Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Book Review: Free Spirit Stitching

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It’s so fun to combine different kinds of stitching in the same project. Free Spirit Stitching: 8 Vibrant and Colorful Stitching Adventures by Debra Valencia allows you to do just that.

These projects include cross stitch and embroidery techniques together to make projects with a different look with lots of texture and style.

The projects are:

  • The single-color Chic & Cozy Clutch, worked in cross stitch, stem stitch, French knots, blanket stitch and straight stitch
  • A boho paisley heart pillow, combining cross stitch with stem stitch, split stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, straight stitch, French knots and eyelet stitch
  • The Summer Love tote bag, which features a giant cross stitched pastel peace sign surrounded by flowers and other motifs worked in stem, split, satin, straight stitch and blanket stitch, along with long and short stitch, seed stitch, backstitch and blanket stitch
  • The sweet love nest wall hanging, which uses muslin cutouts of birds embellished with embroidery and stitched on muslin; in addition to cross stitch it uses straight stitch, stem stitch, blanket stitch, French knots and lazy daisies
  • The beauty sleep door sign, probably the easiest project in the book, it’s mostly cross stitch with a touch of stem, satin and straight stitching, plus a rhinestone and fun trim for extra bling
  • An eyeglass case made of felt and embellished with cross stitch flowers with stem stitch, lazy daisy and French knot details (the case is also sewn with blanket stitch)
  • Cactus Garden hoop wall art, pictured on the cover, featuring cross stitched cacti with stem stitch, satin stitch, French knot and lazy daisy details
  • The love rainbow pillow, mostly worked in split stitch and long and short stitch, also has a cross stitch heart

Several of the patterns are rated for all skill levels, while a couple are intermediate. If you’re comfortable with basic embroidery techniques and transferring patterns, these are all great options to try. There are general instructions for the stitches included, and each pattern has a charted design as well as a photo of the finished project showing what to stitch where. This is helpful for working with cross stitch and embroidery at the same time.

If you like to cross stitch but haven’t done a lot of embroidery before or just haven’t mixed them in projects, this is a fun book to get you started thinking about how to combine different kinds of needlework that will inspire you to freestyle with different stitches more often.

Get the book here: Free Spirit Stitching: 8 Vibrant and Colorful Stitching Adventures

About the book: 64 pages, paperback, 8 patterns. Published 2019 by Leisure Arts. Suggested retail $12.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

A Cross Stitch I Spy at the Beach

That headline pretty much describes the Under the Sea cross stitch pattern from Una Buena Pieza, which is covered with shells, fish and other creatures of the sea. It’s not intended to be an I spy, I don’t think, and most of the same kinds of animals are grouped together, but I think it would be fun for someone who didn’t stitch it to look and see what different things they can find within.

The pattern includes turtles, jellyfish, a whale, shark, ray, all sorts of fish and shells and I’m sure other things that I’m not noticing right now. Dolphins! Coral! Seagulls!

It looks like it would be super fun to stitch and fun to have on the wall during the summer months, or even hang in a kid’s room if you know a young one who loves the beach or ocean animals.

The design is 110 by 220 stitches. It comes out to about 8 by 16 inches, or 20 by 40 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric. It calls for 19 colors.

This design looks great on light blue fabric as shown, but in the pattern listing on Etsy you’ll also see what it looks like on a darker blue and a white fabric, and they all look pretty good so you can use whatever color you like to suit your decor or your idea of what color the “ocean” should be. There’s even a customer photo that looks like it was done on a sort of tie-dyed green fabricc, which is really fun.

However you stitch it, I think this project would go faster than you imagine because there are so many fun little things to stitch. It will be hard to get bored when you can just move on to a different animal or part of the design.

Check out this pattern from Una Buena Pieza on Etsy.

[Photo: Una Buena Pieza]