A couple of days before Christmas in 2023, this message arrived in our Etsy inbox: “I’m a seasoned traveller and I’d love to stitch every country I’ve visited…” and it turned into a two-year (and counting) travel cross stitch project. It’s a growing collection of mini country cross stitch patterns, and a travel wall, built one tiny cross stitched country at a time.
Emma still sends us updates as she adds new places, and we feel like we’ve stitched this journey right alongside her.
Meet Emma
When Emma first reached out, she had a list of 59 countries she’d travelled to. (59!!) She said she loved the mini cross stitch countries and wanted to make sure she could get a pattern for every country she had visited, and would visit in future. The travel cross stitch pattern idea suited her immediately, with the tidy little flags and country outlines, stitched in bright colours. She thought she could stitch them quickly, display easily, and keep adding to as she visited more places.
Some were the classics — New Zealand, Japan, Vietnam. Others weren’t yet available in our range. She wanted to make a complete set, naturally.
She mentioned that she and her husband had started travelling in 2010 and hadn’t really stopped. They travel budget-style (“backpacking without the dorms,” as she put it), often with their very young kidlets, and have managed some very impressive trip itineraries. One recent four-week adventure took them through eight countries with a five-year-old and a six-month-old in tow. (Yes, we’re gobsmacked too!)
She’s visited 68 countries so far, including Australia where she was born (and lives), and they’re not done yet!
Why Cross Stitch Became Her Favourite Travel Souvenir
Emma told us that she never connected with traditional souvenirs. Her husband collects shot glasses, but she wanted something creative and personal. When her sister introduced her to cross stitching during the 2020 lockdowns, she realised that stitching her travels could become a long-term project she’d love.
She enjoyed how quick these mini cross stitch patterns were to complete, and how each finished country felt like a tiny memory holder. The colours, the flags, the outlines all made sense for someone who had travelled widely and wanted a visual way to remember it.
The best part was how flexible the format was. Each cross stitched country could stand alone, or become part of something larger..
Working Through the Travel Cross Stitch List
Once Emma shared her list, we noticed a few countries missing from our collection. At that stage we had a little over 100 patterns, and her list helped us prioritise which ones to chart next. She’d send us:
“Do you have X?”
or
“Could you add Y? I’ve been there too.”
And we happily rejigged our work plan to create the ones she needed. We’ve always responded to customer requests because though we track general demand, we always trust that our customers know what they’re looking for, even if it’s not showing up in the trend data yet.
And as the list grew, Emma stitched steadily through one country cross stitch pattern after another. Her progress photos popped into our Etsy inbox like friendly postcards, little updates that always brought us delight.
Choosing Hoops, Frames, or Something Else
At one point, Emma considered turning all her stitched countries into a quilt. Later she experimented with display hoops and a few different layout ideas.
And then came the moment everything clicked: her dad offered to make custom frames.
That changed everything. Instead of a mixed display, she could create a clean, consistent travel wall of matching frames, each holding a single country cross stitch map and flag. He’s made more than sixty so far, and they’ve become a defining part of the whole project.
Each frame is simple and lets the colours of the stitched flags stand out. It’s a perfect fit for small cross stitch pieces like these.
The Cross Stitch Travel Wall Takes Shape
One of our favourite updates came when Emma sent us a photo of all the frames arranged on the floor, ready to be hung. It looked like a hand-stitched atlas.
When she finally mounted the first group, the wall came to life. Dozens of country patterns framed side by side, telling the story of her travels in colour and thread. The result is a bright, joyful reminder of everywhere she’s been — not just cities and landmarks, but memories, experiences, and stories.
It’s bright, organised, and uniquely hers. The display can grow at any time as they take their next trip every year or so. All she needs to do is stitch the next country, frame it, and add it to the wall.
It’s a creative travel wall art idea, and one of the nicest uses of mini stitched pieces we’ve seen.
Stories Behind the Travel Cross Stitch Wall
Emma once shared a photo of her toddler trying to “help” with her stitching. It’s become a real family affair.
She adds: “My eldest still wants to ‘sew’ with me and these little framed countries are actually teaching him the flags of places he has visited so its become an educational tool as well. He will sometimes look at them and ask which ones are which.”
She doesn’t have a favourite country and says even narrowing it to a top five is nearly impossible.
For Emma, this isn’t just a décor project. It’s a record of a life lived with curiosity, trips with kids, unexpected discoveries, long flights, new foods, and a sense of adventure that hasn’t faded.
How the Project Continues Today
We still hear from Emma regularly. She’ll message when she’s finished a batch, when she’s planning a new trip, or when she’s ready for more patterns from the list.
There are still countries she intends to visit, which means her travel wall is only going to get bigger.
It’s rare to see a stitching project that spans years and remains so joyful from start to (not yet) finish. Following her progress has become a quiet highlight for us, a reminder of why we love designing patterns and connecting with stitchers all over the world.
How You Can Start Your Own Country Stitch Collection
If Emma’s project has sparked an idea for your own travel wall, it’s easy to start small. Most people begin with:
- the country they were born in or that they live in
- the first country they ever visited
- a special holiday
- or a meaningful family trip.
From there, your collection can grow as slowly or as quickly as you prefer. It grows from there, one cross stitched country at a time.
There are lots of ways to display them:
- matching frames (like Emma)
- mini hoops
- a stitched travel scrapbook
- grouped blocks
- a quilt made from stitched flags
- We’ve even had stitchers share ideas like fridge magnets, or borders on hand towels.
Small pieces are forgiving, quick to complete, and perfect for anyone who wants a meaningful, handmade way to record their travels.
Explore the Country Pattern Collection
If you’d like to begin your own cross stitch travel wall, you can browse our full collection of mini country travel cross stitch patterns. We’ve set up a page on the blog so you can quickly jump to the country/ies you’re interested in. There’s 160 so scrolling could take a while :)
You can also browse the countries by region in our Traveler Collection.
But the patterns are small, quick to stitch, and easy to display in any format you like.
Thanks For Sharing, Emma
Emma’s travel cross stitch wall continues to grow as she visits new places, and we’ll keep updating this post as she sends through new stitched flags. It’s been wonderful watching her turn small pieces of fabric and thread into a creative map of her life.
We’re grateful she allowed us to share her journey, and we can’t wait to see which country she adds next.
If you enjoy project stories like this, you might also like our finishing ideas here.
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