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Choosing a Cross Stitch Pattern or Kit
If this is your first cross stitch
project, I suggest buying a small kit. Kits come with all the
necessary materials (fabric, floss, needle, etc.) other than a
hoop. Most kits also include some basic cross stitch
instructions. Kits come in varying degrees of difficulty.
There are even kits designed especially for kids and beginners
by Dimensions and Permin. Some of my favorite kits come from
Dimensions, Permin of Copenhagen, Eva Rosenstand and Heritage
Stitchcraft.
For more experienced cross stitchers, pick out your own
pattern and fabric for a more unique piece. There are many,
many, many different cross stitch pattern designers to choose
from. Patterns come in varying degrees of difficulty, and are
often labeled as such.
There are various methods for keeping track of where you are
on your pattern or chart. Some people use a highlighter and
mark off the section they are stitching on their pattern as
they go along. Some chose to laminate their pattern before
beginning and use an erasable marker to mark of the areas they
have already stitched. More experienced stitchers generally
just “eyeball” their work and know where they left off.
Some of my favorite cross stitch designs are by Mirabilia,
Lavender and Lace, Passione Ricamo, Pinn, and Butternut Road.
Mirabilia patterns are designed by an artist named Nora
Corbett in Ohio. She creates original water color paintings
and turns them into cross stitch patterns. Her subjects are
generally angels, mermaids, queens, fairies, mothers and
lovers along with timeless women. Mirabilia is one of my
favorite line of patterns. They are generally quality pattern
that often use beading and metallic threads to highlight the
design. I carry all of the Mirabilia patterns that are
available at Julie's X Stitch.
If you are into collecting, Mirabilia makes a line of "Holiday
Fairie" kits that include fabric and all the supplies you will
need to complete the project including quality linen fabric.
She also has a line of "Christmas Trees" every year for
Christmas that include all the beads and treasures you will
need to complete the piece.
Mirabilia's newest pattern is "Athena, Goddess of Wisdom
(MD97)". (released August 15, 2008.)
Some of my favorites are: "Christmas Flourishes", "Midsummer
Nights Fairy", "Sleeping Beauty", "Shimmering Mermaid",
"Enchanted Mermaid", We have some great news. We are happy to
announce that Mirabilia is back in business! I try to keep all
of the Mirabilia, Lavender and Lace and Passione Ricamo
patterns in stock, so they generally ship immediately.
Told in a Garden, Lavender and Lace and Butternut Road
patterns are designed by an artist named Marilyn Levitt-Imblum
who lives in Main. The Lavender and Lace patterns are some of
my favorites. The inspiration for many of her designs came
from living in the country near many Amish families. Her
designs include many angels, brides, traditional women, Native
Americans, Christmas themes and the Amish. Her patterns are
classy and turn out lovely. Some of my favorites are "The
Wedding", "Angel of Grace", "Celtic Christmas", and the whole
Celtic Series. All of these patterns are available in kits as
well.
Kustom Krafts started creating cross stitch patterns in 1999
in a small Northern Ontario, Canadian town. Dyan Allaire was
very interested in fantasy and wild animal themes, which
inspired her to create her own cross stitch charts. Kustom
Krafts charts are very colorful and life like. They have a
wide range of patterns to choose from. We have 150 of their
pattern on our site and add more every time they release a new
design. Some of their most recent patterns are: "Beautiful
Dreamer", "Allegory of Painting", "Miracle", and "Santa's
Piggybank Kit".
Heaven and Earth Designs was created by Michele Sayetta and
her husband Bob. They previously owned a hand dyed fabric
shop, but decided to switch to cross stitch patterns. They
chart the artwork of many talented designers into counted
cross stitch designs. Their designs are not computer
generated. They graph each image using engineering software
Their designs are very intricate. They suggest you stitch them
on 25 count Lugana or Dublin over one to preserve the detail.
Their designs have a "fantasy" feel to them. Some of my
favorite designs by Heaven and Earth are "Queen of Hearts" ,
"Spirit of Winter" , and "Cinderella's Ball".
Glendon Place is a cross stitch pattern company started by a
great lady name Cheryl Granda. She lives in Florida with her
husband and dogs. Her favorite past times when she was a child
were art and sewing. Her grandmother taught her to sew, as
mine did. Cheryl has been designing cross stitch patterns for
over 2 years now. She has many themes that focus on the
holidays. Some of her greats are "We Three Kings" (on sale
$12.99), "Sociable Scarecrow" (on sale $10.99), "Witching it
was Halloween" (on sale $10), and her newest is "Santa's North
Pole" ( on sale for $17.75).
Pinn Stitch Art and Technology, Inc. is another great
designer. They are a company in Chiang Mai, Thailand that has
been in business since 1992. They do mostly classical Thai and
unique Oriental designs in cross stitch. They are some of my
favorite patterns. Very colorful and beautiful. Some of their
designs are "Two Thai Dancers", "Thai Parasol Paintings", and
"Loy Krathong". All Pinn patterns and kits are sold at a
discount from the retail price.
Mar-nic designs is owned and operated by Maria E. Cipp. She
lives in the picturesque city of Waterloo, Ontario. This area
of Canada is steeped in a rich multicultural heritage. Her
cross stitch designs are inspired by the abundant world around
her. Her home is shared by her husband Nick, Doran and Aaron,
her sons, and her canine, Spencer the Boxer.
