa" when I first saw cross-stitch pattern-making at work. When we realized somewhat last-minute that we had run out of things to keep our sewing campers occupied during Harry Potter week (after asking me "Why do you have a nose" lost its appeal), my former coworker saved the day by whipping out a piece of graph paper and creating a cross-stitch pattern for each of the Hogwarts houses. I had never done cross-stitch before, and witnessing this put a spell on me. The emotional bond with the craft could have also been a side-effect of being in high-commitment costumes for three days in front of elementary and middle school children.

Oh, look! Here's the pattern.

Shortly afterwards, I started planning out a HIM pattern of my own. I got started using graph paper like my coworker had, but quickly (however, not that quickly - like four sheets of paper later) realized that there was going to be a lot of trial and error in the process of creating the design. I then realized (again, not that quickly, but we got there in the end) that there are programs online where all you have to do is click a little dot and the color appears or disappears. Just like magic!

(I just realized that I haven't explained yet how the pattern works - and you maybe have already figured it out, or maybe already knew - but each box = one stitch. Wherever you see a box filled with a particular color, you sew a little x in that box on your aida cloth fabric grid. Presto!)

Just pick a color & click where you want it to go!

After a little searching, I found Stitch Fiddle, which has a free option that allows you to make patterns for cross-stitch, knitting, latch hook, crochet (omg wait what), fuse beads, ET CETERA. There are a few services on it that are unleashed if you opt for a paid subscription (ex. using symbols instead of colors, which is helpful if you're printing your pattern on a black-and-white printer), but I was able to get in, do my business, and peace out with my finished pattern all for free.

I started by opening up a blank canvas, setting it around 40 by 60 stitches (I am not patient enough to do a big stitching project - the LaCroix can almost killed me), and slapping my metaphoric pixel paintbrush around until I got the general shape I wanted. I think it helped that I had done some hand drawing of HIM's face earlier in the process as it helped me get a better feel for the shape and dimensions. It was then a matter of clicking the little boxes here and there until the shape looked about right. I decided to call it quits once it looked good enough because I realized it was always going to look pixellated and rough to some degree, and that's okay. It's easier to overlook those rough edges once the stitching is done, I think.

Here's the top corner of my project. I have symbols and colors on this one to make it easier for at-home printing, but I started just using the colors available with the free version.

So, if you've got a picture in mind and a fiery desire to turn it into cross-stitch, go for it! I'd say the hardest part for me was translating the image into a pixelated form. But, if you're starting with an image that's already pixelated (hello, Undertale fans), it'd be a piece of cake. If not, it'll just take some trial and error, but it's kind of relaxing and satisfying work if you're in the right mood for it.

A side note, especially if you're interested in making a pattern to sell or share with others - one thing I like about Stitch Fiddle is that it has a database of DMC floss colors in the program. It was helpful to begin designing using colors I thought would look good, and then being able to go to the store to check with the actual colors in person. Not a big deal if you're just doing the pattern for fun, but it was helpful as I made a pattern to share with other people to help take the guesswork out of the final product.

Here are some of the DMC colors and their numbers. Click the color you want and go 2 town.

That's a little intro to my experience so far with making cross-stitch patterns. Right about now, I'm doubting whether I should have hyphenated the word cross-stitch every time I used it. Anywho - if you'd like to buy my HIM pattern, here you go. I've also got kits if that’s your jam.

If you end up making your own pattern, let me know or leave a comment here! I'd love to see what you’re working on.

Sincerely,