Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Stitch Detailed Designs from Nature with Fiber on a Whim

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I’ve been sort of randomly featuring cross stitch designers that I found through a list of designers at Stitching Jules, and this week’s highlight is Fiber on a Whim.

This designer only has five charts available (and two of them can be purchased as kits) but they sure are pretty.

The designs are mostly of flowers, with one bird, and they use lots of colors and deep details to give you a lifelike effect. Since there are so few I’m just going to mention all of them:

  • Dahlia
  • Peony
  • Carolina spicebush
  • Kentucky iris (not sure what makes it a Kentucky iris, it looks like a regular purple iris, but maybe that’s actually what they’re called and growing up in Arkansas I just never learned that)
  • Standing tall, pictured above, is a bird on a little perch, I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be a painted bunting

Speaking of the bird design, that one measures 82 by 94 stitches and uses 24 colors. If you stitch it on 14 count fabric it comes out to 4.56 inches by 5.22 inches, and what a pretty little work of art that would be.

Because of the level of detail and number of colors used (the lowest number of colors used on a project is 23), I wouldn’t recommend these designs for beginning stitchers, but if you’re comfortable with complex charts and lots of colors these designs are a great choice.

Make them for your friends who garden or are bird watchers, or hang them somewhere in your house where you will see them through the winter to remind you that brighter days are ahead.

If you want to check out some of the other indie designers I’ve profiled, here’s a quick list:

Are you an indie designer or do you have a favorite designer you’d like me to share? Click Suggest a DIY at the top of the page and tell me all about it!

[Photo: Fiber on a Whim]

30 + Bird Cross Stitch Patterns

If you’re a nature enthusiast or simply appreciate the beauty of our avian friends, you’re in for a treat. From majestic eagles to adorable robins, our curated selection of cross-stitch patterns celebrates the diverse and enchanting world of birds.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Make Your Cross Stitch into an Iron On Patch

A while back I made a little rainbow cross stitch pattern and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, so I turned it into a patch. My idea was that it could be used on a jacket or backpack, or you could add a pin to the back and wear it temporarily on a shirt or elsewhere. 

But what if you want to make your design more permanent? Is it possible to turn a piece of cross stitch into an iron-on design?

It turns out yes, it is, and Sirious Stitches has done it so I didn’t have to try to figure it out on my own. 

The way they did it was by using HeatnBond, an iron-on adhesive that attaches fabrics without sewing. There was still sewing involved to finish the edges of the cross stitch fabric and make it look like a purchased patch. The post shows how to do this by hand or with your sewing machine. (I just did blanket stitch edging on mine, which doesn’t look like a “real” patch but is also a lot faster.)

Once you have the patch prepared it’s a pretty easy matter of using the fusible adhesive to the back of the patch so you can then iron it onto whatever jacket, pair of jeans, bag or whatever else you might want to add it to. 

I guess I’m a little paranoid about the washability of cross stitch projects, though you could hand wash anything with an iron-on cross stitch patch as you might need to with a purchased iron-on patch, anyway. But this does look really cool and is a great option if you know you want to permanently add a cross stitch patch to a garment of bag. 

Get the full tutorial over at Sirious Stitches. Would you add an iron-on cross stitch patch to something? I’d love to hear what you would use this technique for!

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]