Innehållsförteckning för November 2024 från CrossStitcher

Designed by: Susan Penny Stitch count: 70 high x 84 wide – Dala horse; 65 high x 41 wide – sampler; 19 high x 19 wide max. – tags Design size: 12.5x15cm (5x6in); 12x7.5cm (4¾x3in); 12x7.5cm (4¾x3in) Stitch time: 7; 6; 1 hours These designs were stitched on 14 count aida fabric. Preparing… your aida fabric TAKE a 17x35cm piece of white 14 count aida. First, prepare your aida by cutting it into three parts. With your aida laid on your work table landscape, measure across from the left-hand edge and cut a strip 12cm (4¾in) wide for the sampler. Measure another 5cm (2in) and cut a strip for the four tags, leaving a piece wide enough for the horse. Each design should be worked in the centre of each piece…

Festive Flair Get your festive stitching off to a flying start! Rico’s latest embroidery book, no. 185 Put a Bow on It, showcases plenty of Christmassy designs that will get you in the mood for the festive season. The classic lettering and modern motifs of gingerbread houses, Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, reindeer and many more are perfect for projects that celebrate a traditional Christmas with a modern twist. The book shows inspiring cross-stitch motifs for bows, Advent calendars, pictures and even a tablecloth. We love the ideas for stitching on red fabric to give your work extra pop! www.rico-design.com JOLLY HOLLY-DAYS ‘HOLLY JOLLY KITCHEN’ is the new Christmas Stitch-a-Long from Caterpillar Cross Stitch. The mystery stitch-a-long will feature a bustling kitchen scene full of everyone’s favourite festive treats. There’s also…

BLOSSOMING EMBROIDERY REBEKAH MARSHALL [Tuva Publishing] Allow your embroidery skills to blossom with 15 floral designs featuring bright colour palettes. Learn about all of the basic techniques and supplies you’ll need for hand embroidery, then take your pick from some bloomin’ lovely projects! Designs include a love heart project, cacti blossoms, a crescent bloom, plus a patch of posies. All the colour palettes are vibrant and all pieces are stitched with DMC threads with the colour numbers on the key. CRAFTING A BETTER WORLD DIANA WEYMAR [Harvest Publishing] Diana Weymar has created a call to arms for crafters to react to the issues of the day. From the climate crisis to racism, to attacks on LGBTQ+ rights – she asks you to channel your anxieties and fight frustration with the handmade. The…

Every month we are giving you a FREE calendar download to print out and attach your stitching to display in your home. Head to our CrossStitcher Facebook Digital Downloads page… Designed by: Emma Congdon Stitch count: 46 high x 46 wide Design size: 8.5x8.5cm (3¼x 3¼in) Stitch time: 3 hours This design was stitched on 14 count aida fabric. Over the year we will be bringing you 12 months to make a Calendar Year. Each month is filled with motifs appropriate for that season Materials • Sampedro White 14 count aida; 14x14cm (5½x5½in)• Stranded cotton as listed in the key• Size 24 tapestry needle Materials available from www.willowfabrics.com How to… join our Stitch-A-Long We’re unveiling a new monthly calender which will run from January to December 24. Over the year…

Each month we publish a new letter and number set based on a theme, designed for you to cut out and keep for when you need it Our fur babies are such important members of our families, that it’s only right we include them in the Christmas festivities too! Feature our parade of festive pets in your projects – from cards and gifts to displays for your home. However you decide to use these motifs, the results are sure to be pretty pawfect! Our Christmas Pets alphabet letters were mounted in a card, flexi-hoop and a bound embroidery hoop. Each was stitched on blue 14 count aida, and each letter is approximately 30 high x 30 wide. The design size for each letter is approx. 6x6cm (2¼x2¼in), and it took…

THE CHALLENGE • White 14 count aida • 8 shades of DMC stranded cotton (shown above) • Cracker blanks x 3 THE RULES • Create a trio of designs for cardboard crackers • The design should be no more than 25 x 10 stitches • Only the materials above can be used • Be creative as possible! It’s that time of year where we start thinking about what we’ll be doing for Christmas dinner! Whatever you decide to cook, our three designers this month have come up with designs for Christmas crackers, so you can get some inspiration for table-setting ideas! They could only use the materials listed on the left, and the eight shades of stranded cotton we chose for them. Take a look at their results below –…

