Innholdsfortegnelse for Special 2025 i The World of Cross Stitching

Hopefully we’ve piled you up high with gorgeously festive patterns this season! Which ones have you started already and which will you file away for next year? Stitchers are always well ahead with ideas and planning, so they’re never caught out for any occasion. In this special issue, we’re super happy to be welcoming back Tatty Teddy as our cover star, all dressed up for a party! For more festive joy, take your pick of Tiny Modernist’s cat and dog tree toppers stitched onto perforated paper – which will you choose? And it’s the last in our series of Margaret Sherry seasonal designs where this fluffy kitty is all wrapped up for winter! For designs on the quick-to-stitch side, take your pick from Gail Bussi’s wintry village, with over 30…

Email theworldofxstitching@ourmedia.co.uk to be on the panel – tell us your name, where you’re from and include a good quality photo of yourself. Every panellist gets a preview of the magazine and a gift worth at least £25! THANKS! This month’s panel members will receive ‘Mushroom At The Inn’ from Bothy Threads*, one of their newest designs from their iconic Christmas collection. Each kit comes with threads, fabric, chart and instructions for an easy make!…

Get ready to add a sprinkle of festive cheer to your stitching stash with our adorable new Tatty Teddy cross stitch design! This time, the ever-popular grey bear is dressed as a charming Christmas pudding, complete with holly leaves and a sweet gaze that’s sure to melt hearts. Whether you’re stitching for yourself or creating a handmade gift, this design is perfect for bringing a touch of cosy whimsy to your Christmas crafting. We’ve stitched this design onto ice blue aida for a frosty feel and to help the snowflakes stand out. There is a lot of snow to add, so try to avoid trailing threads across the back of the design. It’s a great project for beginners who are looking to try something a little more challenging as it’s…

Hidden inside this polar bear’s figure is a breathtaking arctic landscape with a stag prancing across the ice of a snowy tundra, alongside a swooping owl for dynamic movement. The backdrop of the illuminating aurora borealis scatters across the ice in vivid hues of green, yellow and purple, enhancing the frosty colour palette. Perry’s latest design in her silhouette series is stitched on dark navy evenweave for a fine finish as the white stitches contrast the dark background. As this project uses a variety of stitch types, it is best suited for intermediate to advanced stitchers, especially as dark fabric is trickier to work on. However, if you’re less confident, then why not stitch on white or pale blue fabric for a unique and dimensional finish? Framed in a coordinating…

Cosy cottages and wintry scenes designed by Gail Bussi, perfect to curl up on the sofa with × 34 quick-and-easy motifs × Gail Bussi’s design inspiration × Stitches for every skill level × Helpful tips and advice × Unique present ideas to give your nearest and dearest WHERE THE HEART IS A tiny easel perched on your desk, or on the kitchen counter, will make you feel more at home (25). Why not swap the thread shades to personalise it to your taste? HAPPY OCCASION A way of using up your scraps is by making fun tags for your presents. Repurpose leftover card and attach your motif (21) in the centre, then add a ribbon length to tie on a gift. ALL WRAPPED UP Personalise the Christmas gifts this year…

Christmas is for being creative! Q Any tips for nice ways to decorate stitched Christmas cards? I want mine to look special but I’m scared I’ll ruin my stitching if it goes wrong. Kate Lowden, via Facebook A Hannah: Fear not – there are lots of ways you can jazz up your Christmas cards without actually changing or adding anything to the stitched design itself. You could try something as simple as wrapping some decorative ribbon around the card front for a striking finish, or layering with patterned papers. Add stick-on embellishments, such as tiny gems, buttons, sequins or card toppers, to the corners using glue dots. If you’re feeling creative, add a dash of sparkle with glitter glue around card apertures. Remember, you can always decorate your cards before adding the…

One of the best bits about the colder weather, with its frosty wind and fluttering snowflakes, is wrapping up in our favourite scarves, hats and gloves. Margaret Sherry’s iconic fluffy cat is ready for a day out in the snow, sporting crimson gloves and a stripy scarf in seasonal colours. The fourth and final part of our seasonal cat series is here and we’re sure you’re excited to complete the set. Just like the others, this design is stitched on ice blue aida and we painted the hoop in blue to pay homage to winter. You might want to substitute the colours to match the seasons – pink for spring, yellow for summer, beige for autumn – for variety and to highlight each season’s colour palette. Another way of finishing…

