Top ten stitching tools: what a professional designer uses
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It can be so tricky when you first start stitching — there are so many options for materials and supplies, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not know what might work best for you. Of course, any stitcher would tell … Read More

Top ten reasons sarcasm and swearing are good for you
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You’ve likely seen the rise in sarcastic and sweary memes, t-shirts, mugs, and even stitching patterns in the past few years. Although many disagree with swearing for personal or religious reasons, there is an upsurgence in people feeling freer to … Read More

Hand Embroidery Fundamentals: Stitch Your Own Floral Monogram Hoop
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I love helping people learn to stitch, it’s such a relaxing hobby, and playing with lots of gorgeous embroidery floss colours and fabrics is just so much fun. Recently I’ve had a lot of people asking how to complete a … Read More

Sassy or sweet? Top 10 Valentine’s Day stitching patterns
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Are you someone who adores Valentine’s Day? The chocolates, the pink fluffy hearts decorating all the shops, do they make you swoon and look forward to showering your loved ones with affection and special surprises? Or are you someone who’s … Read More

Mermaids and mix tapes — Issue 6 of XStitch Mag
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Happy New Year! 2019 is going to be amazing, and to kick it off I’m happy to announce that Issue 6 (the “Mix Tape Vol 1” issue) of XStitch Magazine is now available! One of my cross stitch designs is … Read More

DMC Étoile embroidery threads: a review
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If you’ve heard all about the new DMC Étoile embroidery threads but haven’t had a chance to pick some up yet, this quick review should give you a good idea whether they’ll be a yay or a nay for you. … Read More

Sulky cross stitch and embroidery stabilizers
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If you’ve ever wondered when to use a stabilizer for cross stitch or embroidery projects, this tutorial will help you learn which of the myriad of options is best for your project. Sulky makes a wide range of stabilizers, and … Read More

Sulky thread for embroidery and cross stitch
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One of the best things about being a stitcher is getting to experiment with so many amazing threads, fabrics, and tools. This tutorial is demonstrating some of , particularly those that are great for cross stitch and embroidery. In the … Read More

Aligning letters in a hand embroidery pattern
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Sometimes when you write delicate text onto your fabric from an embroidery pattern, your lines may look “wobbly”, especially if the letters are quite small and delicate (like a single line of backstitch). So, to ensure your text stitches up … Read More

Changing colours in an embroidery or cross stitch pattern
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For some embroidery or cross stitch patterns, it’s normal to want to change some colours (say of a girl’s hair, or a dress, etc). Changing colours is not as simple as it can seem at first, so below is a … Read More

Leaf stitch: how to embroider leaves
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The leaf stitch is such a pretty hand embroidery stitch, it can be used in all sorts of ways. Similar to the fishbone stitch, the leaf stitch is a great textural stitch (which is obviously perfect for leaves). It looks … Read More

Satin stitch embroidery: a beginner’s guide
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Satin stitch is a lovely embroidery stitch, but many people find it intimidating. We’re so used to seeing “perfect” satin stitch as done with machine embroidery on badges, labels, baseball hats, etc, so it’s easy to forget the beauty that … Read More

Embroidery stitch tutorial: the chain stitch and lazy daisy
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One of the prettiest embroidery stitches is the chain stitch. There are a lot of variations to it (like a square chain, twisted chain, cable chain, etc), but in essence the chain stitch is a very simple graphic stitch. Obviously … Read More

Embroidering letters: the stem stitch and split stitch
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Embroidering letters and text are a great way to make a personalized gift, and the stem stitch and split stitch are two embroidery stitches that are perfect for this. The stem stitch (as its name indicates) is perfect for flower … Read More

Review: The Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch
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I was lucky enough to be contacted by the publisher of the newest cross stitch guide to hit the market, The Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch, and asked to give my honest feedback. I was thrilled to be … Read More

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