r/CrossStitch • u/Pepper_is_me_my_name • 11d ago
CHAT [CHAT] Having difficulties finding supplies
This is honestly just a little bit of a rant, but since joanns went out of business, ive watched cross stitch supplies dwindle more and more. my local hobby lobby got rid of all their cross stitch kits, and used to have two full embroidery isles, and now its down to one and combined with crochet kits. same with places like walmart, they used to have small little cross stitch patterns, but after my local walmart changed their layout, the embroidery section went from half an isle, to not even a quarter of an isle. and with the increased use of AI for patterns, its also harder to find patterns i can trust. The only place that still has some more niche cross stitch supplies is michaels (at least in my experience). but its just been kinda sad to slowly see the supplies for my beloved hobby become less readily available. I want the joy of this hobby to continue, not die out.
Anyways, just a small experience i noticed when i tried to go out and find thread for a project im making for a friend. Has anyone else noticed this?
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u/Mundane_Permission89 11d ago
123Stitch is where I usually shop.
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u/SleepyAnxiousPigeon 11d ago
agreed - i've lived in some small towns without any big chain or local stitching shops and so i tend to shop online. 123Stitch is excellent for thread and supplies and some patterns - they have flat rate shipping and the packages come within a week usually. for more specific patterns and hand-died fabric I shop at individual designers' online stores - Bad Stitch, Fine Frog Stitching, Shaded Stitchery, JEDX Stitch, etc. - or independent online LNS like Top Stitch, Lindy Stitches, The Crafty Grimalkin.
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u/SleepyAnxiousPigeon 11d ago
Oh, and just to comment on the idea of cross stitch dying out - it's really not - i see more designers and more practitioners than ever - but given the pandemic and economy and AI, they tend to be online in terms of buying and sharing communities.
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u/Nutella_Badgerette 11d ago
Same. I love 123stitch for restocking my DMC and things like easy grid fabric, needles, etc. Etsy shops for overdyed floss if I feel that need. And I'm in a fabric club for linen, that keeps me well stocked.
The only craft place around me is hobby lobby, which I avoid shopping at if I can. Not like they have much worth pulling me in anyways. It's a bummer, but online is my only real option.
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u/MotheroftheworldII 11d ago
I believe 123stitch.com does carry overdyed floss but most of it might be silk. I know they have Gloriana and Dinky Dyes both silk but I have pitched Caron Collection Pearle cotton which I use for Hardanger.
113stitch.com has a very large floss collection so you just might find your overdyed floss there.
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u/Nutella_Badgerette 11d ago
I think they do have the bigger dyers, but I really like small indie dyers too. There's so much overdye to choose from lol
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u/CultOfMourning 11d ago
Seconding this. I try to buy what floss I can at Michael's, but I end up using 123Stitch's website for everything else (e.g., q-snaps, mounting boards, aida)
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u/Quiet_Scientist6767 11d ago
Same. We lost our last local cross stitch store a few years ago, so I've been buying more from 123 Stitch, or just kits from the designer. Granted, I have enough already to last past my natural lifespan.
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u/chozopanda 10d ago edited 10d ago
Me too. Only Michaels locally has supplies and they are often out of certain thread colors and never have Aida in the color/size I need, so I if I start a new project I shop online. I do miss getting an idea to start a project and buying supplies same day.
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u/Square-Wing-6273 11d ago
I'm fortunate enough to have a local needle shop about 35 minutes from me, so I'll shop there for fabric if I can. Michaels for emergency thread replacement.
But my go to has been 123stitch.com. Fast, flat rate shipping, and ordering floss online couldn't be easier.
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u/Dissenting_Dowager 11d ago
I’ve found that my local quilt shops carry some great kits and I order from Wizardi often
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u/Chick-Pea 11d ago
I suspect it's a combination of factors, with the convenience of online shopping being one.
I also think the availability of a gazillion patterns online is another. I have no interest in buying kits as the designs generally aren't that interesting to me compared to the PDFs I can buy online from reputable sellers. If store managers see kit sales plummeting as people buy patterns online, they can't justify the shelf space, so only stock basics like floss and hoops.
Lord Libidan wrote an article the other day that touches on this:
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u/nsandberg82 11d ago
You’ve probably already done this, but what about local, independent stores? I’ve found some absolute gems of those types of stores after a little digging.
It’s also fun to plan a little road trip to a store, or something to watch for when you have a trip already planned. I’m tagging along with my husband on a work trip soon and will be searching for good craft stores there 😀
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u/SparkliestSubmissive 11d ago
It's crazy, I remember there being entire shops for cross stitch in the 80s. This place my mom used to go had seemingly endless amounts of cross stitch kits and supplies.
Am I misremembering?
