How to Travel with Cross Stitch: Airport Rules, Packing Tips & What to Bring

Cross stitch isn’t a craft I usually travel with myself, but plenty of stitchers want to bring a project on a plane or road trip — here’s what you need to know about packing needles, scissors and thread so security doesn’t slow you down.

Koekoek has a post all about cross stitching on a plane, which is a great plan since it’s lots of uninterrupted time to work. As mentioned in the post, you should be able to bring embroidery needles (which tend not to be that sharp anyway) on an airplane with you.

Regulations in the United States say that scissors with blades up to 4 inches/10 cm are allowed in the cabin, but whether they are allowed by security as you pass through it is up to their discretion. And thread cutters that use a razor blade are not supposed to be allowed at any time.

Alternatives include bringing nail clippers to snip your threads, or pre-cutting thread and placing it on bobbins so you can stitch on the plane. Then pack scissors in your checked bag so you can cut any loose ends or extra long strands later.

Check out the post at Koekoek for more tips on traveling with cross stitch and suggestions for projects to pack when traveling. I’ve also written in the past about this post from Caterpillar Cross Stitch about traveling with cross stitch supplies and, importantly, what to do to make your screening as smooth as possible. And, importantly, what to do if the security agents question your supplies or want to confiscate anything you brought.

And that’s a great tip, too: if you are packing scissors in your carry on but you’re also checking a bag, pack extras there just in case.

Do you have any tips for traveling with cross stitch projects? I’d love to hear them. Also check out my post about planning a travel stitching kit.

I came across a post recently from Lord Libidan wondering about where all the good cross stitch alphabets have gone. While you can find lots of fonts on Etsy (and I even shared a few good cross stitch fonts recently) it can be difficult to know exactly what you’re getting when you buy a pattern for an alphabet online. You might find just what you want but it’s the wrong size, or maybe everything is plain and you want something fancier.

One option is to hit up your local library for cross stitch books. If you’re looking for large, fancy lettering to use as a stand alone for projects, I found Felicity Hall’s Stitch Alphabets & Numbers on the shelves at my local library.

This book includes lots of guidance in terms of materials, how to stitch and ways to use lettered projects, from simple framing to making alphabet blocks, pillows and a stretched canvas.

There are three sets of letters and three sets of numbers in this book. The circus letters are colorful and include circles and other details inside the letters that make some of them look like faces. They come in a variety of widths but are all 80 stitches high (making them 5.7 inches, or 14.5 cm tall on 14 count fabric.

Woodblock letters vary from a straightforward, blocky H to a G that looks like a fish tail, and they’re designed to have details in the background. There are all 80 by 80 stitches. Shadow letters are blocky with a drop shadow in a color; they vary in width but are 55 stitches tall. All the letter fonts also include an ampersand.

The number fonts include screen print numbers, which are worked in two colors that look sort of like printing; vintage numbers, which have flowers inside the numbers that also have a striped shadow; and floral numbers, where the number is a solid color surrounded by flowers and vines. These are all 79 by 80 stitches, while the vintage ones are 55 by 55 and the screen print ones vary in both width and height.

These aren’t the sorts of letters you’d add to another project, but if you want to stitch a single letter, a monogram, a short word or the table numbers for a wedding, this book offers some fun options and nice project ideas for how to use them.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback. Published 2014 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Have you read?