THE ESSENTIAL KIT YOU’LL NEED TO START STITCHING FABRICS Aida is the ideal choice for cross stitch beginners – it is a block-weave fabric, which is divided into squares with a grid of holes. Each cross stitch is worked over one square. Aida comes in a range of sizes which are called counts. So 14 count means that there are 14 squares to the inch and this will make 14 cross stitches. Aida also comes in 16, 18 and 20 count. The larger the number, the more stitches to the inch and so the smaller the design will stitch up. Evenweave is a woven grid of threads in a finer count. Each stitch is usually worked over two threads, so a 28 count evenweave with each stitch worked over two…

ISSUE 416 DECEMBER 2024 On sale 29 October Inside this month A Christmas Carol: 12 Days of Christmas design Merry mail! Christmas stamps card collection Santa’s on his way: Traditional stocking design Beautiful baubles! Alphabet for the festive season YOUR CHRISTMAS BUMPER PACK! Stitch a Snowy Village scene decoration to hang on your tree PLUS a special needleminder Contents subject to change. Overseas gifts may vary.…

KNITTING YARNS This is not only fun but also very cost-effective. Embroidery threads can be very expensive – and out of a ball of yarn, you get so much meterage. As I also design knitwear I have yarns in my collections, and always find new ways of using them also in my embroidery. For example, I split my ‘JEANS’ cotton mix into four strands, and 1 strand is great for cross stitch on 14 count aida. And for a ball that retails for approx. £3 I get 48 000 sts! With my wool yarn – I prefer stitching half cross stitch on hessian. DIP DYE To create more interest to the fabric I stitch on, I sometimes play with dip dye. Easily done with some textile paint mixed with water…

It wouldn’t be Christmas without our ever-popular Festive Christmas Packs which are just right for getting your Christmas stitching off to a real sparkle, and adding a personal touch to your festive stitching. Each of the four boxes available contain: ★ a lovely selection of DMC thread and goodies: ★ 8 DMC Shiny Light Effects ★ 2 DMC Twinkling Satins ★ 1 DMC Christmas Coloris ★ 1 DMC Sparkly Étoile PLUS, each box contains beads, bells or sequins, ribbon and a flexi hoop! The DMC threads included in your box are all six-stranded, divisible and can be used for all types of embroidery and cross stitch… DMC Light Effects will add glamour, shine and glitz to your stitching. DMC Satin is silky soft and this elegant thread will make your…

Materials • Zweigart Oatmeal Fleck aida band, ref: 7107/0053; 1.3m (1.45yds)• Stranded cotton as listed in the key• Size 24 tapestry needle• Charms & beads to decorate• Wooden bobbins; 7.5x2.5cm (3x1in) x4• Wooden dowel or BBQ skewer to hold bobbins; 33cm (13in)• Ribbon for hanger Materials available from www.willowfabrics.com Designed by: Emma Congdon Max. stitch count: 63 high x 16 wide Max. design size: 10x2.3cm (4x¾in) Stitch time: 2 hours (each) This design was stitched on 14 count aida band. Make a… hanger Step 1 CUT the aida band into four 32.5cm lengths. Stitch each letter in the centre of each strip of aida band, this will give you enough fabric to roll the top and vary the lengths beneath the letters to suit your space. Stitch each letter using two…

Petra, who lives in The Hague, in the Netherlands, has a friend Jerina who she’s known for for 31 years. Having missed their 30-year anniversary of friendship, they celebrated their 31-anniversary instead. Petra decided to stitch Gardener’s Delight from issue 410 as a special surprise for the occasion… “I always think, but that is also a Dutch thing, that flowers make a perfect gift,” explains Petra. For this anniversary I wanted to do something special so I stitched the flowers for her. When I saw the design in the magazine a few months earlier, I knew immediately that I wanted to make this for her. I stitched on a light green fabric, because that will fit the colours in her home. And I added our names and the date, the…

Subscribe to the best cross stitching magazine around, and receive a beautiful pair of gold-coloured embroidery scissors – the perfect gift for yourself or a friend. The stork-shaped scissors are ideal for precise snipping of threads, and they look the part, too! Benefits of subscribing to CrossStitcher… • ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS with our innovative tutorials. • Use our SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS to make thoughtful gifts for your friends and family. • ENJOY A UNIQUE AND COMPLETE stitching gift with every issue of your printed copy RRP £13.40 GET YOUR SCISSORS WHILE STOCKS LAST bit.ly/CROSStork24 *T&Cs: Receive a pair of Stork Embroidery Scissors when subscribing for an annual subscription to CrossStitcher. While stocks last. 13 issue per year, including covermount kits. No risk, cancel anytime. Direct Debit and Continuous Card Payment Only.…

