Part seven of my text patch miniseries provides patterns for pride flags with, appropriately, seven horizontal stripes! These patterns suit many aro-ace and aro-ace agender flags as well as some aro, allo-aro, ace and a-spec spectrum flags.
You’ll need familiarity with cross stitch (full crosses and fractional stitches) and backstitch to make unedged patches, along with a buttonhole/closed blanket stitch to make the edged patches shown above. My first patch tutorial demonstrates cross and blanket/buttonhole stitch, while the second covers backstitch.
Notes on Pattern Structure
Full coloured blocks indicate a full cross stitch. Letter outlines indicate backstitch.
Blocks divided on the diagonal, each half a different colour, indicate quarter stitches. Please see my first text tutorial and my pride month pride patch tutorial for more information on backstitching outlines and placing quarter/fractional stitches.
Space for edging your patch is not shown in the patterns below. You’ll need to allow additional blocks for this when cutting your swatch, depending on how narrow or thick you like your edges.
Aro and Ace Patch Patterns
The seven stripe “aro” and “ace” patterns fit a rectangle 35 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 38 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Aro-Ace Patch Patterns
The seven stripe “aroace” and “acearo” patterns fit a rectangle 68 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 71 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Allo-Aro Patch Patterns
The seven stripe “alloaro” and “aroallo” patterns fit a rectangle 79 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 82 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Triple A Patch Pattern
The seven stripe “triple a” pattern fits a rectangle 76 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 79 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Nebula Pattern
The seven stripe “nebula” pattern fits a rectangle 68 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 71 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Agender Pattern
The seven stripe “agender” pattern fits a rectangle 79 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 82 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Queer Pattern
The seven stripe “queer” pattern fits a rectangle 57 stitches wide and 18 stitches high. Assuming a three stitch border, as for my other patches, this means you’ll want a 60 x 21 block swatch plus any excess (if used unmodified).
Sizing, Scale and Fabric
Taller letters mean bigger patches. Even a seven-letter word sewn on 14-count aida takes up a fair amount of space, which may be a problem if attaching this patch to a smaller bag or backpack. Combining patterns for a longer word or term–think “agender aroace”–creates even greater space challenges.
A change in fabric easily reduces the size of the patch. The larger the aida count (the number of blocks per inch), the smaller the stitches and patch dimensions alike. Except for short words like “aro” or “pride”, I sew seven-stripe patterns on 18-count aida. (16-count aida exists for those who find 18-count too small, but I’m yet to find it at an affordable price.) Remember to change your needle as well: generally, a size 26 tapestry needle works for 16-count and a 28 for 18-count. In my opinion, you can get away with using a size 26 for 18-count aida if you don’t have, can’t find or struggle to thread size 28 needles.
You’ll also need to consider the floss used for the lettering, background and backstitch sections of your patch. Thicker, fluffier or twisted strands become more obvious when your stitches shrink. Even small lumps and split or loose stitches stand out more on 18-count than on 14-count! While I also cut shorter threads, untwisted them more often and tried to take my time over stitch placement, using quality floss made the biggest difference in my quest to neaten my work.
Stitching on 18-count uses less floss, especially if you stitch the lettering and background with a single stand. You may need to widen your edging by a block or two if you find it difficult to buttonhole stitch a narrower edge: a two block 18-count edging is much smaller than a two block 14-count edging. It is possible to sew a nice-looking edge over two 18-count blocks, but I find it easier to maintain even tension and stitch placement when I leave myself at least three blocks … which I didn’t do above due to a momentary (and embarrassing) inability to count!
Other space-savers include removing the background stitches above, below and beside the letters. When doing this, I use the same floss for my background and my edging, as shown on my “alloaro” patch, and only fill in the gaps between letters. It’s easier to sew the backstitching and filling-in of quarter stitches after the edging, not before. This avoids accidentally covering the backstitch letter outlines with the buttonhole-stitched edge.
Pattern Modifications
More identities can be stitched in flag colours by adding and subtracting letters from different patterns:
- Agender aroace can be made in a single patch by combining the “agender” and “aroace” patterns.
- Nebula aroace or nebularoace can be made in a single patch by combining the “nebula” and “aroace” patterns.
- Nebula aro or nebularo can be made by combining the “nebula” and “aro” patterns; nebula ace can be made by combining the “nebula” and “ace” patterns.
- Alloace or aceallo is easily made by taking the “alloaro” pattern and swapping the “aro” for the “ace” pattern.
- An apl (abbreviation for “aplatonic”) patch using the seven-stripe aplatonic-spectrum flags can be made using the ace or aro patterns as a base and swapping in “l” from the “alloaro” and “p” from my “triple a” or “pride” patterns.
- Aplatonic, using the same flags, can be made using letters from the “agender”, “aroace” and “triple a” patterns. Both apl and aplatonic can then be added to the “aro”, “ace” and “aroace” patterns. You can even make a (very!) long agender aplatonic aroace patch or banner this way!
- A cupiro patch pattern using the seven-stripe cupiroflux flag can be composed with letters from the “aroace”, “queer” and “triple a” patterns.
- A procul patch using the seven-stripe proculromantic and proculsexual flags can made with letters taken from the “aroace”, “queer” and “triple a” patterns.
Final Notes
Unfortunately, these patches take time to stitch: larger letters and more stripes increase the complexity. I thread each colour of floss on its own needle, to limit fussing about with rethreading, but stitching the allo-aro patch still took me ten hours or so spread over several days. I think the results are worth it, especially if you’re after a craft to keep your hands occupied, but these patterns are no longer quick to sew.
Folks wishing a simpler patch may like to stitch only a single letter, akin to my letter icon designs.
My next tutorial is something I’m quite excited about: a full lower-case alphabet designed for flags with three, four, six and twelve horizontal stripes–plus an assortment of letter icon patterns!
Aro Worlds 