I share a fair bit of my needlework over on Instagram, and have been asked so many times by people how I have learned to embroider and things that I recommend to help people learn or get into crafting. I thought it would be worth writing a little about it so people have the information in one spot.
I have cross-stitched on and off for a long time, having many years ago, in my late teens, picked up a magazine with a free kit and taught myself from that. I tended to start lots of projects but finished far less…. preferring instead to build up my stash of floss and fabric and have numerous starts!
It’s a hobby I’ve returned to time and time again over the years, in-between studying etc, and completed a few pieces for my children, most notably a Peter Rabbit for D and a Frida Kahlo for Em. As the children have got older it’s a hobby I’ve returned to a lot and, during the lockdowns of 2020, I taught myself to embroider after spotting a kit online.
Like anything, needlework is about practice. And the more you practice the better you get and the neater the stitching. You learn little tips and tricks (such as using a stabilizer fabric) and in turn, you build up a stash of floss and fabrics to use. One of the best ways of getting started is to purchase a kit. I like subscription boxes for this as they come with everything you need and usually have enough floss left over to start building your own stash. With that in mind, I thought I’d suggest a few of my favourtie subscription boxes and kits.
What’s the difference between Cross Stitch and Embroidery?
Cross stitching involves making rows or x stitches, usualy on an aida or linen cloth. The uniform stitching may be accompanied with a back stitch to highlight detail but the pattern is designed on a grid and copied onto the grid of fabric. Embroidery uses a greater range of stitches and can be embroiered on a range of fabrics.
Best for Beginners
The kits that I taught myself to embroider with were from Hawthorn handmade. These kits are modern and use a pre-printed cotton panel and come with DMC floss, a hoop to hold the fabric in place, and a needle. There are a variety of stitches used and the accompanying stitch guide is really helpful in explaining the stitches.
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Cross stitch wise, I really like Caterpillar Cross Stitch for beginners. The bi-monthly subscription box has a modern design and includes the kit as well as some extras. The designs are very beginner friendly and include the pattern, fabric (14ct Aida), needle and DMC threads. The winter wolf one, which at the time of writing is available as a one-off box, is probably my favourite design of all their boxes so far.
Intermediate Stitchers
For intermediate stitchers I really like StitchDoodles. Stitchdoodles is where I have learned the majority of my embroidery. I have participated in a couple of the stitchalongs and have found the guidance included really helpful. I have the advent stitch-along planned and am (slowly!) finishing up the Festive Forest stitch-along. You can buy the PDF patttern (to transfer to your own fabric), a pre-printed panel, or a full kit. I tend to buy the pre-printed panels as I have most of the other bits I need. When I have bought kits (for advent stitch alongs) the threads are all good quality DMC and include the needles you will require as well.
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For Cross Stitch, I really like the Cotton & Twine subscription boxes. These are fabulous monthly boxes and come packed with great additions as well as the pattern, fabric (16ct Aida) and DMC threads. There’s always a generous allowance of DMC threads so again, another great way to build up your own stash. I really like the December box and am very tempted to purchase this one. You can either purchase as a one off box or subscribe for each month. There is also an option to buy for 3, 6 9 or 12 months up front. These are quality boxes and are excellent value for money. They’re my favorite cross stitch subscription box and I tend to purchase them at various points across the year.
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A Mix Of Crafts
If you’re looking for a mixture of needlework crafts then CraftPod is the best subscription. I was bought a couple of these as one-off boxes last December and have since subscribed. These are quarterly seasonal boxes that are packed with all manner of things. The materials are superb and real quality items and the boxes always include a lovely range of crafts. These boxes come with full skeins of DMC thread (again another stash builder) as well as everything you need to complete the multiple crafts inside.
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There’s also Tom et Lily who produce three different subscription options. You can opt for the monthly project box which includes hand-dyed fabrics, floss, and unique patterns and projects for you to complete, working on a number of different techniques. You can also opt for the floss or fabrics only. These look fab. I haven’t tried them yet but I love the look of them and the floss looks to be really good. As they’re hand-dyed they offer a bit of a different look to a finished project.
Some Favourite Designers
Finally, Etsy is always an excellent place to find projects for having a try with. Tales from the Hoop are excellent, I recently used one of their PDF patterns but their kits look excellent too and packed with excellent quality items.
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CraftPod, mentioned above, have a number of one-off boxes available if you wanted to try before subscribing. Winter Owl is a super popular one and looks particulalry good.
Stitch with Coffee have some lovely little cross stitch projects which you can download to stitch but I haven’t personally tried them yet.
Once you’re a bit more confident, visiting a needlework shop will be a great experience. The closest to me is in North Wales but a number have online shops that you can purchase charts, fabrics and floss from. Patchwork Rabbit in Wiltshire is a particular favourite, and the ladies there are really helpful and Create Nostalgia (Flintshire, North Wales) are always really helpful as well and I understand from others that I follow on IG, they have a lovely shop. Having a look around these sites will help you to see the variety of projects you can undertake once you’ve got a bit of practice under your belt. T
Hopefully, this has been useful and has given you an appetite to give it a try! I’m always happy to help so find me on instagram if you have any questions.
Its a decent skill level you have reached – pretty impressive really