Designer Spotlight: Needleshaped Ltd

If you like your cross stitch patterns with a gothic twist, you’re going to love the collection of patterns offered by UK-based Etsy shop Needleshaped Ltd. I don’t know if they’re really from a town called Gravesend like their bio (which also calls them “cross stitch conjurers”) says, but I almost wouldn’t care if they made that up to add to their spooky credibility.

Here you’ll find lots of creepy and funny cross stitch patterns, lots of text-based patterns, dark princesses, horror, butterflies and more. There are a few fun tattoo-inspired designs sold as kits (many of their patterns are available both as the pattern alone and as a kit with supplies), as well as designs specific to Halloween and Christmas. There are also pop culture designs, occult inspired patterns and a few that are just funny.

I wanted to share this oujia board cross stitch pattern just because it shows how much fun you can have even just with one color of thread. (It also is a great example of what I was talking about the other day about how fun the projects are that are worked with black cross stitch fabric, even though that increases their skill level a bit.) It calls for using a piece of fabric that’s 26 by 18 inches (66 by 45.7 cm), which leaves some room around the edges as shown in the photo. You can also get this one as a kit that includes the pattern, fabric, needle and thread, which comes in a plastic package should you want to gift it to someone else. (You’ll need your own embroidery hoop if you use one.)

You can find all of the digital patterns together without the kit selections here for easier browsing, or head to their main Etsy storefront page to check out all the goodies.

[Photo: Needleshaped Ltd]

The two largest categories in And Wabi Sabi’s online shop are funny and relatable quotes and whimsical animals, which I think tells you about all you need to know as to whether this cross stitch designer is for you. But if those things sound like things you want to stitch, let’s take a closer look.

The quotes section includes a lot of things we see presented in cross stitch regularly (like “but did you die” or “have a nice poop”) with some twists like “live laugh leave by nine” and “this home is built on love and profanity.” If you like your stitching with a classic look but a snarky tone, this is a section you’ll want to scroll through.

Likewise whimsical animals gives us silly geese, funny dogs, adorable jungle animals and an otter in a teacup. Because why not? (There’s also a frog, bunny and a dog in teacups if you’d rather.)

This design uses 12 colors and is 47 by 53 stitches. On 14 count fabric it measures 3.07 by 3.5 inches, or 7.8 by 8.89 cm. It’s rated for beginners but it does use back stitch in addition to whole cross stitches.

There are also holiday patterns, for Christmas and Halloween, which tend to the cute side, such as a ghost in a pastel pumpkin patch of a smiling Christmas pudding.

Another big category is nature and cottagecore, where you’ll find a monstera, some puffy whit clouds, a rainbow and a bunch of floral designs, to name a few. The food and drinks section includes cute fruits and other foods, as well as kawaii food and drink labeled as for emotional support, such as the emotional support pickle.

You’ll also find a miscellany of some cute Korean designs, household items, whimsical cityscapes and more. Pattern bundles cover strawberries, animals in bathtubs or teacups, emotional support foods and snarky office humor. There’s also a handful of customizable patterns for wedding announcements.

Check out all the cuteness at And Wabi Sabi on Etsy.

[Photo: And Wabi Sabi]

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