Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2020 i The World of Cross Stitching

Even if you can’t be outside to enjoy the sunny weather, this month’s projects should set the scene so that you can be surrounded by summer in your homes at all times! The tropical toucan by Kay Widdowson (p10) will transport you to a jungle paradise, head to the beach with Jenny Barton’s summery alphabet set (p29) and make Durene Jones’ vibrant roll-up placemats for indoor picnics or to use in the garden (p78). I am in awe of Maria Diaz’s elegant geisha gazing across the breathtaking landscape on page 38. There are so many wonderful details for you to enjoy from the gold metallics highlighting the intricate pattern of the kimono to the beads in the geisha’s hair pin! Look out for Maria’s complementary design in our next issue…

Unicorn Mouse key STITCH COUNT 40 high x 34 wide DESIGN AREA 14 HPI (28-count evenweave) – 7.5x6cm (2¾x2½in) This design was stitched using DMC stranded cotton Missed a chart? ISSUE 294 Stitch Monty practising his keepy-uppy skills for footiemad boys and girls. ISSUE 293 Make way for Her Royal Highness, Princess Lizzie of Furry Tales, in her ballgown. ISSUE 292 Here comes hardworking Monty with a lawnmower, ready to tackle the garden. For back issues, call ☎ 03330 162 139 or visit http://bit.ly/1NwX3Rv Flossie Mouse is wearing her favourite fancy dress outfit – she’s a magical unicorn! Stitch this sweet design of Flossie in her stripy dress, flower crown and spiral horn for a little one who loves unicorns as much as Flossie!…

How did you begin designing? I have a degree in Textile Design which I loved doing. I specialised in knitted fabric design and eventually created fashion designs for knitting mills. One day I saw an advert for a position designing cross stitch charts for a craft kit manufacturer – I’d found my perfect job! I worked there for eight years before going freelance. I’ve been designing for magazines for 14 years and I opened my online shops around eight years ago. I have two shops, one selling my cross stitch designs as instant download PDF charts. The other shop allows me to explore my other passions – appliqué, patchwork and hand knitting. I sell original, personalised Christmas stockings and look forward to the rush each year! Your fave design? My…

There is something wonderful about having a meal out in the open air, and you don’t need to be in a fancy restaurant to make alfresco eating into something a bit more special than a cling-film wrapped sandwich. Durene Jones’ four beautiful tropical flower motifs have been created to embellish individual placemats, acting as a cross stitched pocket to keep your cutlery safe and sound. The mats give every diner a space to place their plate and will add cross stitch class to every outdoor (or indoor) picnic. These pretty placemats are a cinch to make up with a sewing machine, especially when you follow our simple step-by-step guide (see page 82). All you need is some brightly coloured fabric, matching ribbon and your crafty, creative self. We’ve finished each…

EXCLUSIVE PLUS MUCH MORE × Join us on a trip to the seaside with our fun beach-themed Design Library × Try Faby Reilly’s Quick Challenge using woven picot stitch – master it in no time! × Enjoy a pretty lazy daisy ABC × Our experts answer your cross stitching queries × Your stories, inspiration & letters… plus much more! FUN BEACH HUT CHART Bring back fond summer memories of family days out with this sweet scene of colourful beach huts lining the sandy shores, designed by Durene Jones. No sun lotion required! TO SUBSCRIBE 03330162147 CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT ISSUE?…

Loop start With both ends of a strand threaded, bring your needle up (1), leaving a loop at the back. Work the first arm of your stitch (2) & secure it by passing your needle through the loop. Backstitch Add detail and definition. Bring your needle up at (1) & down at (2), come up again at (3), then back down at (1) & so on, to direct each stitch ‘back’ towards the line of the growing backstitch. Cross stitch Bring your needle up at the bottom left corner (1) & down in the top right (2) for the first ‘arm’ of your stitch. Work the second arm, coming up in the bottom right (3) & going down in the top left (4). French knots Easy with practice – come…

IAN HALLOWS Celebrate the arrival of a new baby with Ian’s adorable bear (p64). Use the backstitch ABC to personalise with the baby’s name, date of birth and weight. SUSAN BATES Head to the skies with Susan’s collection of 43 fantastic airborne motifs (p47), featuring spaceships, balloons, kites, rockets, gliders, helicopters and more. KAY WIDDOWSON Kay’s lively toucan will add a splash of colour to your home (p10). You’ll love stitching the vibrant exotic plants and creating the texture on the bird’s plumage. Your chance to win! See page 77 to enter our competitions & be lucky…