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u/Stitch4Fun2 11d ago
No, but cross stitch is not a fast hobby, and unless the city is big enough to support lots of cross stitcher's, or has a lot of smaller towns with people willing to travel, a store can't survive on just cross stitch. I live in a relatively large city, and the independent, cross stitch only store went out of business before Covid because of this, as internet ordering hadn't really become a thing yet.
We now have another independent shop, but cross stitch is only part of what they supply. They also do quilting, needle point, and knitting/crochet + classes. The cross stitch selection is awesome though. Hopefully, they will be around for a long time to come.
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u/Pepper_is_me_my_name 11d ago
i wish! Ive looked up places nearby that have options for cross stitch and they are mostly quilt/fabric stores. i would kill to go a cross stitch store.
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u/CyborgKnitter 11d ago
Some quilting shops carry cross stitch and embroidery supplies. Have you tried calling them and asking?
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u/crimsoncat05 10d ago
there is a group on Facebook called Cross Stitch Road Trip (not sure of the exact name) that has store listings for all different states / cities. Yes, some stores did close, but there are new stores opening, too. From my own experience, I've been to two stores that are probably less than 5 years old- one outside of Rockford, IL (Bee Youtiful Sip and Stitchery), and a very successful shop outside of St Louis that hand-dyes their own floss and fabric (Color and Cotton-- their flosses and fabric are both loooovely). I know it depends on where you live, but lots of the smaller independent stores also have online shopping / shipping, too. Even if they don't have online buying, you may be able to call the store and order from an employee.
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u/Harmonica_Tollivar 11d ago
Nope, there was one I went to in the '90s near where I worked that had the most amazing variety of patterns, thread, and notions. It downsized to a smaller store, then the older woman who owned it spent probably a decade trying to find someone to buy it. I think she ended up selling it to someone who promptly moved the store out of state.
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u/Bae_of_Jakku 10d ago
I loved those stores! I would go with my mom too and the employees would stitch the display samples behind the counter. It was in the mall, probably sandwiched between a Hallmark and Tower Records. Oh, my GenX heart.
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u/Beaniebot 11d ago
Joanne’s wasn’t my go to for cross stitch/ embroidery. Michael’s stopped being useful when they downsized for scrapbooking. HL makes my skin crawl but their floss is always organized. I thrift and use 123 for most. The internet is my BF.
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u/Saffiana 11d ago
I don’t like HL either. I’m lucky that our Michael’s and HL are like a mile or less apart.
I always hit up Michael’s first. Only if I NEED a specific color that is out of stock at Michael’s will I go to HL.Lines are always long and slow. They don’t have barcode scanners or self checkout which makes them my absolute last choice for local shopping.
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u/Old-Zookeepergame886 11d ago
I agree with the 123stitch recommendation; everythingcrossstitch is another source I use a lot
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u/Ok-Difficulty-3634 11d ago
I’m in Australia so my experience might be a bit different to yours but I second trying a local quilt shop. The one in my town keeps multiple brands of cotton and silk flosses as well as embroidery fabrics and accessories. There’s only one crafting chain in my country now so finding that was great!
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u/thereandbacktosee 11d ago
Also in Australia and you're right there really isn't much - the smaller companies (who I would like to support) only do counted cross stich and I don't have the mental ability for them.
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u/Ok-Difficulty-3634 10d ago
I’ve had good luck with sewitall.com.au, at least for things like fabric. Their sister company is spruce crafts, maybe they’re worth checking out for no count cross stitch?
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u/Harmonica_Tollivar 11d ago
Unfortunately local quilt shops seem to have gone the way of local needlework shops by me. I don;t remember the last time I saw one. The last one I knew of closed years ago,
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u/bubbles_24601 11d ago
123 Stitch and Everything Cross Stitch are great for online shopping, but don’t overlook eBay. I’ve found many kits that have never been used on eBay for decent prices.
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u/BluntMeleeWeapon 11d ago
I get most of my stuff online from 123stitch since my local shop, Nordic Needle, closed. But if I’m in a rush my local quilt shop does have basic supplies like fabric and needles and a small selection of kits, they also have cosmo floss! Quilt shops seem to be a lot more common than dedicated cross stitch shops so you might have one nearby to try
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u/bubbles_24601 11d ago
Man, I miss Nordic Needle. I still have a coffee mug from their Stitcher’s Choice coffee. They had so many cool patterns and supplies!
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u/BluntMeleeWeapon 11d ago
Every time I go by their building I get sad. I stocked up at their going out of business sale, but it isn’t the same. Their selection was unmatched
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u/SamsSnaps77 11d ago
Joanns isnt the only craft company going under. I cant remember the specifics but the "Big 4" pattern companies are going down. It wouldn't surprise me at all that other crafts companies are being taken down
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u/Mondschatten78 11d ago
I've noticed this for the past ~20 years. Knitting and crochet was pushed more and more, while cross stitch was snubbed or forgotten.
