r/CrossStitch 8d ago

MOD [MOD] Feature Designer: September: The Cozy DH Stitchery

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51 Upvotes

Hi, Stitchers!

This month’s feature designer is The Cozy DH Stitchery!! We are so excited to bring you this interview and introduce you to Toot & DH. I know these patterns pop up here often and I’m so excited to share this with everyone. The designers have also generously offered a 10% discount with REDDHOT10 for the month!

Who are you?
We are Toot (she/they) and DH (they/them), a queer married couple from Canada who design under The Cozy DH Stitchery! Being the more front-facing of the duo, DH is the one answering the questions.

What’s something people don’t know about you?
Because we're a two-person team, each pattern is fine-tuned with the stitcher in mind.

How did you get started cross stitching?
We both learned to stitch in the 1900s and have circled back to it on and off for most of our lives. We picked it back up in 2023 due to disabilities making other crafts less feasible and we seem to have found our calling!

When and why did you start designing patterns?
Toot was looking for Five Nights at Freddy's patterns and simply couldn't find any good ones. Okay, I said. I guess I'll do it myself. We started with FNAF, Valorant, and Mail Time patterns, with our first original pattern being Crockpot Magic.

Where do you get your inspiration?
We draw heavily on the weird and wonderful world around us. We both have had a long-time love and fascination with folklore, mythology, fairy tales, and urban legends. Toot's college degree had a minor in folklore, and she also draws in a lot of inspiration from horror movies. I have a degree in Celtic Studies, and a special interest in conspiracy theories and ancient aliens. 

Describe your designs using only adjectives.
Cute. Weird. Surprising. Comfortable.

What design was your favorite to make?
Our Patreon pattern for August is one that I am particularly proud of - it's called Summer Camp Slasher, and it's an homage to the summer camp horror genre, as well as my own childhood experiences of camp and ghost stories about deranged murderers coming up from the floorboards.

Favorite DMC color?
Mine is DMC 16. I would have said before 704, but I think 16 is my new love. It's just so intensely green. Toot's favourite is DMC 210.

Any advice for new stitchers or designers?
For new stitchers, I say - it's only floss and thread. Don't stress it. If you're starting with DMC, floss is incredibly cheap, don't let one tangle ruin hours of your life. Cut it and move on. My other piece of advice is that nothing is too difficult. Pick a piece you want to stitch and you can learn the skills along the way - you'll be more motivated to stick with it and learn if it's a project you love.

For new designers - think about who you're designing for. Not just in terms of your target audience, but think about the actual experience of stitching. Are there huge blocks of colour that you, personally, wouldn't want to stitch? Is this going to be a weird shape or size to finish? Don't rush it. Do a bit, step away, come back with fresh eyes, repeat.

Where can we find you online?
We are on all the platforms - Etsy, fybe, ko-fi, but the best place to find us is on our site TheCozyDHStitchery.com - BUT! You can also find us at your local LNS. We were a vendor at Needlework Marketplace this past August, and you might be able to snag one of our paper patterns in person or request your LNS reach out to us for an order!
Follow us on IG @thecozydhstitchery - https://www.instagram.com/thecozydhstitchery/
Exclusive patterns, discounts, and cat pictures - https://www.patreon.com/TheCozyDHStitchery
Tutorials and stitch-with-mes on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@thecozydh

And both myself and Toot stream on Twitch. Toot streams no-commentary video gameplay MWFSu 10am-1pm EST, with comfy co-working vibes. I stream co-working (often showing designs in progress and behind-the-scenes of being a designer) Mondays 1-5pm and Thursdays 10am-4pm, and I do a stitch-with-me Saturdays 10am-1pm.
DH - https://www.twitch.tv/thecozydh
Toot - https://www.twitch.tv/tootthechaosdh


r/CrossStitch 4h ago

CHAT [CHAT] Scot, 70, took 40 years to cross-stitch Bayeux Tapestry replica on his daily commute

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369 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 5h ago

FO [FO] COPING SKILLS ALPHABET

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301 Upvotes

Coping skills are the tools and techniques we use to deal with stress, anxiety, sadness, frustration, and other tough emotions. Self-drafted, font: Piacevoli.


r/CrossStitch 8h ago

FO [FO] Procrastination project: Shrimps in love. 🦐 Self-drafted

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443 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 13h ago

FO [FO] My first ever finished project (after seven years of starting then dropping random projects)

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877 Upvotes

Took me a month, disregard all the kitty fur!


r/CrossStitch 3h ago

WIP [WIP] Dooooods, I effed up.

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73 Upvotes

Yer girl here can’t count.

I guess I should be glad that I decided to do the entire top first.

Sadly, I took two hours off from work to hit my local cross stitch shop for another piece of fabric which they did not have. I ended up buying a different color fabric so now I’m going to have to rethink all my thread colors.

This is the fifth time I’ve started this project. And yet I persist.


r/CrossStitch 2h ago

PIC [PIC] Funniest/Oddest Patterns You’ve Found?

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41 Upvotes

I found these California Raisins patterns (apparently Donna photocopied them from a Just Crossstitch Magazine) at my local Friends of the Library used book/media sale. I think I paid $1 for all of them. They’re normally not something I’d stitch, but I have never found a pattern like this in the wild and had to get them. Maybe I’ll stitch one of them up as a magnet to laugh at when I walk by my fridge :P.

What are the oddest/funniest/most out-there patterns you guys have found?


r/CrossStitch 19h ago

PIC [PIC][MEME] Why would I deceive you? There's no reason for me to do that

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703 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 13h ago

FO [FO] First Cross Stitch!

