r/CrossStitch

When I was young, my grandmother taught my sister how to do some basic needlepoint, and I wanted her to show me, too. Her response was that boys shouldn't learn sissy stuff like that. Thanks, grandma.

About a year ago, my wife gave me a corrective experience and taught me how to cross-stitch as a fun hobby we could do together while we binged some repeat TV shows. I started off with two relatively simple Legend of Zelda-themed samplers, and then I saw the MakeItPink Zelda Halo pattern that the test stitcher released in this subreddit. Immediately purchased the pattern on release and decided to test my luck as a relative beginner.

It took me 7 months - a lot of unnecessary stressing about working with metallic threads, the amount of back stitching, beading, washing, ironing, blocking - but I finally completed her a few weeks ago! I'm excited to share the success, even to the point of breaking my Reddit lurker streak of 8+ years (albeit with a different account for a fresh start).

I'm now on the hunt for a reputable framer in the area to hand over the 373 hours of work. For additional context, the time to completion got us through every season of House, New Girl, and Superstore, along with whatever weekly podcasts I had on queue.

Today is my very first cross stitch anniversary! I have sat and stitched every single day this past year (well I actually missed five days but I think it still counts). My current streak is 80 something days and I’m hoping nothing happens to disrupt my flow so I can actually do a straight 365 days. In the last picture there’s me (I know Reddit is usually anonymous but such a momentous occasion requires a proper selfie) and 43 finished projects that I serged on Sunday but I’ve given away some pieces and some were done on the same piece of Aida to make my own sampler so I’ve completed over 50 patterns. In the first quarter of my journey I was so obsessed I’d stitch anywhere from 8 to 10 hours daily. Sometimes I’d want to stitch so bad I couldn’t sleep so I’d just get up and stab some Aida In to the wee hours of the night. Now I probably average two to three hours everyday but there are definitely the occasions where I’m so exhausted I can only manage a few stitches. It’s been the very best hobby and I can’t wait to keep at it and see what new things I make. Shout out to free classes at the library, if it wasn’t for them I never would’ve discovered my love of cross stitch and if you’re lacking in the funds department like I am I highly recommend getting a library card. You can borrow cross stitch books for tons and tons of free patterns. And I scan every pattern I’m interested in so I don’t have to worry about trying to finish it before the book is due back. I also just prefer working off a screen as opposed to following a paper pattern.
I included some pictures of my favorite pieces. Literally every single one of them has their own dedicated post in this subreddit under my username because after I finish anything I put it on Instagram, text a picture to my friend and then post it here 🤣

Asked my dad (former carpenter) if he could possibly make a large set of shallow drawers to fit a full standard DMC collection. He went above and beyond and now I have this gorgeous piece of art to keep my threads in. I 3D printed the inserts. He used bits and pieces of random wood he had laying around.

Fits 500+ bobbins plus a spare drawer for skeins and other supplies. I felt that fellow stitchers would be able to understand the awesomeness of this more than anyone. Nothing better than a labour of love!

I have been admiring the posts on this sub for quite some time and finally bought my first kit!

So addicting, I can't wait to start the next one

Pattern is "Tranquil turtle" by DMC

I'm still pretty new at this but getting there slowly I think?? Posted the back too :)

Pattern is from The Stitch Patterns: Whimsical Balloon Dog Delight

Edit: Feedback is really welcome :)

Pattern: https://totoostitch.com/products/cinderella-mandala-cross-stitch-pdf

Woohoo! I remembered to link the pattern two weeks in a row!

Moved on to a bunch of the specialty stitches. Couching is more tedious than I would expect, but I love how those purple flowers look every time. Speaking of tedious, backstitching with blending filament. I'm a little over halfway done with that on the 3rd castle. Just one more to go. I don't think I'll ever do that again. I'll sub the blending filament for something else.

I still have all the Edmar Rayon jessicas and smyrna stitches to do along with the satin stitched feathers, and the towers so maaaaaaybe I'll get the left-hand stitching done over the next week and can get to beading again. We'll see. I've been feeling pretty cruddy today, and work has been crazy busy. I'm also running a "half-marathon" this weekend, but it's the Quitter's Run, so you're encouraged to not finish. 😆

Included picts of the castle with and without backstitching. The color difference alone is just nuts to me.