TOP TIP The backstitch is integral to bringing out the wonderful detail in the design so be sure to add this last and take your time Meet the designer Siobhan Harrison I loved putting my signature vintage twist on this garden scene. I hope you all enjoy stitching the delicate details as much as I enjoyed creating them. Be sure to find a quiet spot in your garden while you stitch it! Add gorgeous shading Factbox × Stitching Time Approx. 15 hours × Type of Stitches Cross stitch, half cross stitch, backstitch, French knots × Ease of Stitching Intermediate Shopping list × Zweigart 14-count white aida measuring 30x30cm (11¾x11¾in) × Stranded cotton as listed in the key × Size 24 tapestry needle × Frame of your choice with a minimum aperture…

Even in cross stitch form, there is no mistaking the distinctive red facade of Hampton Court Palace. Built in 1515, the building was adopted by Henry VIII as his royal pleasure palace in 1529. Even in those early days, the palace would have been no stranger to needlework, with walls adorned with rich tapestries and its Tudor residents’ attire highly decorated in blackwork embroidery. Serving women of the era would have worked traditional samplers to show off their skills, too. Today, the palace is home to the Royal School of Needlework, where fans of needle and thread can refine their craft. Jenny has celebrated the palace’s association with needlework in this traditional sampler design. This project has a similar style to the ‘Art Deco House Sampler’ that Jenny designed for…

Fiona Baker Our Technical Editor Fiona is ready to solve any stitching dilemma and answer all your technique questions Heather Nugent Heather is our talented Charting Editor and is on hand to help you transform your stitching into finished items Hannah Erskine A lifelong stitcher, our Charting Assistant Hannah can answer any chart or stitching related questions Jenny Barton Design pro Jenny has been creating projects for us for years and is ready to take on your design challenges Hannah Fletcher All set to hunt down those elusive charts and products, Hannah’s here to find shopping answers that you need Keeping count of stitches Q How can I cross off stitches in patterns when working? I use a pencil to ‘shade’ stitches when working on black and white patterns, which…

Snuggle up with this adorable baby bear, converted into cross stitch from the artwork of illustrator Ian Hallows. We’ve transformed Ian’s watercolour art into a perfectly-formed design, worked in 27 shades of stranded cotton using whole and half cross stitch in two strands, plus backstitch and French knots in one strand. Our charting fairies have not stopped there, however – they have added a whole new dimension to this scene by personalising the picture with the name and date of a new arrival, making this into a beautiful birth sampler. We’ve included all the letters and numbers you need to plan out your own name and birthday, too. If you are not looking for a big design but want a card for a new baby, this design can work for…

Issue 294 Celebrate our June 2020 issue with Margaret Sherry’s birthday kitty! Discover the delights of summer within – stitch a coastal scene or nostalgic pier, try a pretty floral wreath, make a card for Father’s Day & more! Try your hand at the citrus kitchen set or key pockets. Plus, find part 3 of our spring Stitch-A-Long. YOUR EXCLUSIVE GIFTS: birthday card kit by Durene Jones + a country cottage chart by Lesley Teare Issue 293 3-in-1 cupcake card kit, tiger, blackwork hummingbird, farm motifs, Pepper pup, cute ocean cards, spring SAL (part 2), VE Day piece, Folk Art ABC, wildflower hoops, cake toppers Issue 292 Chart book & 3 charms, Peter Rabbit, Easter hanging, spring SAL (part 1), baby jungle cards, choc ABC, Notre Dame, armchair pincushion, daffodils,…

1. FABRICS Begin with either aida or evenweave. Aida is best for beginners, with regular woven blocks and obvious holes. It’s stiffer than evenweave, but will soften slightly as you work. The most common fabric is 14-count aida. It’s harder to work fractional stitches on aida, as you’ll need to make an extra hole in the fabric, in the centre of the aida block. Evenweave is a lovely fabric to work on when you have a little more experience. The fibres aren’t woven in blocks as with aida, so it’s softer and the fine weave has more threads-per-inch – the most commonly used is 28-count. One stitch is usually worked over two threads of the fabric so it has an equivalent design size of 14-count aida. Cross stitching fractional stitches…

Symbols Look for a symbol close to the chart centre – the arrows on our charts easily show the centre so you won’t need to count! Find this symbol in the key. The codes in that row show which thread shades to use for cross stitching blocks with this symbol. Clownfish key Thread brands The thread shades are listed in separate columns for the different manufacturer brands of thread. For best results, you should stick to one manufacturer for the whole of a design. Backstitch & French knot shades The shades used for these are listed under the cross stitch symbols. The number of strands needed for these can vary, so make sure you check how many to use, as it’s specified in the key. Stitch count & Design area…

Quarter The chart shows which corner has the fractional. Bring the needle up in that corner and down in the centre of the square, halfway across the diagonal (diagram 1). Three-quarters Work a quarter stitch, then a half stitch across the other diagonal arm of the square as in diagram 2. Like quarters, three-quarter stitches can face any direction. Two symbols When two symbols share a square, work a fractional in each colour. Decide on the quarter stitch for the background colour, then a three-quarters stitch for the main one (diagram 3). Back-to-back For a stronger outline, work a three-quarter stitch in each colour, stitching them back-to-back (diagram 4). Make sure that the two half stitch arms lie neatly parallel to each other.…

