Cross Stitch for Left-Handed People

As a knitter, I know that there can be a big difference in how handcrafts work depending on which hand is dominant for you. My daughter is left-handed, too, so I have to think about this when I’m teaching her things, to not automatically show her the “right-handed way” to do things and to give her time and space to figure out how to do things most easily for her. Which should really be the goal regardless of who you are teaching, but that’s another issue.

She did some hand sewing earlier this week, though she hasn’t yet tried cross stitch, and the only difference I can see is that she holds the needle in her left hand and holds the fabric in her right.

I did some poking around on the Internet looking for information on left-handed cross stitch, and, as I suspected, there’s not really a difference other than how you hold the needle. While many stitchers start from the center of a chart, lefties might find it easier to start at the top left and work their way across from left to right and top to bottom.

Are you a left-handed cross stitcher? Is there anything else you find different or any tips that helped you when learning to stitch? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Seasoned Cross Stitchers: What Do You Wish You Knew…

A reader suggested that I share Needle Lot Designs with you, which isn’t a designer I was familiar with, so let’s check it out together.

Their designs are colorful, with lots of animals, fantasy and folklore inspired designs. The page’s tagline says it makes “cross stitch patterns for quirky hearts.”

The largest category on the site is called animal friends, though there are plenty of other categories about animals and nature, too (such as bugs & beetles and aquatic animals). These aren’t the sorts of animals you’d generally expect to find in cross stitch. There’s a poison heart frog, a capybara in a teacup, a racoon and possum teaming up to go through the trash.

My favorite here is this pretty red panda, sitting on a branch in front of a stand of bamboo. This one uses 19 colors, and it’s all full cross stitches but the designer calls it an intermediate pattern because of the size and number of colors involved. It’s 100 by 105 stitches, and shown worked on 32 count Belfast linen.

Worked on 14 count fabric it measures 7.25 by 7.5 inches, or 18.1 by 19.1 cm.

There are also art nouveau designs featuring animals, as well as a few animal-themed tarot cards.

The fantasy and folklore section includes Mothman, Nessie and a baby jackalope, as well as a couple of dragon designs and Cerberus reimagined as a three-headed cat. (Yes, it’s called Cerberpuss.)

You’ll even find a few Halloween/fall and Christmas/winter patterns if you like the seasonal stuff. Check out all their designs at Needle Lot Designs on Etsy.

And if you want me to feature one of your favorite designers that I haven’t mentioned yet, you can share that by leaving a comment on this post or heading to the top of the page, clicking on “suggest a craft” in the middle of the top navigation bar and filling out the form there.

[Photo: Needle Lot Designs]

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