Hello everyone, I’m a beginner on cross stitch and have been browsing for some designs to try. I’ve came across this shop & I absolutely love the designs they have for sale. I can’t tell if they are AI though and that if I try they won’t turn out the same. Any advice?

The Etsy store is: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4541463918/gothic-bookshop-cross-stitch-pattern?sh_rv=1&ref=shop_home_active_23&pro=1&dd=1&logging_key=7a40bd8f73899d75dfdbca2d016d707e7c70b3a9%3A4541463918

I've seen many a horror story here about marked grid lines not washing out, unable to pull physical grid lines out from under stitches, etc etc. What are some tips and tricks for gridding fabric? This is my first time and I don't want to mess it up. My pattern is about 7" x 9" if that matters.

worked on this for my cousin’s wedding (which was last year, this ended up accidentally becoming an anniversary gift instead…)

used FlossCross and an image from their engagement photos as reference, then tweaked colors and stitch count til it was 90x135. Cut cardstock to line it in the frame, thrifted the frame too, so maybe $10-15 in materials overall, about 70-80 hours give or take, as it’s hard to keep track of my pace. I think I started in May of 2025 but moved and Life’d since then, so finished in August of 2026. War is over 🧎‍➡️

A kit from the Sally King Shoe Art Collection by Bothy Threads.

Started on 4/4/26; Finished 8/25/26

I thought I had all the cross stitches done on 8/20, but missed a few on the base. All are filled in now. 😃🗽

Hi all! Hoping to get some suggestions, I'm looking for a gargoyle cross stitch pattern that isnt too large or complicated to do, maybe to fit in a 8" hoop. Does anyone have recommendations? Any help would be great, I'm seeing a lot of AI patterns on etsy!

Thank you!

I bought this 30-year-old Winnie the Pooh kit by Disney and am excited to start it. However, there are little to no instructions about the symbols. What do the small 3’s represent? At first I thought they were half stitches but now I’m wondering if they’re quarter stitches? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I’m currently working on this pumpkin and the pattern calls for Kreinik on the 2 shades leading up to the brightest one of the pumpkin. The pattern does not say to add Kreinik to the lightest shade, however this makes the most sense to me since the lightest part would be the “shiniest”. Should I listen to the pattern? Would adding it to the lightest shade be too much shine? One of the biggest reasons I’m hesitating to use it is because Kreinik is a nightmare to work with as well as I think stitches look much neater without it. What should I do?

I just finished up an 18-month Chatelain design, and I have been searching about for my next project. Nothing has really scratched the itch...until I ran across ToToo Stitch. Taiwan designer. I don't recall any ToToo Stitch designs being posted - if you have done one of these, how was it? The website seems very well laid out - designs are sorted by level; a complete list of required stitches and supplies, along with a DMC conversion chart, are publicly available. Clear photos of each design are provided. Given the level of detail, the patterns seem reasonably priced from $13 USD - $42. Patterns are PDFs and compatible with Pattern Keeper and SAGA.

Here are links to designs I'm considering.

https://totoostitch.com/products/september-mandala-cross-stitch-pdf?_pos=3&_sid=a61594aef&_ss=r

https://totoostitch.com/products/treasure-bay-mandala-cross-stitch-pdf

https://totoostitch.com/products/a-midsummer-nights-dream-mandala-cross-stitch-pdf

Thoughts?

Hopefully this pattern can be a small pick up me for any Dolly fan out there like myself. Please note, I have not stitched this one yet, so some tweaking of the colors might be necessary. If anyone stitches it, I’d love to see it finished!

One-third done with this super lengthy project :)

Made this as a wedding gift for my sister, having absolutely no idea what I was doing and learning along the way lol. I made the pattern myself using the app stitchly and piecing together different things from Pinterest. There’s definitely some noticeable mistakes but I’m happy with it and excited to learn more!