Angie Walkery Fenyw is a data analyst from Newport When did you start stitching? I learned to cross stitch as a child when I was at school. My mum still uses the pincushion I made for her when I was nine years old. What are you working on? A huge magnolia that my daughter bought me. It’s so big I’m having to stitch it sideways on the frame and have to keep reminding myself which way the stitches lie! Fave WOXS design? ‘Hill Top Farm’ by Michael Powell in the January 2020 issue (289) was very tempting. I currently have a WIP of his ‘Secret Gardens’ design which I intend to finish next summer. What do you love and enjoy the most about cross stitch? Cross stitching brings me inner peace, it always…

Stitches for kids VIBRANT COLOURS LEARN TO STITCH Even little ones as young as two years old can learn to stitch with this fun activity-in-abox from Rex London*. Inside you’ll find eight cardboard characters including flowers, birds and a smiling sun. Instead of a needle, eight long lengths of lace are provided in bright colours, making it super-easy for small children to thread the laces through the holes. Great activity for those stuck indoors. Shapes approx. 15x12cm (6x4¾in) each PERFECT FOR YOUNG BEGINNERS COLOUR-IN CROSS STITCH KITS A dorable woodland animal shapes can be coloured in and then stitched in this good-value kit from Baker Ross*. Kids aged five and up can colour in these cute critters and then add bright stitches using the six skeins of thread provided. Super-large…

Carnival is about just one thing – celebrating life. The bold colours of the elaborate costumes and happy, energetic dancing of this street festival can’t help but lift the spirits and lighten the heart. We think that stitchers’ hearts will be lightened by these carnival-inspired cards, too. They’re fab for those who are not so fond of backstitch. There’s minimal backstitch in the motifs themselves, with just a little to add detail to the toucan and flamingo’s beaks, or in the fancy flourish patterns. The bulk of the backstitch is used to add the wording to the cards, which makes them ideal for party invites and won’t take long to stitch. Cheryl has embellished her quick-to-stitch designs with seed beads, to bring out some of the bling you’d see in…

Sometimes we all need a little reminder to make the most of now. We can all be so busy planning our next steps and where we want to get to that we lose sight of the pleasure to be found in today. We can suffer from this in our crafting, too. Who has found themselves thinking about five projects ahead and deadlines to be met rather than simply relaxing into the design we are working on right now? This bright banner from Diane Machin is a stitching treat to break us out of the cycle. Indulge in these lovely shades of stranded cotton and cuddly letter shapes decorated with fun patterns, plus birds and blooms. It’s a real joy to work on, with plenty of sections with blocks of colour…

PRIZES worth £1,001! PRIZES WORTH £250 Summer loving Head to LoveCrafts* to stock up on all your favourite branded kits and crafting essentials – all under one roof. While you’re visiting, keep abreast of the latest news and crafting gossip and connect with like-minded people in the LoveCrafts community area, check out the latest deals and head to the blog for inspiration. Enter our competition and you could win one of five £50 vouchers so you can bag some cross stitch treats at www.lovecrafts.com. T&Cs: To use the voucher you must be logged into LoveCrafts.com. The £50 voucher is a one-time use (so must be spent all at once). The voucher is not valid on downloadable PDFs, sale items or gift cards. TO ENTER Visit our website www.gathered.how/woxs PRIZES WORTH…

ISSUE 269 ON SALE 12 JUNE Contents subject to change. Gift(s) only with print edition, and overseas gift(s) may vary…

Choose your project… Using the Factbox guide in every one of our projects, you can make sure you choose the right level for you. Absolute beginners should aim for a design without fractional stitches. Buy your materials… Use our Shopping List for each project, which specifies everything needed, like size of fabric and finishing materials. Using another fabric with different HPI (holes per inch), will give a different finished size of design. Calculate your fabric requirements like this: Stitch count divided by HPI of ‘new’ fabric choice = new size in inches. Add at least 10cm (4in) on each dimension to allow for mounting, or less for cards. Get ready… We always recommend starting in the centre of a design and working outwards. Our charts are marked with two centre…

Afghan – a woollen blanket with areas inset for cross stitching, often used for baby designs Aida band – a narrow strip of aida, available in varying widths, & finished with a decorative edge Aperture – a hole through which a design is seen in cards & frames Backstitch – used to add detail & definition. See how to stitch it in our diagram above! Beading needle – a longer, finer needle than a tapestry needle, used for adding seed beads to a design Counted stitches – embroidery stitches worked on counted, or evenly woven, fabrics like aida & evenweave. Cross stitch is the most basic counted stitch Floss – USA term for stranded cotton Fractional stitches – made from either a quarter or three-quarters of a cross stitch, these…