How Do You Store Your Cross Stitch Supplies?

May 16, 2024 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Even though I’ve literally written a book on cleaning out and organizing your craft supplies, I am not the best at storing things appropriately. Especially my cross stitch supplies.

I have all of my thread in a plastic zippered bag like you would get when you buy a set of sheets. Which at least keeps things from getting dusty, but when I need to find a particular color it’s hard to root through the jumble of threads, fabric and other random stuff that has ended up in that bag through the years.

Recently I did sort some of my floss by color because I needed to figure out what I had that I could use and what I needed to buy for a big project I wanted to start. But even after I organized them they all went back into the bag, which is not a great long-term solution.

Hannah Hand Makes has some help for us in the form of a podcast and blog post all about how to store cross stitch supplies. She goes through how she stores her cross stitch fabric, floss, hoops and frames, needle minders, needles, scissors, projects in progress or recently finished (or in hibernation) and finishing tools.

There are definitely some great tips in here, but I think the most important thing is that everything needs a well-organized and dedicated space. It’s also a great idea to keep things in smaller containers when possible because it’s easier to keep a small thing organized and to see what you have. She talks about how she converted to using bobbins for her thread and that having bobbins in boxes makes it easier to find what you need and keep everything contained. Definitely better than my random bag of floss!

Check out all her tips for organizing anything related to your cross stitch life at Hannah Hand Makes.

[Photo: Hannah Hand Makes]

Free Printable – Floss Organization Cards

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Tips for Designing Your Own Cross Stitch Patterns

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How to Railroad Your Cross Stitch

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Designer Spotlight: Cross Stitch Foxy

Cross Stitch Foxy has a huge selection of cross stitch patterns perfect for gifts or using in your own home decor. As of this writing there are more than 900 patterns listed, so there’s no way I can cover them all, but let’s take a quick peek at some of the options.

As with many cross stitch designers, Cross Stitch Foxy has a lot of holiday themed patterns, including Christmas, Halloween and Easter and St. Patrick’s Day. There are patriotic American patterns, feminist patterns and so much more.

Since we’re heading into the Christmas season as I write this, I thought I’d highlight one of the more than 100 Christmas listings in the shop. These Christmas mugs would be cute to have hanging in your kitchen or anywhere else all winter long.

The full pattern is 86 by 101 stitches, which comes out to 6.1 by 7.2 inches, or 5.5 by 18 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric. It calls for 19 colors. Of course you could also stitch a single mug if you’d rather, or put them into individual frames.

One thing that is fun about Cross Stitch Foxy’s projects is that the intention is that to some extent you can use what you have to make the projects. None of the projects include single stitches of a color, and colors can be replaced with the colors you have or use blends made up of colors you already have, making the projects more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Of course for holiday patterns you’ll want some holiday colors, but there’s wiggle room to use the threads you already own, which is nice.

In addition to the categories I already mentioned, there are many other patterns, including a wide selection of seasonal gnomes, patterns with cats and dogs, food and drink patterns and a nice collection of flowers and plants, just to name a few. There’s probably something for everyone in this store, so go check it out at Cross Stitch Foxy on Etsy.

[Photo: Cross Stitch Foxy]

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