Get Your Floss Organized

I’m mostly a knitter, but I know that a consistent resolution that a lot of crafters have each year is to get their supplies more organized. And when it comes to cross stitch, usually the thing that needs the most help when it comes to organization is floss.

So I hit the web looking for advice on how to store and organize floss for cross stitching and came up with these great ideas. I hope they inspire you to get your stash squared away this year!

Wild Olive has a super-cute idea for storing floss on craft sticks.

&Stitches shared a clever idea using clothespins and wire from Marie Tretiakova.

Make your own paper bobbins out of paperboard and scrapbook paper with this tutorial from Thistle and Leaves. Or make little cat thread holders, like these from Little White Whale. And try this clever hack for winding floss onto spindles using a power drill (!) from Little Lovelies.

Or put the floss in little bags in a little box, as shown on CraftyStylish.

Maybe try a sorter from the hardware store, from this roundup (which includes lots of other great stuff for storing crafty supplies) from All People Quilt.

Do you have tips for organizing floss? I’d love to hear them!

I don’t know why a vintage red truck with a Christmas tree in the back became an iconic Christmas cross stitch pattern, but you might be surprised by how many of them I found. Let’s take a look at a few Christmas truck cross stitch patterns.

I started with this free cross stitch pattern from Ugly Duckling House, which also has a wreath on the front of the truck for extra holiday cuteness. The design uses 16 colors and is 46 by 49 stitches. On 14 count fabric it comes out to about 3.3 by 3.5 inches, or 8.3 by 8.9 cm. You can grab that pattern when you enter your email address on the website.

DMC takes it to another level with the tree being tied to the top of the truck, which is driving past a mountain stitched in the background. This one is also a free pattern, and the listing doesn’t give a ton of information, but it is pretty.

Another one in a similar vein is this design from Actually Makeable, which has the tree tied in the back of the truck, which has a bit of snow on it, and there are snowy trees and a shape in the background that could be a cloud or a mountain. It measures 126 by 51 stitches and uses 17 colors. On 14 count fabric it will be 9 by 3.6 inches, or 23 by 9 cm. The back stitching is optional but does help to define the design.

The watercolor look of this one from Ethno Ua Stitch is so pretty, but it uses 37 colors to get that painterly effect. The design is 138 by 165 stitches, and it includes full cross stitches and back stitching.

If you’re looking for an easier option, this one from Etamine Patterns looks pretty straightforward. I love how the tree almost looks like an applique. It uses six colors and is 109 by 120 stitches.

Laser Art Designs has another version with a giant tree in the back of the truck and the words Merry Christmas at the bottom (which you could of course leave off if you want). This design uses four colors and comes out to 8.3 by 5.7 inches, or 20.9 by 14.4 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric.

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