Hullo! Recently, a friend gifted me their small fish tank as they were upgrading to a larger model. What a generous present! It’s been such a joy watching these little fishy friends, seeing their silky fins glide through the water with such grace. It reminded me of the large koi my grandmother used to have in her garden pond when I was a child. I used to sit and watch those giant fish, wondering what they were thinking as their colours shimmered under the surface of the water. While I never did figure out what was on their minds (fish aren’t big talkers, you see), I always remember how graceful and calm they were. Koi are known for their ability to swim upstream, navigating against the current with a kind…

Materials • DMC 14 count sparkly aida, off-cuts in White, Pink & Blue• DMC Étoile or stranded cotton• Size 24 tapestry needle• Luggage tags• Christmas ribbon, charms & buttons to decorate Materials available from www.willowfabrics.com Designed by: Maria Diaz Max. stitch count: 20 high x 20 wide Max. design size: 3.8x3.8cm (1½x1½in) Stitch time: 2 hours each These designs were stitched on 14 count aida fabric. How to… make a tag Step 1 USE DMC Étoile, or stranded cotton in the colour of your choice, to stitch your chosen design onto the centre of your fabric. Use two strands for the cross stitch and one strand for the backstitch. Once the stitching is complete, check the size of your stitching against the tag, and then cut around the design, leaving…

*See ‘The Key’ on page 79. Designed by: Durene Jones Stitch count: 46 high x 36 wide Design size: 8.5x6.5cm (3⅜x2⅝in) Stitch time: 6 hours each These designs were stitched on 14 count aida fabric. Make an… aperture card Step 1 WORK using two strands of stranded cotton for the cross stitch, and two and one strands for the backstitch as indicated on the chart. Step 2 TRIM the stitched fabric to fit your card, with the design centrally placed behind the card’s aperture. Step 3 ATTACH double-sided tape to the inside of the card around the edge of the aperture. Step 4 PLACE the stitching on the table right-side up, and then place the card on top, pressing down firmly on the tape. Step 5 CHECK which flap will fold…

Designed by Cheryl McKinnon Stitch count: 69 high x 39 wide (each side) Design size: 13x7cm (5⅛x2¾in) Stitch time: 36 hours This design was stitched on 14 count aida fabric. Materials • Zweigart Oatmeal Rustico 14 count aida, ref: 3279/154; 18x12cm (7⅛x4¾in) x 4• Stranded cotton as listed in the key• Size 24 tapestry needle• Gold bell; 15mm• Toy stuffing• Cardboard for the templates• Beige felt for the base; 8x8cm (3⅛x3⅛in) Materials available from www.willowfabrics.com It’s important to use a vintage-colour of fabric to add to the retro appeal, where a white or cream background might not work so well Make a… 3D tree decoration Step 1 STITCH each side of the tree using two strands of stranded cotton for the cross stitch and one strand for the backstitch. Step…

Giulia’s initial career path in medicine is a long way away from the world of embroidery. Graduating from the Medical School of Pisa, she went on to complete postgraduate studies in Endocrinology and Nuclear Medicine. For years, she dedicated herself to treating thyroid cancer and endocrine disorders, leading an Endocrinology Unit, then retiring in 2022. Her three-decade embroidery career grew alongside her medical practice. Her artistic journey began as a child, when Giulia was captivated by the crafts of her maternal grandmother who was a skilled embroiderer. Despite her talent and early success in artistic competitions, Giulia’s medical career left little time for formal art training. Yet, art never fully exited her life. “Crafting has always been a solace for me,” she explains. “Sometimes, while designing or stitching, I’d find…

It’s the night before Christmas and our happy house is filled with the joys of the season! As Santa prepares to deliver some presents, the snow-capped house has plenty of sparkling details to enjoy, with metallic threads and beads adding to this dazzling design. Next month we’ll reveal a companion design – the Christmas House’s interior! Stitch each individually or side-by-side. PART 1 Designed by: Amanda Butler Stitch count: 179 high x 120 wide Design size: 33x22cm (13x8⅝in) Stitch time: 96 hours This design was stitched on 14 count aida fabric. Materials • Zweigart Navy 14 count aida, ref: 3706/589; 50 x 40cm (19½x15¾in)• Stranded cotton as listed in the key• DMC Light Effects as listed in the key• Size 24 tapestry needle• Seed beads – White, Pastel Lemon, Medium…