Nine Men's Morris Pattern and Tutorial

With so many people all around the world working/living entirely from home at the moment I wanted to share a free pattern with everyone. It is a Nine Men's Morris or Mill (which ever one you call it) board and pieces.

 Because who doesn't need more board games to play with their family?

This one is special though, this game is really old and has been redone in so many different forms. You might even find it on one of those multi-game boards that you can buy. I know I think I have it in two other forms?? It was made popular in Ancient Rome and there is a reason that is stuck around and is still being played today. It's actually good!

To find out more about Nine Men's Morris and to get the rules follow the link here

 I designed this game as a cross stitch because it's something you can easily play with children (upper primary and high school) and I wanted something that could be fairly quickly stitched up and used.

I chose blackwork as the main component because of two reasons. The lines are best done in backstitching because it's simply quicker. And because it allows there to be a little bit of cute detail without overwhelming the whole piece.

The little pieces are stitched and then glued onto felt. I've got a video of how to do that in the group where you will find the pattern. To get the pattern you need to be on facebook it's the easiest place to share free PDFs. I have a facebook group called Beginner Cross Stitch Designs by Naughts & Cross Stitches and you will find this pattern in the files. Also a few other freebies are there as well.

Also I  managed to film how I finished it as a little mini quilt and all the steps along the way. So you can watch that below. I'm really proud of this little piece. It's such a simple design but so practical.

I hope you like this pattern and I'd love to see your board games if you make them!

Happy Stitching,
Caitlin