The fish is front and center on this cross-stitch pattern that reimagines an iconic storm drain design. The message is the same: keep our waterways clean.

I was so smitten with my Ohio Watershed design especially the fish that I asked myself how I could make another design like it. One day, I was flicking through the pictures on my phone and I saw this picture of a storm drain I took. The message and the fish are the reason why I snapped the picture.

The storm drain fish is a bit more sophisticated than the fish on the Ohio Watershed sign. Maybe it is because he’s created in relief, not a graphic. It took some time to figure out how to recreate him. In the end, I borrowed the Ohio Watershed fish head and fins and added a body.

Purchase the PDF digital pattern for this design here.

I had to reorient the elements from the storm drain. “Dump No Waste!” and “Drains to Waterways” had to be included as well as the bold shapes of the drain grate. I try to make my designs “easy” sizes. That is, nothing too large or anything that would be difficult to frame. At first, I tried to keep the orientation of the storm drain elements true to the original drain, but it was too horizontal. I ended up stacking the fish on top of the grate and framing them with the messages. The design doesn’t necessarily look like a storm drain, but the essence is there.

You know I couldn’t let that fish stay quiet. He’s gotta drive the message home with his blunt comment, “Don’t be a pain in my drain.” I feel ya, buddy! We all want clean water!

My Storm Drain Pain design measures 5″ x 7″ on 14-count aida cloth. There are 4 DMC threads in the palette. The entire area, except for the speech bubble, is stitched, so if you’re looking for a pattern to keep your hands busy and your mind quiet, this just might be for you. You can purchase the PDF digital pattern in my Etsy shop.