Designer Spotlight: Bombastitch

If you like your cross stitch patterns full of pop culture references, you’re going to want to pay a visit to Bombastitch’s Etsy shop. This shop based in Indiana specializes in patterns pulled from TV and movies, and with a side of snark to boot.

What’s not to love?

Since I mention it, let’s take a look at the movie/TV section, which has everything from the Eye of Sauron to the Blues Brothers. Star Wars, Dexter and The Princess Bride, to name a few.

And since it’s almost Valentine’s Day as I write this, let’s look at that Princess Bride pattern, which says “Wuv, Twoo Wuv” in honor of the priest with the weird accent who “marries” Buttercup and Humperdink. The pattern is worked in three colors and measures 63 by 60 stitches. That’s about 4.5 by 4.25 inches on 14 count fabric, or 11.4 by 10.8 cm.

There’s also a bunch of stitched portraits of famous characters, including Steve Martin from “The Jerk,” Walter White from “Breaking Bad” and Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and David Tennant and the 10th Doctor, to name a few.

You’ll also find a collection of seasonal Godzilla patterns, a bunch of sugar skulls, and some sarcastic word art, including such gems as what’s up chicken butt (with a rooster stitched on as well) and no worry beef curry.

There are a couple of state outlines with the word love in them, but I don’t know if this is a project that’s ongoing or abandoned. If you happen to be from Texas or Indiana, though, you’re in luck.

How about some anatomically correct cross stitch patterns? As of this writing there’s a heart, a set of lungs, a brain, a skull and facial muscles.

And that’s not even everything! But if this hodgepodge of design shoutouts has piqued your interest, check out Bombastitch on Etsy. If you stitch up one of their patterns, I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Bombastitch]

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Designer Spotlight: Stitch Riot Designs

Unique Stitch Crafts is a Turkish designer that has a couple of main interests in their cross stitch designs: travel and Christmas stockings.

By far the biggest category in their storefront is Christmas stockings, with more than 100 options to choose from. There are fully stitched fronts with designs classic and whimsical (like an alicorn and a pastel rainbow, or a bunny in Harlequin costume playing violin to a mushroom) and designs that just go across the cuff of the stocking. There are ornaments with a Nutcracker or Frozen theme, New York City stockings and stockings for your dinosaur.

As an example, here’s a stocking covered with mini holiday designs, which you could also use as ornaments if you wanted. The full design is 165 by 255 stitches, which comes out to 10.3 by 16 inches, or 26 by 40.6 cm on 16 count fabric. The pattern just makes the front of the stocking so you need to grab some fabric for the back of the stocking and sew it together yourself.

There’s also a large collection of travel cross stitch patterns, including national parks designs both large and mini, and travel poster style designs for many US states and cities. (There’s not an Arkansas, which is my standard test since I live there, but there is a pattern of the Mississippi River bridge in Memphis, which is technically half in Arkansas.)

If you’re more of a world traveler you’ll find more of the travel poster style designs for cities and countries, including Thailand and China, Berlin, Sydney and Marrakech.

In addition to all of that, you’ll find patterns called retro, which includes a wide range of designs, but many seem to be food and coffee related; folk art designs (lots of flowers and birds); and famous paintings translated to cross stitch. Smaller categories include Christmas, Halloween, animals, kids and castles.

Check out all the fun designs at Unique Stitch Crafts on Etsy.

[Photo: Unique Stitch Crafts]

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