Cross Eye Kat is owned by Kat who loves crafts and taught
herself cross stitch at a young age. She created her first
original design for Latin class in middle school. She has been
designing original needleart for her company, Cross Eyed Kat
since 2004. I like her designs "Post Modern Cats", and "Post
Modern Dogs".
Imaginating and From the Powder Mill. Our company was
established in 1979 by my former partner, Marilyn Clark, and
myself. We began in our homes and graduated to more and more
space. Marilyn retired a number of years ago, but still
designs a few pieces each year. Some of her most popular
pieces were those that had words and paper clips (Rules of the
Office). We began our company with needlepoint patterns and
now have cross stitch, embroidery and a quilt line. (from
Imaginating's website) Their designs are very whimsical. I
like "Candy Cane Christmas", and "Bubble Your Troubles".
Art-Stitch specializes in uinque counted cross stitch and
needlepoint designs in the art nouveau, arts & crafts, and art
deco styles. Inspiration for my designs comes from countless
artistic sources from the turn of the century through the
1930s, including poster art, stained glass, tilework and
ceramics, book illustrations, jewelry and architecture. I have
been an avid stitcher for many years, and for just as long
have loved art of this period. But, to my disappointment, it's
never been easy to find needlework patterns with turn of the
century themes. So, I decided to change that, and Art-stitch
was born. (excerpt taken from Art Stitch website). Some of my
favorite pattern from Art-Stitch are, "Chat Noir", "Feline
Queen" and "Noel".
The Sampler House was started by Eileen Bennett, designer,
teacher, author of needlework books and patterns based on
historic samplers. My retail needlework shop, located in
Grandville, Michigan, closed in 1986 when my design career
began. "Home Is Where You Hang Your Needlework" was my first
charted design and commercial endeavor. Since then, over 100
sampler designs and related accessory items have been created
by me for the retail market. Most of The Sampler House designs
use a variety of old sampler stitches and from these designs
came four books of stitch diagrams. (excerpt taken from
Sampler House website). "The Flowers of the Field" is one of
my favorite samplers by Eileen.
Bobbie G. Designs evolved from my love of art, color and a
passion for stitching. I began by designing for cross stitch
magazines and transitioned over to designing, manufacturing
and distributing my own cross stitch kits, charts and quilt
patterns. The business has grown steadily as I continue to do
what I love doing.
My daughter and I work hard to produce a great product that
you will enjoy. (taken from the Bobbie G. Designs website)
Some of my favorite designs by Bobbie G. are "Jolly Ole St.
Nicks", and "Coffee".
Images stitchery design is a family-run business that has been
designing stitchery patterns for the past 30 years and
specialty frames for the past 16 years. We are located in
beautiful downtown Mineral Point, Wisconsin just 45 minutes
west of Madison. Our designs are compositions by Wayne
Banaszak, whose love of architecture and nature are
demonstrated just beautifully in his pictures of historical
landmarks, samplers, and novelty subjects. Using multiple
stitching techniques, Wayne "paints" a picture with a variety
of fibers and fabrics. (taken from the Images website)
Nancy Spruance Designs. Victorian House Designs for Counted
Cross Stitch We hope you will enjoy browsing in our gallery of
finely detailed Victorian house designs in the California
Northcoast Collection and Victorian America Collection. These
cross stitch designs are all faithful reproductions of the
houses that inspired them, and houses in both collections are
listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (take from
the Nancy Spruance front page). Some of my favorites are The
Abbey, Carson Mansion, and the newest is Country Victorian
Cottage.
Character Creations. Before starting Character Creations, I
was working in an embroidery and patchwork shop. While there I
did several private commissions creating cross stitch designs
from personal photographs using computer charting software.
The success of these lead to me starting out as an independent
designer. My first charts were created from personal
photographs and she later moved on to using art in the public
domain. After deciding to concentrate on designing full time,
I contacted a number of artists both in New Zealand and
overseas, gaining the licence to chart their artwork. (taken
from Character Creations website).
Debbie Draper Designs. I have always wanted to design [cross
stitch patterns] and for many years I took liberties with
designs, changing up the design and/or the colors. Then one
day shortly after being introduced to Vikki Clayton’s silk
floss by a wonderful friend and designer, Mary of Ozark
Sampler, I thought I would try my hand at designing. I was
inspired by Vikki’s silk colors and came up with my first
three designs. They are simple enough for the beginner and
even the more advanced stitcher will find them fun to work up.
(taken from Debbie Draper's website). Debbie Drapers designs
include many felines and silhouette patterns.
Country Garden Stitchery. I began cross stitching when my
children were tiny and I would stitch while they took naps and
at night time. I started stitching on stamped fabric as I
wasn't confident to do counted cross stitch yet! I also
discovered I enjoyed drawing about the same time. My husband
and I would take the kids out into the desert to explore and I
would draw the old rock houses, old structures, old gnarly
trees and whatever else I could find. I decided to try my hand
at designing my own patterns, putting my drawing interest with
the cross stitch interest. (from Country Garden Stitcheries
website). Her newest design is called "Lady Scarecrow". |