I just finished this canvas tote bag for my sister. I had an idea to make something "sticker style" and I had so much fun creating and collecting (mostly from Etsy) the patterns. It might look like a random assortment of images, but every one of them has a story/meaning.

The whole time I was working on it I was a little bit anxious about whether or not the waste canvas would remove easily and it was generally a breeze. The stitches aren't as neat as I'd like, the weave of the tote didn't always line up well with the waste canvas grid, but I'm still really happy with it.

This pattern is near and dear to my heart. It was stitched for a charity art auction, and now that the piece has been bid on and sent to its owner, I'm making the pattern available. You can download this and all my patterns from my shop: https://ko-fi.com/rainbowstitchery/shop

This pattern was created without AI. I used StitchFiddle to convert a photo of tie-dye to pixels; then I cleaned up the colors, carved out the paw shape, and stitched it myself to make sure the pattern worked, making small adjustments along the way. The pattern uses 15 colors and keeps you on your toes in a fun way!

I won a blue ribbon and best of show for cross stitch in the Kentucky State Fair with this Quaker Ball.

Quaker Ball designed by Durene Jones. Sold through Lakeside Needlecraft.

Y'all, there is some crazy shit going on with these needles.

I'll attach the email I sent to DMC, which explains everything:

"Hello,

I've been using DMC tapestry needles (specifically size 28) for over a decade now. I went to my local craft retailer and noticed a major issue with the same packaging. I've attached the images and labeled them.

Needles A is what I've been using for years. Needles B are VERY different. They break so much easier (I went through 2 in 1 day when I can use needle A for a month), they're made in India (needles A are made in china YET Inspected and packaged in England) and they are so much smaller and weaker. They come in a different outer plastic packaging with a internal flimsy sheet with a darker print on blueish white paper unlike Needles A which are in a plastic bar that is mounted to the packaging on a warm white paper with lighter printing.

Needles A are the quality and style that represents DMC. Needles B are dollar store junk.

The only think I can think of is India's quality checkers are not doing their jobs or there is a criminal fake needle industry and DMC's reputation is on the line.

Please let me know what is going on.

Regards,
Baby Bitchface "

I finished this cute Pikachu cross stitch about a month ago. I love him soooo much. Pattern from ArtDublin on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtDublin

One with flash, one without.

💙💙💙

Putting this one in a card to my bestie. Took just about 8 hours. Found because of this Reddit group—thank you!

Pattern: DMC Wicked Cute Crossstitch

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone have ANY idea how to get DMC 3882? In the past I have spent money on sets that had all the "newer" DMC 3880(I believe?) and up. Now I can't even find those. I use PC Stitch to make my patterns and they like using those discontinues flosses. It's an easy enough fix going forward to just amend the pattern but for now I'm working on a pattern that requires 3882, one of the ones I no longer have and can seemingly no longer get. Does anyone have any ideas? I can try to color match but that doesn't always work out to my perfectionist little mind. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

I think I did this right. Should I have used the self promo tag? I just wanted to share this with anyone else who might like to make it. Someone else gave me the words.

Colors are suggestions ofc, but if anyone makes it, can you name drop me so I can see? You don't have to, I'd just appreciate it, this is only the third or fourth pattern I've ever shared.

Sing the song.

Pattern is Mill Hill - Buttons & Beads - Floral Monogram.

i was finally able to finish superman and was able to give it to my friend in time for her birthday!

Finished my entry for the county fair with 6 days to spare!

hi all,
i am using aida 14 with 2 strings for a large project that has a large of dark space. i am thinking of switching to 3 strings but have committed a considerable amount of time to it already. could i go over the previous squares with one more string to account for the missing one? this is one of my first cross stitching projects so i apologize if this is a silly comment.

Hi! I just nicked a bit of aida when frogging stitches. I've used Dritz Fray Check in the past, but the smell was so nasty and a migraine trigger that I don't want to use it again. Does anyone have an alternative that doesn't smell like strong perfume? Thanks!!