How Do You Store Your Cross Stitch Supplies?

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

Get Your Floss Organized

Tips for Designing Your Own Cross Stitch Patterns

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How to Railroad Your Cross Stitch

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.

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