Hi y'all! This is probably the most complex (multiple shades of similar colors, etc) pattern I've ever done. I used to stitch as a teen, then again in my 20s, and now I'm 49 and back at it again! Lol I fell in love with this pattern by Juko Patterns, and decided it would be a Kentucky State Fair entry! (This also put a deadline on me, so I actually finished it!) I did leave out some of the details from the pattern because I liked the more clean, streamlined look. I also edited the top scroll to be more uniform as well. Oh! And I added the sparkly red to the blood drip, extending to the letters. 🧛🏻‍♀️ Anyway, I absolutely love it! I painted an old ugly gold frame flat black, then used Dragon Glaze paint to get the shimmery blue/purple. Then I touched it up with silver mica powder! All-in-all, I'm really really happy with it and excited to see if I win anything!

Good evening everyone, M45 here awaiting spine surgery. I was looking for activities safe to do while recovering that would not involve bending and twisting my lower back, even by mistake.

I came across a small kit that my mother got from a crafts magazine in the '90s and kept it. Long story short, she kept a bunch of crafting related stuff for her retirement but lost most of her sight due to maculopathy, she already disposed of most stuff but this small kit came with needles and DMC threads (which I am told is a a good brand) and everything needed except a proper scheme so she decided to keep it anyway.

I decided to try it out to see if it would work as something to do while watching TV / YouTube while recovering.

Turns out it is quite relaxing and mentally low intensity enough to keep me entertained, however I have no frame of reference to tell if I'm doing a decent job or not (mother is still with us but legally blind now). You may say that it doesn't matter as long as I am entertained but at this point I'm curious to see if it is something I could pursue or just drop it after the recovery from surgery.

Curious to see what expert thinks.

Thanks in advance.

And it's driving me nuts.

(Just to clarify it's the column on the right which is still in progress, not the one on the left. Also I know I have a half stitch / with no . Also forgive my dirty canvas, I have no idea how I got it so grubby).

I didn't even notice last night while I was stitching in the dark, but in daylight it's so evident. Hopefully, it won't really show up once the piece is complete, but right now I'm so done. :/

ETA: It's DMC162.

I'm contemplating feathering it in one I see how it looks finished.

ETA: Thank you all for letting me vent! I knew other stitchers would see the colour/gloss change.

I massively underestimated how long this 50 x 70 cm pillow would take…

Pattern in Etsy- https://skylarkcrossstitch.etsy.com/listing/4307509907/cross-stitch-pattern-cosmic-cat-art

It only of two my cosmic-dream cat pattern, second one you can find on Etsy shop page.

AI disclosure: No AI was used to create these cross stitch patterns or these finished stitched pieces. The all of my designs were created and stitched entirely by me.

Self-drafted

I wanted to get a nicer looking floss holder after 15+ years with my purple plastic artbin, so I found a jewelry organizer that I think looks so much nicer. Cross stitch is so pretty, why not keep my floss in something that makes me smile!

It's just a simple jewelry organizer off Amazon and the floss fits snugly, but it's no more snug than my artbin was. For anyone interested it is the Stratalife 40 Grid jewelry organizer - not selling anything, just in case anyone asks :-)

I made this for a baby girl to grow and become a strong and powerful woman 😊

Pattern by OddlySpecificXStitch on Etsy!

This is my first cross stitch project, so it was a lot of trial and error, but I stuck with it and I'm happy with how it came out. It definitely didn't turn out exactly like the pattern but I think this was good enough for a first attempt. The pattern is from the Etsy shop TheCraftyDactyl 💕

This is a self-drafted pattern based on a Mario Party sticker my friends and I overuse! I gifted this to a few of them and really love how this has turned out. First time making my own pattern and bringing it to life but really enjoyed the process and couldn’t be happier with the outcome

This one was a struggle, let me tell you...

My husband has taken it upon himself to learn how to create frames so I never have to search for one deel enough to allow for my finished work! But because he's still learning, he made one too small 😅 So we decided to not let it go to waste but make a piece that'll fit nicely. When I found this Korok pattern we both thought it was perfect for the frame size, but it would have to be made on 32 count evenweave over 1 to make it fit 🙃

I did enjoy only having to use one strand. I could almost finish every color with just a strand or too in total! Less switching strands = happiness.

But when I got to the point of filling in spaces that were already surrounded, it did get quite difficult to find the holes. And I never had this before, but three times the strand just broke when I pulled it through. Which sucked.

Let's not talk about how we also decided on a dark fabric (thank god that it wasn't black......)

Not sure if I'm gonna do this again, but it was definitely fun to try something like this at least once! The effect is truly awesome because you really can't see the crosses. It's as close as you can get to pixel art IRL I think!

Pattern is self-drafted, this is for a college project.

11 colors, 4556 stitches, 7 days to complete.

Close-up photo provided!