Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Designer Spotlight: Stitchin Madness

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Stitchin Madness is an Etsy shop based in California that has a lot of little cross stitch patterns on various themes that can be purchased separately or in bundles.

What originally caught my eye when scrolling through Etsy looking for designers to write about was their collection of United States National Park cross stitch patterns. You can buy the whole set of 63 parks, and there are design options that include just the image depicting each park (which measure 40 by 40 stitches each, or a little less than 3 inches/7.3 centimeters on 14 count fabric) or the image with the park’s name includes (that ups the size to 40 by 50, or 2.9 by 3.6 inches, which is 7.3 by 9.1 centimeters). To do the full set you’ll need 72 colors and a lot of time, but wouldn’t that be fun for someone who loves traveling the parks?

They also have a set of American state flag cross stitch patterns (though Mississippi isn’t the current flag) as well as American cities/attractions and international attractions as well.

But it’s not all tourism and state symbols here. There are also collections of insects (I love all the butterflies and moths!), mushrooms, planets, even a couple of holiday themed patterns and a few anatomical patterns with flowers (I’ll link those since you kind of need to see them to know what I’m talking about).

Most of the designs are small but they pack a lot of detail and look like lots of fun to stitch. If you’re American or from (or have visited) one of those international destinations, these patterns would be fun to stitch up as a sort of souvenir or record of places you’ve been, lived or want to travel to.

Check out all of their designs on Etsy. And if you have a shop, or have a favorite shop, that you’d like to see featured, you can send me the details by clicking on Suggest a DIY above and filling out the form.

[Photo: Stitchin Madness]

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Get Witchy with Potion Bottle Cross Stitch Patterns

There are so many fun ways you can go when stitching Halloween cross stitch patterns or giving your place a slightly spooky or witchy vibe any time of year. I love the look of little potion bottles, whether they’re real bottles lined up on the mantle or shelf or cross stitched versions like these. 

The gorgeous Elixir of Life cross stitch pattern from Makaronka Stitch is decidedly not Halloween in its vibes, so it would be fun to stitch and display any time of year. This is also definitely not a pattern for beginners, as it uses 37 colors and 34 blends to make the beautiful colors. It also uses full and half cross stitches, back stitch and French knots. The design measures 82 by 115 stitches, which comes out to 5.8 by 8.2 inches or 14.88 by 20.86 cm on 14 count fabric. 

If you’re looking for something a little smaller but still a lot of fun, check out this set of six potion bottles from MIYA Stitch. I love how each bottle seems to have its own personality, from one with a pumpkin and witch hat to one with crystals, mushrooms, or a butterfly and flower. The patterns are 60 by 88 stitches each. That’s 4.3 by 6.3 inches or 11 by 16 cm on 14 count fabric. The full set uses 26 colors and blends. 

Or try this set of five mini potion bottles from Plenty of Strings. I love the colors on these and they’d look great as a set on one piece of fabric or individually stitches as shown. Each one fits in a 3-inch hoop.

These minis from Giselles Cross Stitch are really cute, too, though they are meant to be worked together as one piece. The whole pattern uses 26 colors and measures 93 by 107 stitches, which comes out to 6.6 by 7.6 inches or 16.8 by 19.4 cm on 14 count fabric. They’re perfect on black or a dark blue fabric. 

I also like this bigger set of potion bottles from SamXstitch, which is meant to be stitched as a set but you could also work individual bottles in their own frames if you’d rather. The full design uses 10 colors and is 123 by 173 stitches. Taht comes out to 8.78 by 12.36 inches/22.31 by 31.39 cm on 14 count fabric.