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Choosing a Cross Stitch Pattern or Kit
If this is
your first cross stitch project, I suggest buying a small kit. Kits come with all
the necessary materials (fabric, floss, needle, etc.) other than a
hoop. Most kits also include some basic cross stitch instructions. Kits
come in varying degrees of difficulty. There are even kits
designed especially for kids
and beginners by
Dimensions and
Permin. Some of my favorite kits
come from
Dimensions,
Permin of Copenhagen,
Eva
Rosenstand and
Heritage Stitchcraft, and most recently
Anchor.
For more
experienced cross stitchers, pick out your own pattern and fabric for a
more unique piece. There are many, many, many different cross
stitch pattern designers to choose from. Patterns come in varying
degrees of difficulty, and are often labeled as such. For tips on
working the more difficult patterns, please see the bottom of this page,
"Tips for working a large pattern".
There are
various methods for keeping track of where you are on your pattern or
chart.
Some people use a highlighter and mark off the section they are
stitching on their pattern as they go along. Some chose to laminate
their pattern before beginning and use an erasable marker to mark of
the areas they have already stitched. More experienced stitchers
generally just “eyeball” their work and know where they left off.
Some of my favorite cross stitch designs are by
Mirabilia,
Lavender and Lace,
Passione Ricamo,
Pinn, and
Butternut Road.
Cross Stitch Pattern
Designers
Mirabilia and Nora Corbett
patterns are designed by an artist named Nora Corbett in Ohio.
She creates original water color paintings and turns them into cross
stitch patterns. Her subjects are generally angels, mermaids,
queens, fairies, mothers and lovers along with timeless women.
Mirabilia is one of my favorite line of patterns. They are
generally quality pattern that often use beading and metallic threads to
highlight the design. I carry all of the Mirabilia patterns that
are available at Julie's X Stitch.
If you are into collecting, Mirabilia makes a line of
"Holiday Fairie"
kits that include fabric and all the supplies you will need to complete
the project including quality linen fabric. She also has a line of
"Christmas Trees" every year
for Christmas that include all the beads and treasures you will need to
complete the piece.
Her Nora Corbett patterns and kits include some different lines like
Letters From Nora, her Pixie Couture Collection, Christmas Eve
Couriers, and her Spring Garden Pixie Couture Collection.
Muse Collection, Snow Globe Village Series, and Stitching Fairies.
Mirabilia's newest pattern is "The
Red Lady Pirate" released on February 15, 2011.
Some of my favorites are:
"Christmas Flourishes",
"Midsummer Nights Fairy",
"Sleeping Beauty",
"Shimmering Mermaid",
"Enchanted Mermaid",
"Mediterranean Mermaid", and
"Sabrinia" , I
try to keep all of the Mirabilia, Lavender and Lace and Passione Ricamo
patterns in stock, so they generally ship immediately.
Nora Corbett has also come
up with a gorgeous line of fabrics to go with her more recent patterns.
The colors are very unique and soft. Currently, they come in 16
count Aida and 32 count Linen. The line of cross stitch fabric
is called,
Hand Picked by Nora. I keep all of her fabrics IN STOCK.
For your convenience,
we also stock most of the embellishment packs for Mirabilia and Nora
Corbett patterns. Those that we don't stock can be ordered and
sent out within two weeks.
Told in
a Garden,
Lavender
and Lace and
Butternut Road patterns are designed by an artist named Marilyn
Levitt-Imblum who lives in Main. The Lavender and Lace
patterns are some of my favorites. The inspiration for many of her
designs came from living in the country near many Amish families.
Her designs include many angels, brides, traditional women, Native
Americans, Christmas themes and the Amish. Her patterns are classy
and turn out lovely. Some of my favorites are "The
Wedding", "Angel
of Grace", "Celtic
Christmas", and the entire
Celtic
Series. All of these patterns are available in kits as well.
One of the most popular patterns every by Marilyn was of one of her
grandaughters called,
"Isabella's Garden".
Kustom Krafts started creating cross stitch patterns in 1999 in a
small Northern Ontario, Canadian town. Dyan Allaire was very interested
in fantasy and wild animal themes, which inspired her to create her own
cross stitch charts. Kustom Krafts charts are very colorful
and life like. They have a wide range of patterns to choose
from. We have 150 of their pattern on our site and add more every
time they release a new design. Some of my favorites by Dyan are
"Ghost Wind" (horse),
"Defiant", and
"Tender Loving Care"-girl.
