Share Your Love of Cross Stitch with a DMC Kit

If you’re looking for a gift idea for a fellow cross-stitcher, something to drops hints about wanting for yourself, or a gift that allows you to share your favorite craft with someone else, you’ll want to check out the great cross stitch kits that DMC produces.

Their designer collection includes cross stitch, embroidery, needlepoint and punch needle projects, with everything you need to complete them in a compact package.

They sent me Herbs by Nathalie Weinzaepflen, a French designer and illustrator, to review. The kit is packaged in a pretty, small box that includes the cross stitch fabric, all the thread that’s needed and a single needle. There are general cross stitch instructions as well as a large chart for the particular pattern, with text published in several languages (but there are lots of illustrations for the basics, too).

This particular design is for intermediate stitchers and includes a collection of flowering herbs along with their Latin names worked in back stitching. It would be lovely to stitch up for a kitchen or sunroom.

In addition to this design there are several other French inspired project kits. Another design from Weinzaepflen is inspired by Provence, while designs from Anna Matvieiev, a Ukrainian designer living in Germany, feature the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe and a cafe in Montmartre.

These kits are all rated for intermediate to advanced stitchers, though there are a couple I think stitchers with less experience could complete. It’s hard to find good gift ideas for cross stitchers, but this is a fun option to ask for or to get for someone else.

The full designer collection highlights designers from around the world and features classic and contemporary styles using a range of needle arts skills. If you’re interested in embroidery, needlepoint or punch needle you can check out the full collection on their website and buy the kits direct from DMC.

I was recently approached by Alyssa, the cross stitcher behind the Etsy shop Stitchonomy, to take a look at her cross stitch pattern subscription club, known as The Pattern Club.

I took a look around and there’s a lot of cute stuff and fun options you’ll want to check out, especially if you love themed patterns that are small, easy to stitch and fun to combine.

The Pattern Club combines cross stitching with a social network. When you open the site you’ll see a news feed and have the ability to share updates much like you would on Facebook. You can see who is online, have buddies and post your own updates and photos. The community aspect is a little sparse right now but that should only grow.

The stitch along hub is the place to find the most recent patterns and information on the current stitchalong. As of this writing the Book Lover’s stitchalong was happening, with little designs like Peter Rabbit, a skull for Hamlet and keys for Jane Eyre as well as authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

Other pattern collections include European designs, Halloween, ocean life, an allotment garden and more. Alyssa tells me there’s a new theme every month that either she picks or members in the community suggest. You can stitch just the patterns you want or put them together to make a larger collage.

The Stitchanomini vault gives you access to all of the previous patterns, and new patterns are released daily through the stitchalong. You can download individual patterns (most of them are 19 by 19 stitches) as PDFs or Pattern Keeper files. The PDFs include a color and black and white chart as well as a floss list.

Another cool thing you can do is build your own pattern collages from all of the squares that have been released. The collage configurator allows you to add patterns of your choosing to a grid ranging from 2×2 patterns up to 4×4. You can scroll through all the current patterns or search by theme and size to make a project that suits your needs. (Above is an example I made kind of at random but you get the idea.)

If you want to check it out, you can grab a three-day free trial and see all the pattern options. Membership is $7.99 a month, or if you pay for a year at a time you’ll get two months free. In addition to the patterns in the club, members receive discounts on patterns and supplies purchased through the shop within the club. Annual members get access to three paid/retired stitchalongs and lifetime members receive all retired patterns.

If you check it out I’d love to hear what you think!

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