Hamlet’s Ophelia Cross Stitch Pattern

Description

Hamlet’s Ophelia cross stitch is a replica of the dramatic painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais. The 1852 artwork portrays the drowning Ophelia sinking slowly to her death, still clutching a garland of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples.

You might recognise its likeness from Taylor Swift’s recent hit ‘The Fate of Ophelia‘.

This is a simply gorgeous cross stitch and it

The Project

This is a close replica of the original painting and creates an outstanding finished piece. BUT. Be warned. This is a massive cross stitch that measures more than 1 metre across the widest point (when stitched on 14 count Aida cloth). And the pattern itself spans 91 A4 pages (portrait).

There is also A LOT of confetti and thread changes required to recreate the fine details of Ophelia’s silvery gown and the textures of the trees, flowers, and water foliage. I recommend using Pattern Keeper to manage this complex project.

PLEASE NOTE: Your download pack contains an extra chart that has been specially formatted for the Pattern Keeper App.

The Painting

Ophelia, is the signature work of John Everett Millais and resides at the Tate Gallery in London. What’s really interesting is the way Millais approached the model’s poses.

His muse was a young woman, dressed in a finely embroidered gown and immersed in a bath (warmed by oil lamps placed underneath). The artist, so engrossed in his work, often forgot the reality of the situation and  allowed the heating lamps to go out — so naturally his model was often close to freezing.

The girl became extremely sick due to the to prolonged exposure to temperature extremes and was put in the care of an expensive, private doctor. She did make a full recovery — but Millais was required to pay more than 50 medical bills at the directive of the girl’s father.

The Artist

John Everett Millais was part of the Pre-Raphaelite English painters and lived from 1829 – 1896. Millais was a child prodigy, and was already studying with the Royal Academy by age 11. He is famous for his gorgeous paintings of literary characters, religion and mythology. If you love large, full coverage projects like Hamlet’s Ophelia cross stitch, you’ll find more Millais replicas in my store.