Designer Spotlight: Cross Stitch By Coconut

If you love little cross stitch patterns, you’re going to have a lot of fun looking through the more than 150 designs on offer from Etsy seller Cross Stitch by Coconut.

The largest category on this Japanese designer’s shop is for gift tags, which of course could be stitched up as minis or in little collections in a frame instead. There are Christmas tags, military-themed projects, cats, other cute animals, fireworks and more in these collections.

Another large category, and the one that first caught my eye, is bookmarks. Here you’ll find lots of cute little bookmark designs, including Alice in Wonderland theme, dinos, mermaids and more. These little crabs shown here would be perfect for a summer reading bookmark.

The pattern uses just two colors and easily fits a two-inch wide bookmark blank (or a piece of regular cross stitch fabric cut to fit). The design is 26 by 85 stitches, or 1.86 by 6.07 inches (4.7 by 15.4 cm). This would be so cute on pale blue or off-white/sand colored fabric.

In addition to gift tags and bookmarks, there are other little patterns focusing on holidays (mostly Christmas and Valentine’s Day); animal designs, many with a Japanese twist; and an array of alphabet fonts you can use in any of your cross stitch projects.

In addition to the individual patterns, the shop also offers a few pattern bundles, including animal patterns, bookmarks and an array of 1.5 inch/3.8 cm mini cross stitch patterns. There are also a few Christmas themed mini bundles (the spooky Christmas mini collection might be my favorite.

Check out all this shop has to offer at Cross Stitch by Coconut.

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[Photo: Cross Stitch by Coconut]

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Book-Themed Bookmark Cross Stitch Patterns

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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