A Great Cross Stitch Holiday Gift Guide

I am not the most experienced at cross stitch so I’m not always aware of the best tools and supplies that a cross stitch enthusiast might want. So now that we’re in the season of gift lists, you probably don’t want to take it from me when it comes to the best products to get for a cross stitcher in your life or to add to your wish list.

(The entirety of my cross stitch supplies other than a roll of fabric fits in a zippered bag that a set of king-sized sheets came in, so I am definitely the wrong person to ask.)

But A Stitch of Blissfulness is a good person to ask, and they’ve compiled a list of their favorite cross stitching supplies that would be a great place to start if you want to get a good gift for a cross-stitcher or you want to get some good gifts for yourself.

The stuff on their list makes a lot of sense, but also there are some things I would never think to ask for like a good light or a cookbook stand to hold your pattern.

One thing on this list I definitely want to try is the first thing on the list: a Q Snap embroidery frame system. These PVC pipes snap together to form a frame that holds your project firmly in place while you stitch. This isn’t a solution if you want to frame your project in a hoop, but assuming you might want to finish your project in a different way this frame is a great option.

There’s lots more listed in the blog post, so head over to A Stitch of Blissfulness to see all the recommendations. If you’ve asked for or received or bought for someone else a great cross-stitch inspired gift, I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: A Stitch of Blissfulness]

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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

I recently came across a post from Lord Libidan talking about embroidery floss packs and whether it’s worth the money to buy a set of threads all at once instead of one skein at a time.

With the closure of Joann some people were buying these bundles as a way to build their stash/stockpile if they didn’t have another place to buy locally. I did the same thing when I first started cross stitching again after a break of many years, because I wanted to get a bunch of colors all at once without the overwhelming job of picking colors from the wall of thread when I didn’t have a particular project in mind.

And I think for this purpose buying a package with colors you like or some basic/popular colors is probably a good idea and relatively cost effective.

My Joann didn’t have any floss packs when it was closing (in fact it didn’t have cross stitch floss at all for a month or more, then suddenly go a bunch about a week before closing) but I might have bought one just to have the variety if they had been available.

If Amazon is going to be your source for cross stitch supplies going forward, I think buying packs of cross stitch floss when the colors make sense is definitely going to be a better deal. As I write this a pack of 36 popular colors was running $39.50, or about $1.09 a skein. I used to pay 66 cents per skein at Joann, but buying a single skein of black floss on Amazon would run you $4.29.

Herrschners sells DMC floss for $1.05 per skein or less, but shipping isn’t free and you’ll have to buy a lot (or a lot of other things, too) to meet their minimums for free shipping when they offer it.

Check out the post on Lord Libidan for his thoughts and let me know where you are buying cross stitch floss now if you used to buy it at Joann.

[Photo via Herrschners]

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