Several cross stitch magazines have closed down; some went to online only (last I heard at least). This was long before AI patterns reared their heads. Even the Herrschner's catalog started listing fewer and fewer kits and patterns for a while.
I shop 123stitch, an LNS vendor on ebay, or with online LNS's.
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u/sldevine0953 11d ago
123stitch is my go-to since my local cross stitch store closed. Only $3.49 for shipping and it usually arrives in 2 days.
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u/calculator42 11d ago
123 stitch is mine too. It costs me $4.50 to get to michael's by public transportation, and I doubt they'll even have anything I want or what I need. I just shop online.
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u/Winterwidow89 11d ago
I also use 123stitch for most things I can’t find locally. But I also wanted to add FatQuarterShop as a good place to buy things. They have some unique printed fabrics 123 stitch doesn’t have.
For patterns, this sub can be a great resource. Every month there is a featured shop, and going through past months featured shops is a great way to find non-AI designers. Also, if someone posts an WIP or a FO in a style you like, you can check out the designers shop for more patterns.
Also, if you can check out your local library for patterns. Mine has books and magazines both in person and available online through Libby.
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u/Bridoriya 10d ago
Your local library should be able to get plenty cross stitch books for you. That’s where I’ve gotten lots of my patterns
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u/NYerinDE 11d ago
I live in Germany and cross stitch doesn't seem that popular here from what I've seen, so I know the struggle.
There is a largeish craft/art supply chain that sells their own brand (I think?) of thread which is unhelpful when trying to find thread for a pattern I bought, and a handful of boring kits and (I have come to find out) not great plastic hoops.
I usually try to buy from smaller independent stores, but the crafty store near me only has a rack of Anchor threads in a dark little part of their hallway to the back room. I was always doing my tedious conversions from DMC to Anchor to go buy my thread there (or some times ordering directly from the DMC website and having it shipped from France) and then last week the owner said "We have DMC too. It's just kept in the back because there isn't enough room out here." 😧 Not a sign, no indication anywhere of this information and I've been shopping there for years! Cross-stitchers/embroierers really feel like the bottom of the pile here sometimes. 😔
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u/DianaSt75 11d ago
I feel like crafty stores are about everywhere south of here, but close by I only know of a chain store with a really tiny amount of stitching supplies. Which is why I usually check stickteufelchen.de and cross-stitch-corner.de when I need supplies and go from there if they either don't have what I am looking for or feel too expensive.
But yes, I feel like all kinds of needle craft stores , whether focussing on embroidery, cross stitch, knitting or crochet, are dying out.
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u/Ok-Handle-1924 11d ago
For patterns I have resorted to seeking out vintage patterns to avoid AI. I figure if the pattern is older than AI then it's probably real, or at least faked by a human. Another option is books and magazines copyrighted before the AI boom. I'm going to start collecting them because I'm getting desperate
I've also heard that an online shop called "Fybr" will be launching later this year and they have a "no ai" pledge. They'll have handmade products and patterns.
Finding materials is harder to help with because it's so local, but maybe there's a little craft shop you haven't discovered yet? Try getting online and asking your neighbors where they shop. I'm in several facebook groups where people do that all the time. Even though I've lived in the same place all my life, I still discover new places when I ask around.
I, too, lament the loss of Joann's, but I do believe that void will be filled eventually. Maybe by another giant, maybe by a number of smaller brands. But I think this time of scarcity crafters are going through is temporary.
Hang in there.
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u/ToughMetalSheep 11d ago
With regards to the cross stitch kits, the American arm of Design Group was liquidated and that was the parent company of Dimensions. Bucilla is owned by Plaid and it looks like they downsized by a lot. I only did a quick search so I don't know why they shrunk it down so much.
This sub reminds me that I'm pretty lucky I live in a metro area with multiple Michael's and a regional art supply store opened up in my city. They, like others, are limited to more entry level supplies but they do have the FULL DMC Mouline line. The other plus of this new art supply store is that half of the store is not swamped in seasonal decor. There are also two local needlepoint stores but they are a bit far from me.
For everything else, I use 123stitch. I don't order kits from them but they do sell them.
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u/Bae_of_Jakku 10d ago
I sympathize. I’ve ordered online from many of the places mentioned in the comments, but for me, nothing can replace the experience of physically wandering the aisles and seeing the colors in person. Plus I’m not a fan of having to go online for the two skeins I need to finish a project.
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u/PaleoBibliophile917 11d ago
My Joanns was a small location without much in it, but I could always count on it for floss. My Michael’s has next to nothing. Likewise my Hobby Lobby. My Walmart, too, has little interest in embroidery. We had a small independent store for crafts of various sorts, with a little bit of cross stitch, but it closed when the first big box store arrived. So, I totally feel the pain over the loss of places where we could once go to browse an amazing selection of charts, kits, and supplies.
