Designer Spotlight: Durene J Cross Stitch

I feel like I have shared a lot of British designer Durene J Cross Stitch’s patterns before, so it seemed like high time to share their Etsy shop as a designer spotlight.

When I think of Durene’s designs, I think of holiday inspired patterns with a cute, cartoony feel. They are whimsical and fun and super cute.

And while it’s true that a lot of her designs do focus on holidays, plenty of them do not, and here you’ll find a lot of cute animals, flower fairies, projects with a beach theme and more.

She does a lot of these large hoop cross stitch projects like the one shown here. This modern tulip design has the feel of a mandala or like looking at flowers through a kaleidoscope. It has a max stitch count of 163 by 163 stitches, and comes out to 11.6 by 11.6 inches or 29.6 cm when stitched on 14 count fabric. The listing doesn’t indicate how many colors it uses but there are at least nine.

But if you like seasonal stitching you should definitely take a look at hear seasonal patterns, too. Most of them are for Christmas, including cross stitch stocking patterns, but there are a good number for Halloween as well.

Another thing that’s really cool in her pattern collection is three-dimensional projects such as ornaments, candle mats, pouches, and even a cute Halloween bowl made with cross stitch on the outside and fabric on the inside.

For these projects you not only get the cross stitch charts but all the instructions for finishing the project including any templates you need to complete it. These would be fun to get as gifts for a stitching friend and make your own kit for them to finish the project.

Check out all of their fun stuff (including hardanger and embroidery projects, too) at Durene J Cross Stitch on Etsy.

[Photo: Durene J Cross Stitch]

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Cross Stitch Patterns Inspired by the Beach

I came across the Etsy shop Bad Stitched when I was looking for bookmark cross stitch patterns and found their adorable pride bat bookmark, which I didn’t share then because I was going for more of a back to school vibe, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you love rainbows and bats.

This Etsy shop is big on whimsy and color, but not on organization, as there are not categories. Still, as of this writing there were only a little more than 60 patterns, so it’s small enough to scroll through.

In keeping with the theme of the bat bookmark, there are a lot of designs with animals and insects in different colors. Another one that caught my in this neon cicada with a crescent moon and stars. This one is 85 by 70 stitches and uses 16 colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 6 by 5 inches, or 15.4 by 12.7 cm.

You’ll also find patterns with animals such as mice, a snail, a jellyfish, a wolf, a corgi in a birthday hat, a fat seal and other bat designs. There are several mushroom designs, a pirate frog, and a scuba diving ghost (among other ghostly designs). You’ll find cats and mythical characters, a mouse thinking about eating strawberries and more.

There’s also an ebook full of mushroom designs, and another of creepy creatures for Halloween and beyond. There’s also a Pantheon bundle, full of gods, goddesses, characters from mythology, three amphora designs and a Greek inspired font.

If these sorts of designs sound like something you’d like to stitch, check out Bad Stitched on Etsy.

Know of a cross stitch designer (or are you a cross stitch designer) who should be featured in the designer spotlight? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending a note through the “suggest a DIY” link at the top of the page.

[Photo: Bad Stitched]

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