Designer Spotlight: Ruby Red Thread Design

Calling all lovers of geeky and gamer cross stitch! I’d like to introduce you to Ruby Red Thread Design, a Canadian Etsy shop full of projects you’ll love if you’re into Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Final Fantasy and other geeky genres.

The first thing to catch my eye in this shop was the adorable hobbit hole cross stitch pattern, but since there’s a Ghibli category (which is a big love in our house; our cats are even named for Ghibli characters) I knew I needed to show one of those projects off.

I’m already working on a Baba Yaga house for my daughter, but I know she would also love this Howl’s Moving Castle project. Maybe her room needs to be all fictional houses? The hobbit hole would fit in that theme as well!

This big boy of a design is 258 by 300 stitches, and it uses 55 colors. It’s all full stitches and you’re not stitching the background, so choose a pretty color of cross stitch fabric. Worked on 14 count fabric this design would be 18.4 by 21.4 inches, or 46.7 by 53.4 cm. You can make it smaller by using a higher count fabric if you want.

You’ll also find some great stuff in the TV and movies section, with projects ranging from Luci in a bottle from Disenchanted to a Sailor Moon heart locket and several The Fifth Element themed projects. The Pokemon patterns are all super cute, and while I don’t know anything about Final Fantasy those projects look good, too.

There are even a few projects that aren’t linked to fandoms, though I’m not totally sure why you’d want such a thing.

Check out all the fun offerings at Ruby Red Thread Design on Etsy. As of this writing you can receive 20 percent off your order when you buy three patterns or more at once, so let’s get to geeky stitching!

[Photo: Ruby Red Thread Design]

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Review: Pokemon Cross Stitch

If you like repeating cross stitch designs, borders you can use on other projects or as bookmarks, florals and Japanese-inspired designs, you’ll want to check out 200 Japanese Cross Stitch Designs by Saeko Endo. This collection of 200 cross stitch charts is low on instruction but big on inspiration for those who are comfortable taking a chart and running with it.

The book includes a brief introduction to the needed supplies and basics of stitching, but mostly is just photographs of finished designs and the charts that go with them. The charts vary widely in size and there can be anywhere from one to six charts printed on a single page.

Many of the designs are repeating patterns, but the chart shows a larger version so you can see how the repeats go together. Each chart has marked what portion is repeating and how many stitches and rows it includes. Other than that the charts are not numbered, but there are darker lines every five rows to help you count.

The patterns all range from one to three colors, and some include half cross stitches or back stitching, but most are full stitches.

The book is arranged into categories of motifs: geometric patterns, retro patterns, traditional Japanese patterns, floral and fauna and borders and pictorial motifs.

My favorites are the Japanese designs, many of which are recognizable from woodcuts, kimono designs and traditional shashiko embroidery. You’ll find cherry blossoms, suns, knots, and simple line designs that would be lots of fun to stitch.

There are a few pages devoted to different ways to modify charts such as changing colors, changing the way to design is repeated, flipping and rotating designs.

Other than that you’re on your own for how you actually want to use these designs. Of course they can just be stitched and framed but it might have been nice to see some of the projects stitched and staged in a way you might use them in everyday life (repeating motifs as coasters, or a bigger design turned into a pillow, for example).

Sometimes it helps to see designs used in different ways to get you thinking about how you might use them yourself. If you don’t need that creative push, this is a fine book full of patterns you’ll have fun playing with in different ways.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 200 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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