Heaven and Earth Designs was created by Michele Sayetta and her
husband Bob. They previously owned a hand dyed fabric shop, but
decided to switch to cross stitch patterns. They chart the artwork
of many talented designers into counted cross stitch designs.
Their designs are not computer generated. They graph each image
using engineering software Their designs are very intricate.
They suggest you stitch them on 25 count Lugana or Dublin over one to
preserve the detail. Their designs have a "fantasy" feel to them.
Some of my favorite designs by Heaven and Earth are "Queen
of Hearts" and ,
"Spirit of Winter" .
Glendon Place is a cross stitch pattern company started by a great
lady name Cheryl Granda. She lives in Florida with her husband and
dogs. Her favorite past times when she was a child were art and
sewing. Her grandmother taught her to sew, as mine did.
Cheryl has been designing cross stitch patterns for over 2 years now.
She has many themes that focus on the holidays. Some of her
greats are
"We Three Kings" ,
"Sociable Scarecrow" , "Witching
it was Halloween" , and "Santa's
North Pole"..
Passione
Ricamo. The designers of Passione Ricamo is Laura
Lattuada. She is an Italian designer. Her designs include
fairies, beautiful women, romantic themes, and mermaids. Laura
started out as a graphic designer. She was always interested in
art. She lived in London for a time and that is where she
discovered cross stitch. She has been designing and selling cross
stitch designs since 1994. Some of my
favorite desings by Laura Lattuada are "Circe
the Sorceress", and "Merry
Little Christmas".
Pinn
Stitch Art and Technology, Inc. is another great designer.
They are a company in Chiang
Mai, Thailand that has been in business since 1992. They do mostly
classical Thai and unique Oriental designs in cross stitch. They
are some of my favorite patterns. Very colorful and beautiful.
Some of their designs are "Two
Thai Dancers", "Thai
Parasol Paintings", and "Loy
Krathong". All Pinn patterns and kits are sold at a discount
from the retail price.
Mar-nic
designs is owned and operated by Maria E.
Cipp. She lives in the picturesque city of Waterloo, Ontario. This area
of Canada is steeped in a rich multicultural heritage. Her cross stitch
designs are inspired by the abundant world around her. Her home is shared
by her husband Nick, Doran and Aaron, her sons, and her canine,
Spencer the Boxer.
Cross
Eye Kat is owned by
Kat who loves crafts
and taught herself cross stitch at a young age. She created her first
original design for Latin class in middle school. She has been
designing original needleart for her company, Cross Eyed Kat since 2004.
I like her designs "Post
Modern Cats", and "Post
Modern Dogs".
Imaginating and From the Powder Mill. Our company was established in
1979 by my former partner, Marilyn Clark, and myself. We began in our
homes and graduated to more and more space. Marilyn retired a number of
years ago, but still designs a few pieces each year. Some of her most
popular pieces were those that had words and paper clips (Rules of the
Office). We began our company with needlepoint patterns and now have
cross stitch, embroidery and a quilt line. (from
Imaginating's website) Their designs are very whimsical.
I like "Candy
Cane Christmas", and "Bubble
Your Troubles". Imaginating are also some of the most
affordable patterns there are in cross stitch.
Art-Stitch specializes in uinque counted cross stitch and
needlepoint designs in the art nouveau, arts & crafts, and art deco
styles. Inspiration for my designs comes from countless artistic sources
from the turn of the century through the 1930s, including poster art,
stained glass, tilework and ceramics, book illustrations, jewelry and
architecture. I have been an avid stitcher for many years, and for just
as long have loved art of this period. But, to my disappointment, it's
never been easy to find needlework patterns with turn of the century
themes. So, I decided to change that, and Art-stitch was born. (excerpt
taken from Art Stitch website). Some of my favorite pattern from
Art-Stitch are, "Chat
Noir", "Feline
Queen" and "Noel".
The
Sampler
House was started by Eileen Bennett, designer, teacher, author
of needlework books and patterns based on historic samplers. My retail
needlework shop, located in Grandville, Michigan, closed in 1986 when my
design career began. "Home Is Where You Hang Your Needlework" was my
first charted design and commercial endeavor. Since then, over 100
sampler designs and related accessory items have been created by me for
the retail market. Most of The
Sampler House designs use a variety of old sampler stitches and
from these designs came four books of stitch diagrams. (excerpt
taken from Sampler House website). "The
Flowers of the Field" is one of my favorite samplers by Eileen.
