Designer Spotlight: Sam X Stitch

I usually pick my designer spotlights because something will catch my eye while I’m looking for cross stitch patterns to share with you, and I don’t always remember what when I get back to them.

In the case of Sam X Stitch I did helpfully leave myself the note “modern samplers love the mushrooms.” This turned out to be essential because that pattern wasn’t on the front page of the shop so I couldn’t remember what had caught my attention.

It was these mushrooms, since we’re already talking about them. My teen is very into cottagecore and fairy/with vibes with a side of grunge, so mushrooms are very much her thing. This mushroom sampler features a bunch of different species of mushrooms, which is fun because so often you just see the red and white ones in cross stitch patterns.

This design is 153 by 153 stitches, or 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm square and uses 16 colors. If I didn’t already have a cross stitch on the go for my daughter I would definitely grab this one.

But there’s a lot more to this shop than ‘shrooms. They have more than 200 patterns including flowers, birds, insects, ocean themed projects, animals, botanicals and more. There are landscapes, patterns for Christmas and other holidays (Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras and Easter), tiles and animal prints and cute projects for the kitchen.

There are even a few in a category called “masterpieces,” which translate famous artworks into cross stitch designs.

I love how these patterns feel modern, even the ones that are vintage/Art Deco in style. There’s lots of color here, too, with floral folk art designs and Art Nouveau style flowers.

If you like animals, classic designs, folk art, flowers, bugs or birds, you’re sure to find something you want to stitch here.

You can check it all out at Sam X Stitch’s Etsy shop.

[Photo: Sam X Stitch]

Mushroom Cross Stitch Patterns

Designer Spotlight: Happy Little Mouse

Cross Stitch Mushroom Sampler

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Cross-Stich For Stress Relief - Unwinding And…

One of the most common problems that cross stitchers at all skill levels have is that the cross stitch fabric can start fraying while you stitch.

Beginner cross stitchers might wonder why this happens and if there is something they are doing wrong to cause it.

The reason cross stitch fabric frays is because it is a woven fabric, and the nature of any kind of woven fabric (whether that’s cross stitch fabric, a torn up towel or a piece of fabric you’re going to sew) is that it wants to fray.

It’s not necessarily a huge deal if you cross stitch fabric starts fraying mid-project if you have left a lot of extra fabric around your stitching. But if there’s not much fabric to spare in order to be able to finish the project the way you want, you’ll want to do something to stop the fraying.

When I was growing up I remember my mom using masking tape for this purpose, but it turns out there are lots of different things that you can do to stop your cross stitch fabric from fraying.

Craft with Cartwright came up with 15 different things that you can try, which seems like a lot, but that just means you have lots of different things you can try.

If you don’t want to buy something, you can stitch along the edges. If you already have supplies like tape or glue, or access to pinking shears or a serger, there are lots of options you can try.

Some of these are more permanent than others, so it will depend a little bit on how you want to finish your cross stitch project as to which is the best choice for you. It’s a great idea to read through the whole list just so you can have them in the back of yoru mind the next time you start a project and think about how you would like to protect it.

You can find the whole list at Craft with Cartwright.

How do you like to stop fraying on your cross stitch projects? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo: Craft with Cartwright]

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