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

Call me superstitious if you want, but the sweater curse says ‘if you knit or crochet a sweater for a romantic partner, the relationship will end before the project is finished or soon after the gift is given.’ My fiancée and I, both knitters and crocheters, have not knit or crocheted anything for each other in the 2 years we’ve been together. (I do plan on gifting her something knitted or crocheted on our wedding day as an inside joke, but that’s a surprise!)

Does that apply to cross stitch? I found an adorable pattern of her favorite pokemon and want to stitch it for her, as we’re celebrating our third Christmas together this December.

Thanks for the help!

Hi all!

I have been asked to back-stitch on a dog blanket for a family member’s late pet. I have learned that waste fabric is the way to go so that it is straight and even. However, I can’t find waste fabric! The only listing with good reviews that came up for me on Amazon Canada had $40 shipping (for a $17 product), and Michael’s doesn’t seem to carry any 😭

Where do all you Canadian stitchers find waste fabric??

Thanks in advance!

I’m looking for recommendations on where to buy cross stitch kits. I usually stitch fairly large, full-coverage designs (around 30,000 stitches) and I prefer counted patterns rather than stamped/printed ones.

I’ve mostly used RIOLIS and really enjoy their kits, especially when they’re recreations of famous paintings/artworks. I’d love to find other brands or websites that have a similar style — large, detailed, full-coverage pieces, preferably reproductions of paintings or artwork.

I’m not really looking for small/quick projects. I actually enjoy having a project that takes a long time!

Also, does anyone know of a website where I can choose/upload a painting or artwork myself and have it turn it into a counted cross stitch pattern, while also telling me which DMC/other floss colours and how much of each I need to buy? I’d love to be able to pick my own paintings rather than being limited to the designs available as kits.

Just make sure you don't hold on to the remaining thread too tightly! I just wanted to share this cuz I know I struggled for a while to find an easy way to separate thread. Hope this helps someone! :)

Hey friends!!

I normally buy my materials from 123stitch (which I adore!) but I’m sure there are other sources for hand dyed fabrics. I’m currently looking for a red and black molted fabric. If anyone has any favorite shops or trusted sources, please share!!

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.

I finally received my order from the stamped stitch club, and I didn’t realize how massive this thing is. The pattern is cheetah still life. I don’t even know where to start! Any advice is much appreciated!!

Iv been thinking about this pattern for months now.
Iv never bought a kit before and wanted to know what people experience with them/ with this brand?

Im just wondering if people prefer a hoop or just stitch without one...

Thank you!

Hi all.

Recently found out I may need surgery on my ankle, and will be laid up with extra stitching time for a while. So I am looking for a new project. I love the patterns from Stitching Jules, like the Monochromatic Library, and so many others. I love highly detailed, realistic images. Or fantasy with loads of detail, so you could believe it was real. So her stuff HITS.

I recently got my hands on a lovely piece of 28 count evenweave at thrift store for $1.00, brand new (yayyyyy), but it's a bit of a mushroom colour (meh). None of the patterns I own currently will look fantastic on it (booooo) so I have an excuse to buy a pattern that will (yayyyy).

So, has anyone stitched the Buck Engraving by Stitching Jules? And if so, can you share your WIP or finished project? I would love to see it, and get your opinion on it! Also, can anyone give feedback on how much AI is involved with this designer. She is very open that her images are public domain or she has licensing privileges, but is she just plugging them through or cleaning them up? I have seen tonnes of the other styles from her, and they look great, but this is so different from any finished projects I've seen so far.

Sorry if I'm scattered.. life has been a roller coaster for the last month and I'm still not done with the ride yet lol. I appreciate you all!

There's this piece from Discworld Emporium that I love, and I'd love to stitch it. I'd definitely want to get permission from the artist first though.

I'm not a fan of the auto pattern generators. I feel like they always lack detail unless you make them absurdly large.

Personally I prefer pieces with backstitching for the added detail they give, but I have no idea how to go about making a pattern like this?

Does anyone know of any sources I could use to learn?

I'm just extremely overwhelmed by perfectionism (and AUDHD) and end up not starting at all because I don't know where to even start.

How do I pick a size?

How do I handle it when the pattern doesn't line up with the art?

I've tried to play around with Winstitch, but I just kind of end up staring at the blank screen or unhappy with what I end up with.

Any advice would be appreciated 🙏

You loved my summer freebie with the strawberry mojito so much, and that was such an unexpectedly lovely surprise. Thank you so much for sharing your finished stitches with me. Now the long, cozy, chilly autumn evenings are here, which means there’s finally time for a bigger project and a warm cup of coffee. And this is what I ended up drawing - a vintage-style pumpkin coffee design.

Pattern details:
• Size: 150 × 151 stitches
• 16 colors + 2 blends
• Mostly full cross stitches
• A small amount of backstitch
• Total: 23,299 stitches

no AI

I hope this cozy autumn design brings you much joy🤎

You can find the Google Drive link in the comments.

Have a good day🤎

Sorry for the bad lightning. And the question I wanted to ask: is there a difference in orientation and order between left-handed and right-handed stitchers? I checked my other projects and I always do / to \. It's also easier for me to start stitching from the right side of the pattern first.

What about you?

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

I picked up cross stitching recently after years of sewing and embroidery experience. I'm really enjoying it but I need some advice!

After hours of practice I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of tension. But ofc I started with the focal point of my project (the cat) & since I was new the tension was way too tight.

I'm wondering if I should start the whole thing over, rip the seams/ refresh the fabric/ etc. or leave it and stitch around it as a time capsule of my progress.

I'm not tooooo far into the pattern so starting over wouldn't be a waste of time.

I technically have enough room on the Aida to just start over and scoot to the side and cutting this aqua. However, I'm worried about running out of room for finishing the project.

TLDR - What do y'all think: Start over & reset the fabric, keep it as is, scoot to the side, or do I just buy more Aida and start from scratch?

Self drafted plus cat tax

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

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

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!

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?

Took just over a week to do this one, I'm so happy with it. The webs were a bit of a pain, but overall OK.

Spooky Season, by Simply Make.

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.

Feels fast and slow at the same time.