Bobbie
G. Designs evolved from my love of art, color and a passion for
stitching. I began by designing for cross stitch magazines and
transitioned over to designing, manufacturing and distributing my own
cross stitch kits, charts and quilt patterns. The business has grown
steadily as I continue to do what I love doing.
My daughter and I work hard to produce a great
product that you will enjoy. (taken from the Bobbie G. Designs website)
Some of my favorite designs by Bobbie G. are "Jolly
Ole St. Nicks", and "Coffee".
Images
stitchery design is a family-run business that has been
designing stitchery patterns for the past 30 years and specialty frames
for the past 16 years. We are located in beautiful downtown Mineral
Point, Wisconsin just 45 minutes west of Madison. Our designs are
compositions by Wayne Banaszak, whose love of architecture and nature
are demonstrated just beautifully in his pictures of historical
landmarks, samplers, and novelty subjects. Using multiple stitching
techniques, Wayne "paints" a picture with a variety of fibers and
fabrics. (taken from the Images website)
Nancy
Spruance Designs. Victorian
House Designs for Counted Cross Stitch
We hope you will enjoy browsing in our
gallery of finely detailed Victorian house designs in the
California Northcoast Collection
and Victorian America Collection.
These cross stitch designs are all faithful reproductions of the houses
that inspired them, and houses in both collections are listed in the
National Register of Historic Places. (take from the Nancy
Spruance front page). Some of my favorites are
The Abbey,
Carson Mansion, and the newest is
Country Victorian Cottage.
Character Creations. Before starting Character Creations, I
was working in an embroidery and patchwork shop. While there I did
several private commissions creating cross stitch designs from personal
photographs using computer charting software.
The success of these lead to me starting out as an independent designer.
My first charts were created from personal photographs and she later
moved on to using art in the public domain. After deciding to
concentrate on designing full time, I contacted a number of artists both
in New Zealand and overseas, gaining the licence to chart their artwork.
(taken from Character Creations website).
Debbie
Draper Designs. I have always wanted to design [cross stitch
patterns] and for many
years I took liberties with designs, changing up the design and/or the
colors. Then one day shortly after being introduced to Vikki Clayton’s
silk floss by a wonderful friend and designer, Mary of Ozark Sampler, I
thought I would try my hand at designing. I was inspired by Vikki’s
silk colors and came up with my first three designs. They are simple
enough for the beginner and even the more advanced stitcher will find
them fun to work up. (taken from Debbie Draper's website). Debbie
Drapers designs include many felines and silhouette patterns.
Country
Garden Stitchery. I
began cross stitching when my children were tiny and I would stitch
while they took naps and at night time. I started stitching on stamped
fabric as I wasn't confident to do counted cross stitch yet! I also
discovered I enjoyed drawing about the same time. My husband and I would
take the kids out into the desert to explore and I would draw the old
rock houses, old structures, old gnarly trees and whatever else I could
find. I decided to try my hand at designing my own patterns, putting my
drawing interest with the cross stitch interest. (from Country Garden
Stitcheries website). Her newest design is called "Lady
Scarecrow".
Rosewood Manor Designs. I
formed my company Rosewood Manor in 1998 while we were living in
Maryland and started publishing my own charts. Karen
became interested in counted cross stitch in the mid 1970's
while employed by Better Homes and Gardens.
Although I had always embroidered,
I had never worked in counted cross-stitch. Once I learned how to
cross-stitch I was hooked and soon began to design my own charts.
I am inspired by my surroundings, quilt blocks and Mother Nature when
creating my designs. Whether I am designing or stitching, I create
designs that I enjoy and hope, you, my customer will "ENJOY! and "BE
CREATIVE!" Some of my favorite designs by Karen are "Inspiration"
(30 pgs), and "And
A Garden Grew".
Cross
Stitch Collectibles
patterns are designed by Kathy George. She has taken famous works of
art from designers like DaVinci, Monet, Picasso, etc. and converted them
into beautiful patterns.
X's &
Oh's is a needlework company that began with cross-stitch, and has
since branched out into counted needlepoint and hardanger!
Designer JOANNE GATENBY: is
the owner and operator, ably supported by her husband Bill and their
family. Their goal is to bring new and original designs to market, and
to that end Joanne has been working with artists for many years,
licensing their work to convert to cross-stitch along with her own
artwork - to the delight of both their fans! Some of my
favorite designs are ''Distant
Cousins".
