Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

The “Secret” to Finding Great Cross Stitch Patterns

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cross stitch designers on etsy

There are a lot of cross-stitch patterns online. There are even a lot of free cross-stitch patterns online. Some of them aren’t great, and some of them are clearly copyright violations (because someone took a picture from a book and posted it to a website or on Pinterest), but you can still find some good things.

But if we’re being honest, the best source for cross-stitch patterns on line is probably etsy.

Yes, you’re going to have to pay for patterns you get from there, but that’s just good karma. It takes time and money to create patterns, so if you like them you should send a little monetary thanks to the designer.

Need help navigating the tons of amazing designers on etsy? Check out this great post from Sew What Alicia all about cross-stitch designers on etsy. I’ll bet you’ll see something you like.

Do you have a favorite cross-stitch designer on etsy? Or are you a designer who sells on etsy? We’d love to know about it!

[Photo: Sew What Alicia.]

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Comments

  1. Go to Library books sales or Salvation Army for Cross Stitch books. I find a lot of pattern books at these places.

  3. I’m also a designer who sells online via my own website and on Etsy and have some really big projects like the Periodic Table of Elements and Flags of the World that my customers love. I love supporting other designers and Etsy is the best place to find a huge range of amazing designs.
    My shop is at http://www.etsy.com/shop/hollyshobbiesuk and I’d love you to tell me what you think x

  5. One of my favorite French designers who is not unfortunately on Etsy is Marie-Therese Saint Aubin!

Have you read?

Check Out This Great Method for Framing Cross Stitch

When you put all the time and energy you do into making a great cross stitch project, it’s worth taking the time to frame it in a way that will make it look its best.

Often for smaller designs we’ll choose to frame projects in a hoop, which is cute and a fine option, especially for seasonal projects you might want to change out through the year. Others will send their finished projects for professional framing, which is a great option for gifts and heirloom items that need to be preserved, but it can also be quite expensive.

Crewel Ghoul has a great tutorial for a way that you can easily frame your cross stitch projects at home with just a few supplies.

She uses adhesive mounting board (but you can use non-adhesive board if you have some one hand or you need a size that’s not available in an adhesive version) and a few other basic supplies to secure the sides and corners of the cross stitch fabric around the board before putting the design in the frame.

This requires a bit of hand sewing, but we’re cross stitchers so I’m sure we can handle that.

Framing your cross stitch like this gives it a little padding in the frame, which makes it look better than if it were just flat in a frame with no special finishing. It’s also a great idea to use a frame without glass or to leave the glass out of the frame so it doesn’t crush your stitches.

And though this is super secure it’s not 100 percent permanent if you decide you don’t want the project framed in that way any more. Or you can take it out of the frame and the edges are still all nicely finished so you can display it a different way without having to do anything else to it.

Check out the tutorial at Crewel Ghoul.

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul.]