When Stitching is Just a Day at the Beach

I’m super excited because my family is headed to the beach really soon, but regardless of whether your summer plans are taking you to sandy shores (or you live near a beach all the time, or none of the above), cross-stitching something with a beach theme is a lot of fun. Here are a few ideas to get your started.

Stitch up some shells with these free patterns from Cross Stitch Pattern.net and Talons Aiguilles. That site, which is in French, has more cute beach-themed items including this little cocktail and some sweet little anchors.

The DMC blog has a great free download of beach theme charts, including all sorts of goodies like ocean creatures, a boat, an island and sea birds.

I adore the Scene in the Dunes chart from Wishful Thinking, which features seagulls in the dunes and in the air. There’s another pretty beach scene at Cross Stitch Pattern.net, too.

Do you like stitching up beach scenes? I’d love to know if one of these catches your eye.

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How to Make French Knots

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]

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