Ellen Maurer Stroh. Ellen is a designer from Austria.
Excerpt from her webiste about her designs: "We offer high quality
counted cross stitch patterns and machine embroidery designs. We
specialize in floral designs and are the home of the famous Animal
Babies and Bears at Work designs. EMS Cross Stitch Designs are
available at needlework shops worldwide". We have over 200 pattern
by Ellen available at Julie's Cross Stitch.
Cross
Stitching Art. Cross Stitching Art
specializes in
creation of high quality cross stitch patterns based on original digital
illustrations and artworks. Our cross stitch collection features
romantic and feminine cross stitch designs that have high level of
detail and realism. Elegant ladies, fairies, mermaids clothed in
luxurious gowns which sparkle with metallic threads and precious beads.
In appreciation of our valued customers, we have also added many free
counted cross stitch patterns. Visit our free counted cross stitch
patterns page to download your gift .Every design is custom made with
our clients in mind! Happy Stitching! (excerpt from their website)
Cross Stitch Kit Designers
Maia kits. Maia
is the Goddess of spring, growth, life, rebirth and love. Maia
kits are some of the most beautiful designs I have seen in cross stitch
kits. Each kit includes carefully sorted Anchor thread, quality
fabric, and easy to follow charts and instructions. Themes
of the cross stitch kits include Oriental ladies, fancy ladies, Africa,
New York, animals, fantasy, scenic, etc Some of
the designers include Thomas Kinkade, Mark Harrison, Karl Bang, and
more...
Erte was born in St.
Petersburg in 1892. Romain de Tirtoff is his given name. He
is famous for his magazine covers and fashion designs for Harpers
Bazaar. His style can be described as Art Deco. He died in
1990. "Black
Rose Lady" is among his many designs for Maia.
Karl Bang was born in
Shanghai and trained in the 1940's by master artist in Chinese painting
and European traditions. He is considered the "Master of
contemporary Eclecticism". His subjects include many beautiful
women. Some of my favorites by Karl are "Lady
w/ Fan", and
"Winters Majesty".
Thea Gouverneur
I grew up in the
village of Sassenheim in The Netherlands, surrounded by bulb fields.
When I looked out of my bedroom window in spring and summer I could see
row upon row of flowers, stretching as far as the eye could see. My
brothers, sisters and I would help in the bulb fields during the spring
and summer holidays, harvesting the flowers in readiness for export to
the UK, Germany and the USA. First it was the daffodils, tulips and
hyacinths, later the irises, dahlias and gladioli. We would cut the
flowers by hand using a blade, working up and down the rows, and piling
the cut flowers in one corner of the field. It was backbreaking work,
but we enjoyed it.
My love of designing led me to the Royal Academy of
Art in The Hague, where I completed a teaching course in drawing and
fashion design. It was while I was teaching that I began to deign my own
cross stitch flower design. Some years later I made charts from these
initials designs and a friend suggested I should sell them, so I
approached a department store in Amsterdam who immediately offered to
sell them for me. I set up in business designing and selling kits, which
is what I have been doing for the past three decades, with great
enjoyment.
Tips for Working a Large
Pattern
Some cross stitch pattern designers make some very
intricate designs. They are often very large designs as well.
Designers like Heaven and Earth, Kustom Krafts, Cross Stitch
Collectibles, and a few others, split their patterns into several pages.
The patterns are to be worked in 10 x 10 grids starting in the left hand
corner of the fabric. The best way to figure out where to start a
gridded design is to take the stitch count of your pattern and divide it
by the stitch count of your fabric. Example: Say the pattern
is 240 x 240 stitches and the fabric is 16 count Aida. Divide each
side by 16. In this case 240 divide by 16. That means your
design will be 15 inches square or 15x15 inches. Find the
center of your fabric by folding it in half lengthwise, then in half
again by the width. Get a tape measure. From the center you
will measure from the middle to the top of the fabric, half
of the design height (in this case, half of 15 would be 7.5 inches).
Then measure from that point (center/top) again to the left,
half of the width of your design. (in this case also
15/2=7.5 inches) That is where you should start the first
block of 10 x 10 stitches. Measure from the center up first, then
from that point to the left side to figure out where to start your first
grid of stitches, starting in the upper left hand corner of your
fabric.
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