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.

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Herbs to Cross Stitch for Your Kitchen

Unique Stitch Crafts is a Turkish designer that has a couple of main interests in their cross stitch designs: travel and Christmas stockings.

By far the biggest category in their storefront is Christmas stockings, with more than 100 options to choose from. There are fully stitched fronts with designs classic and whimsical (like an alicorn and a pastel rainbow, or a bunny in Harlequin costume playing violin to a mushroom) and designs that just go across the cuff of the stocking. There are ornaments with a Nutcracker or Frozen theme, New York City stockings and stockings for your dinosaur.

As an example, here’s a stocking covered with mini holiday designs, which you could also use as ornaments if you wanted. The full design is 165 by 255 stitches, which comes out to 10.3 by 16 inches, or 26 by 40.6 cm on 16 count fabric. The pattern just makes the front of the stocking so you need to grab some fabric for the back of the stocking and sew it together yourself.

There’s also a large collection of travel cross stitch patterns, including national parks designs both large and mini, and travel poster style designs for many US states and cities. (There’s not an Arkansas, which is my standard test since I live there, but there is a pattern of the Mississippi River bridge in Memphis, which is technically half in Arkansas.)

If you’re more of a world traveler you’ll find more of the travel poster style designs for cities and countries, including Thailand and China, Berlin, Sydney and Marrakech.

In addition to all of that, you’ll find patterns called retro, which includes a wide range of designs, but many seem to be food and coffee related; folk art designs (lots of flowers and birds); and famous paintings translated to cross stitch. Smaller categories include Christmas, Halloween, animals, kids and castles.

Check out all the fun designs at Unique Stitch Crafts on Etsy.

[Photo: Unique Stitch Crafts]

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