Cross Stitch for Women’s History Month

March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, so why not stitch up some great iconic women from history to celebrate?

Debs Cross Stitch has this awesome kit for a women who made history cross stitch project, which features famous women from Cleopatra to Greta Thumberg. It is a Bothy Threads design and has an emphasis on British women, which could be fun for people in other parts of the world to learn about some people they aren’t as familiar with. The kit includes 14 count fabric, thread and needle. The finished project is 33 by 42 cm, or about 13 by 16.5 inches.

If you’re looking for famous women with an Australian twist, Spruce Craft Co. has the pattern for you. Designed by Ellie Ross, this one features the faces of 10 famous women from about the world. It uses 11 colors and measures 71 by 74 stitches, which comes out to 5.1 by 5.3 inches or 12.9 by 13.4 cm on 14 count fabric.

Good Morning Maui has a chibi version of iconic women of history, including Empress Wu, Jane Austen and Harriet Tubman, among others. This one measures 198 by 107 stitches and uses 28 colors. That comes out to 14.3 by 7.8 inches or 36.6 by 19.8 cm, on 14 count fabric.

I also love ten tiny feminists from Anita and Fred, which features the features of some famous women including Frida Kahlo, Lucille Ball and Ada Lovelace. Each design is made to fit in a 3-inch hoop.

Or you can just stitch up a single famous female from history like this Grace Hopper design from CloudsFactory. It features Grace and her computer and measures 65 by 68 stitches. That’s 4.6 by 4.9 inches or 11.8 by 12.3 cm on 14 count fabric. This is just one of their Fabulous Women in History collection, which you can find in the history section on their website.

Speaking of CloudsFactory, last year I also shared their larger piece, Women are the Architects of Society, which is definitely worth mentioning again.

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How to Railroad Your Cross Stitch

The post over at The Crafty Mummy has the click-baity title of “Is there a right or wrong way to cross stitch?” Of course the answer is no. As with any other craft, as long as you are happy with the results you’re doing it right and no one should try to convince you otherwise.

That said, there are things that you can do to make your cross stitch a little better if you aren’t totally happy with the way your projects are looking. They might not be considered the “right way,” but they are important things to think about and if you want to deviate from these “rules” at least you’ll know that you’re doing it.

You can head over there to read all the tips, but it’s things like making sure your stitches are all going in the same direction (meaning you stitch the bottom legs of a row all in the same direction, then work back and stitch all the top legs in the same direction). You wouldn’t think something like that would make a huge difference until you don’t do it and then you can’t unsee it.

Most of things things aren’t rules so much as they are reminders to be consistent in what you are doing as you work a project. So however you start doing things like stitch direction or the number of strands of floss (I might even add using a hoop versus not, since the hoop can stretch the fabric and change the tension of the stitches a bit) you should continue in that way throughout the project in order for it to look its best.

Head over to The Crafty Mummy to read the rest of her list, then come back here if you have something to add. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: The Crafty Mummy]

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