FAQs about Cross Stitch, Answered

One of the great things about cross stitch as a craft is that it doesn’t take a lot of skill or supplies to get started. You can make your first cross stitch patterns with a single color of thread, using a single kind of stitch, with fabric that’s easy to find, with or without a hoop. The learning curve is pretty small, and you’re only out a few dollars and a little bit of time to learn the basics and see if you like it.

But if you’re new to cross stitch or thinking about starting cross stitch as a new craft in your life, you might have some questions that patterns just don’t answer, either because they assume you know these things or the answer isn’t long enough to fill out a blog post.

Hannah Hand Makes has collected 20 of these sorts of questions into an FAQ about cross stitch that would be handy for you to read.

It covers everything from the difference between Aida and evenweave to what size needle you should use for cross stitch. You’ll find information on where to buy kits and supplies, the difference between counted cross stitch, stamped cross stitch and embroidery, how to cross stitch a photo, cross stitching on clothes and more.

(She’s even got an opinion on how much you should care about how messy the back of your work is. Spoiler: not much. I totally agree! It’s not worth it to try to make the back pretty unless its going to be visible in the finished product.)

Even if you’re pretty comfortable with cross stitch it’s worth it to skim through these FAQs, because you might just learn something or have your opinion about a cross stitch topic confirmed.

Check out the list at Hannah Hand Makes.

[Photo: Hannah Hand Makes]

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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

I’m primarily a knitter, and in the knitting world the “emotional support chicken” has been a big trend probably for a couple of years now (I don’t know how long something has to be popular before you can stop calling it a trend, but whatever).

There are chicken crochet patterns that are popular as well, and now I’ve found a cross stitch chicken pattern that might just become the newest iteration of the emotional support chicken theme.

The Funky Chickens pattern from Satsuma Street are three-dimensional, triangular chickens embellished with felt to make their facial features and tail feathers. The bodies include stripes, curves, speckles and other little designs to mark different parts of their bodies. They’re super cute and not any more difficult to stitch than any other pattern, though of course there’s more finishing than you would normally expect.

The pattern includes designs for three chickens, which are actually a rooster and two hens. The rooster is slightly larger, at 120 by 60 stitches, or 4 by 4 inches/10 cm when finished. The hens are 100 by 50 stitches and come out to 3.25 inches/8 cm when finished. These measurements are for stitching on 14 count fabric or 28 count over two.

The patterns use 13 colors, and if you want to make all three, one skein of each color will make all of them. In addition to your regular cross stitch supplies you’ll need three or four little pieces of felt of different colors to add all the details.

These chickens would be great to use as pincushions, or you could put something heavy in the bottom and use them as pattern weights if you do sewing. They’d also be fun gifts for anyone who likes chickens or needs a little emotional support if you explain it to them.

The pattern is available from Satsuma Street on Etsy.

[Photo: Satsuma Street]

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