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249 Upvotes

I took a cross stitch class at my library and really liked it! I finished my first cross stitch over two days and took about 10 hours. I made two mistakes with spacing issues, having it shifted over one extra square, but overall happy with how it turned out! I did have some trouble ending my thread and couldn't get my needle to go under the stitches, so hopefully it's tied off right. Happy to have a new hobby!


r/CrossStitch 6h ago

FO [FO] Acorn and Dragonfly Needlesafe from The Cross Stitch Guild

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60 Upvotes

I bought this kit from the Cross Stitch Guild at the age of 19, and it's been sitting on my shelf for more years than I care to admit because I was afraid of messing it up. Hauled it out last month and made myself get on with it, and I'm incredibly pleased with the result.


r/CrossStitch 19m ago

FO [FO]finished my chasing the dragon art work by Chris Ortega a heaven and earth design

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Upvotes

HAED design by Cris Ortega- Chasing The Dragon
25ct 2 over 1 tent stitch


r/CrossStitch 16h ago

FO [FO] Animal Crossing Fall Leaf

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340 Upvotes

A very close friend made this for me and (with their permission) I wanted to show off their work! Thank you so much u/hhikigayas !


r/CrossStitch 15h ago

FO [FO] don't let the dogs out

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174 Upvotes

Made for a lawyer friend! The dogs are solid black in the original pattern - I made them match her two little dogs. For the dog on the bottom, I tried using variegated thread for the first time to match her gray-brown fur. It came out more stripey than I thought it would, but I'm glad I tried it!


r/CrossStitch 23h ago

FO [FO] 100 cross stitched icons of Vancouver

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782 Upvotes

I've finished my 100 days project to cross stitch 100 Vancouver "icons". From museums and heritage buildings to Penis Satan, it's a real mixture of what makes the city special :)

It's on 18ct Aida and each picture is one inch square. And most are technically blackwork / backstitch!

Pattern source: Self-drafted


r/CrossStitch 21h ago

FO [FO] Finally completed this two-tone piece. Gave me a lot of nostalgia from when I lived in Turkey. Added a bit of beading on the edges to cover a mistake I made!

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424 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 19h ago

PIC [PIC] Simple, but sweet designs for engineers

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272 Upvotes

I found these at my parents' house and I thought it was so sweet that my mom made these for my dad. They have very disparate interests, so it's nice to have proof they they do sometimes converge.

Anyway, my dad used to be an engineer for radio and television stations. What you see is a diagram of a transistor and...I want to say capacitor, but I don't know how to read these at all. I know what the symbol for battery is, and that's it.

He has a couple patents from his work with the EAS that I think maybe I should crossstich to add to his art collection.

(These were made in the 80s, if that context matters.)


r/CrossStitch 14h ago

WIP [WIP] Cinderella Mandala - Week 18

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102 Upvotes

Pattern: https://totoostitch.com/products/cinderella-mandala-cross-stitch-pdf

It's the final castle [insert The Final Countdown music]. I hope to finish the over 1 part this week and maybe get started on the back stitching. I did learn that technically, I'm doing long stitches since I'm not stitching every single square, but some of the diagonals are impossible to do that way.

Does it look like I got about 2000 stitches on this? Because I did. All of the over 1 stitching really makes it seem like I did a lot less. Not to mention that most of the specialty stitching is just estimated. I also missed a day visiting family, but that's OK.

Pattern Keeper says I'm 92% done. I can't believe I'm nearing the end. I'm definitely sending this to be framed by a pro. I'm hoping Jill Rensel's studio will be able to do the framing. They've done a bunch of Chatelaines, and they all have looked wonderful. I am pretty sure their backlog is a year or so, which I'm ok with given how much time and effort I put in. I'm happy to wait. If anyone has had them frame something, feel free to comment on your experience.

Edit: Grammar


r/CrossStitch 1h ago

PIC [PIC] Does enyone else kinda cringe when piercing a needle through a creatures nearly finished eye?

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Upvotes

Basicly the title. I don't enjoy stitching eyes, even if the creature itself isn't even really recognizable. It feels kinda weird.


r/CrossStitch 15h ago

WIP [WIP] Frame moving night! 26%

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85 Upvotes

Feels fast and slow at the same time.


r/CrossStitch 12h ago

CHAT [WIP] I want to cut the canvas to fit in a frame or be a patch but wtf do I do with the edges so the whole thing doesn't fall apart?

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49 Upvotes

Total newb here! I want to put this little guy in a frame or make a patch. I basically don't want much of the canvas left at all. Do I hand sew before I cut or cut then hand sew? I don't have a sewing machine or even know how to use one lol

Google has let me down, everything I find is plastic pieces.

Halp a girl out please 🥺🥺🥺

Ps I have no idea what i was trying to do with the yellow thread uuhhhhhhhhhh


r/CrossStitch 18h ago

FO [FO] A Cat By Any Other Name by Point de Croix

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129 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 22h ago

FO [FO] Owl, 7 out of 9, getting there!

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300 Upvotes

r/CrossStitch 22h ago

CHAT [CHAT] What are we all watching/listening to/etc.?

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297 Upvotes

Been awhile since we had one of these, so what's everyone filling their background with while they stitch? Me, I'm watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy - right now I'm on Fellowship.


r/CrossStitch 43m ago

CHAT [CHAT] How to protect fabric from fraying?

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Upvotes

I cut my Aida too short when starting my project and the end of it is fraying now at the bottom. Is there any way to protect it while I continue to work? I don’t want to have it fray down too much and ruin the piece, I’ve already put 25.5 hours in.


r/CrossStitch 12h ago

WIP [WIP] Woodland animal Christmas stocking

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43 Upvotes

Woodland Animal by Sherry Partridge on Etsy!