Review: Pokemon Cross Stitch

It doesn’t seem like the popularity of Pokemon is slowing down, and it’s always fun to stitch characters from pop culture as gifts or for yourself if that’s a fandom you belong to. My daughter never got into Pokemon, but her best friend loves it, so when I saw Pokemon Cross Stitch from Maria Diaz I wanted to check it out.

The book includes 54 patterns for different Pokemon characters, though some projects have more than one Pokemon in them and some are repeated. Pikachu, for example, is in eight of the projects, with Eevee; Piplup; Scorbunny; Cramorant; Pichu and Raichu; Grooky; Sobble; and by itself.

You’re likely to find a favorite in this collection since there are so many patterns.

Each project includes a full-color chart, floss color charts and a skill rating between 1 and 3 Pokeballs. The first 20 projects in the book are also shown fully stitches, while the rest are just shown in chart form. There are also cute illustrations of the characters in each piece, and a little fun fact about them.

A section on cross stitch basics covers materials, how to use a hoop, how to keep the edges of your work from fraying, how to find the center of your fabric and how to read patterns and make different stitches, among other things.

If you’ve never stitched before you might want a little more basic how-to information than this book provides, but it would also be a fun gift for someone who likes Pokemon who you might be trying to get interested in starting cross stitch (or who might already have an interest in cross stitch).

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 54 patterns. Published 2023 by David and Charles. Suggested retail price $19.99.

And if you’re looking for more Poekmon cross stitch patterns, check out this roundup of Pokemon cross stitch I did a long time ago!

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30 Bookmarks To Cross Stitch For Kids

If you like seasonal samplers and cross stitch patterns with a primitive twist, you’ll enjoy the collection from Curious Carrie Designs.

You’ll find alphabet designs, biscornu, patriotic projects and more. The summer category is the largest on the storefront, with Americana and floral designs. There are also categories for the other seasons and more general designs.

One of my favorites is this pretty sunflower cross stitch pattern, which is shown styled as a biscornu but it wouldn’t have to be. The pattern features sunflowers and bees and a little beehive. It uses 12 colors of floss and each side of the pattern is 51 by 51 stitches, which comes out to 3.64 inches or 9.2 cm square.

I love the fabric she used for the sample, which she actually dyed purple herself, but it would also be pretty on a purchased light blue or other color if you don’t want to dye your own.

There’s also a whole set of themed biscornu with a four letter word on one side (crow, home, love and snow, to name a few) along with a seasonal pattern on the other side.

The shop has a rather small selection at around 90 patterns as of this writing, but it’s a nice collection of traditional looking designs heavy on samplers and biscornu designs, so if those are things you like you’ll want to be sure to check it out. Visit Curious Carrie Designs on Etsy to see all her pretty designs.

Are you a designer or do you have a favorite cross stitch designer who hasn’t made it into the spotlight yet? (You can see all the featured designers in the craft businesses category on the page.) Let me know in the comments, or you can submit more detailed information by clicking on “suggest a craft” at the center top of the page.

[Photo: Curious Carrie Designs]

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