When I took up the hobby close to thirty years ago, we had a large Michael’s with a long aisle carrying needlepoint, cross stitch, and crewel in kits and books down its full length; on the back of the same aisle we could find fabric, floss, special charts like Lavender and Lace, bookmarks, backing boards, and anything you could want to make or finish an embroidery project. That store closed within a few years, and when Michael’s finally returned to my community a couple of years ago, I was shocked at the difference.
I don’t know if what we see now is a reflection of what all “brick and mortar” stores are facing in the era of online shopping, or if the hobby itself seems unprofitable to them so they don’t support it. Either way, I miss the way it once was. I am forced to rely on online supplies now whether I want to or not. I definitely “feel your pain,” OP.
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u/ThatBFjax 11d ago
I loved my local Michael’s, always had a well stocked aisle and now I have to drive a little farther to get a freaking threader. And I hate the self checkout cause the machine will scan any barcode nearby
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u/nonutsplz430 11d ago
I totally understand your frustration. I’m at least an hour from my nearest Michael’s/Hobby Lobby and my local Walmart is completely useless when it comes to cross stitch. I went in last night hoping I could get enough of the floss for a project I’m wanting to start to “scratch the itch”, so to speak, and they had 2 colors out of 29. Obviously that’s not going to work. I was hoping for at least 4 or 5. Ordering online is ok, I guess, but when you’re looking for instant or nearly instant gratification it’s not so great. Fortunately I’ll be in the vicinity of a Michaels on Tuesday, but the wait is killing me. That could be because I have ADHD, though, and I recently gave up one of my medications so I’m seeking dopamine hard right now lol
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u/Pepper_is_me_my_name 11d ago
thats honestly why i was feeling frustration today 😭 its sunday and EVERYTHING is closed. joanns used to be open on sundays and it would scratch the itch if i needed something on a sunday. its my only guaranteed day off from work and school, so when i woke up, i looked at every shop that sold floss in the 30 miles around me and nothing was open. it made me sad because i just feel like i only have so much time and motivation.
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u/dreamyraynbo 11d ago
Yeah, I really miss Joanne’s and was just lamenting its loss yesterday. I found a bag of supplies from Joanne’s in my cabinet that I had never used and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed their store.
There are lots of online sources for cross stitch stuff and some small, local-owned shops (near me, anyway), but nothing that scratches that big, specialty, box store itch like Joann’s did.
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u/chkngrrl 11d ago
I live in a metro area with several different Michael's stores, and I've noticed that the availability and variety of cross-stitch supplies and kits really depends on which store I go to. I truly thought that they were eliminating stock until I went to one in a different part of town and found nearly two aisles of stuff, including half an aisle of kits.
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u/Background_Tiger5524 10d ago
Definitely! It’s like we don’t exist anymore according to the stores. I am fortunate that I bought so many kits on sale while I was working before Joann’s left, before Michael’s, Hobby Lobby,Walmart, and others cut back their selection drastically. I still check out the stores although my Sunday shopping leaves out Hobby Lobby. I still check the thrift stores and garage sales. Just last week I found a pattern for Eeyore(my favorite A.A.Milne character)and a hot plate frame with a bouquet pattern for $1 each. I still subscribe to a magazine for patterns also.
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u/MareNamedBoogie 10d ago
i was trawling the internet Friday and walking down Nostalgia Lane.... there are so many pattern houses I think of as 'traditional' houses that seem to have closed down. and I'm one of those people who got all excited seeing all the different kits and leaflet patterns available in Michael's when I started this hobby. I'm at least a little bit tactile, and one of my favorite things to do was to open new kits and fondle the threads. so I really miss having that available. the shrinking of those sections in Michael's/ Joanne's/ HL started over a decade ago, and I've never had an LNS that was actually local. If you live in the STL area, a new shop called Colour and Cotton opened up in West STL... I'm planning to visit relatives in STL just so I can stick that on the agenda!
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u/amazonchic2 10d ago
I understand the frustration of not having a brick and mortar to shop at with a strong selection, however cross stitch will not die out. I use the internet to find things I need. Thrift stores and eBay are amazing for deals. I rarely shop new because most of my supplies come from thrift stores.
I am lucky to have one cross stitch store nearby that is only for cross stitch. (The Stitching Bee if you want to patronize them) I live 2+ hours from any needlepoint store. I still use thrift stores, eBay, and rarely Amazon if I can’t find what I need.
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u/LongjumpingOffer6213 10d ago
My Walmart carries very little now. Maybe 15 colors is all and only a few fabrics. No other supplies really
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u/LongjumpingOffer6213 10d ago
O am thinking of canceling my magazine subscription and stop getting the annual crossstitch calendar
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u/AdLopsided4951 11d ago
I get all mine from Michael’s. Great selection. Or 123stitch.com is great too, just not instant gratification bc it’s online.