We are The World of Cross Stitching and we want our magazine to reflect the world we live in. We’re committed to creating content that is inclusive and celebrates the diversity of the cross stitch community. Stitching is for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, faith, culture, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. We have begun work on a plan to drive meaningful change, but we know it’s a work in progress. We want to listen to you, our readers. If you have any questions or thoughts, get in touch at theworldofxstitching@ourmedia.co.uk…

Who inspired you to craft when you were younger? I have to give my late mum full credit for encouraging my creativity from when I was very young. She did not cross stitch herself, but she sewed clothes, was a wonderful knitter and crocheter. She made paper models too, for which she became quite well known in South Africa, where I grew up. As well as stitching, I love to create little mice models too and have had a book published in France. Do you have any childhood memories of Christmas? In South Africa, Christmas falls in the middle of summer, and school holidays, so it’s a busy time and often very hot – but the traditions are still largely upheld, even if Christmas lunch is a barbecue on the…

Perfectly poised with her hair billowing in the wind, this mesmerising goddess is prepared for battle. The Greek goddess Athena is associated with wisdom, warfare and handicrafts, alongside the protector of the city of Athens. With her trusted companion, an owl, perched on a towering column nearby, you can now revel in our latest Greek goddess portrait. This design has been worked on beautiful sunset fabric for not only a striking effect but to complement Athena’s bronzed armour. There are a lot of metallics and beading detail within this design, so while best suited for intermediate stitchers, beginners are more than welcome to practise on a scrap piece of fabric to perfect how to affix beads to a piece. Finished in an ornate gold frame for elegance, this powerful woman…

Q Hi Jenny! One of my favourite birds is the pheasant. I love the autumnal colours of the male bird, especially the copper and green shades. I would love you to make a little pheasant chart for me to stitch and make cards and bag patches. Chiara Miller, via email A Jenny: I hope you have a ‘pheasant’ day stitching this beauty, Chiara! Making it into bag patches would be quite sweet, or into a novelty keyring for someone special using plastic canvas. Please note: Jenny can only fit in fairly small designs and for copyright reasons she is unable to chart logos, or characters from films and TV. Pheasant key STITCH COUNT 27 high x 29 wide DESIGN AREA 14 HPI (28-count evenweave) – 5x5.5cm (2x2in) QUICK Q&A Can…

ICY WONDER Stitch Amanda Butler’s magnificent ice phoenix in a frosty blue colour palette BUDDING BEAUTIES Amanda Gregory’s spring florals make for sweet all-occasion cards NO PLACE LIKE HOME This floral hanging trio by Durene Jones will elevate your home CAPPY DAYS! Meloca Designs’ patterned capybara will be fun to stitch! GOLDEN DAYS Be inspired for a 20s dress-up party with Emma Congdon’s art deco ABC PLUS MUCH MORE × Exclusive book extract from Countryside Cross Stitch × Home baking Design Library by Becky Spencer × The first part to our 2026 ‘For the Love of Friends’ SAL × Your cross stitching queries answered by our experts × Your stories, inspiration & letters… plus much more Wrendale winter delights Revel in these barn owl beauties, an exclusive project by Wrendale…

Barbara Brown Barbara is retired and lives in Swindon Most recent fave WOXS design? The ‘Classic Shop Cards’ from issue 364 (Nov 2025). I stitch my Christmas cards from one designer each year. This year it’s Jenny Barton. I’ll really enjoy stitching the cards, which are so colourful, and I may use some DMC Étoile threads as they will shine. Do you stitch with your family? My daughter and I tried to stitch together a few times when she visits, but my output was poor. I lost concentration because I kept talking! Any stitching tips? I read about magic aida a few years ago and decided to try it. I now use it every time. It saves repeatedly counting and instead of starting in the centre, I start at the…

Mrs Claus key STITCH COUNT 56 high x 56 wide DESIGN AREA 14 HPI (28-count evenweave) – 10x10cm (4x4in) DESIGNED BY Heather Nugent STITCHED BY Fiona Baker This design was stitched using stranded cotton from your coverkit. If you don’t have the kit, use items from your stash. Perforated paper can be used instead of plastic aida. STITCH THE SET! Did you know that Mrs Claus is seventh in a series of fun decoration kits that we create for our readers every year? From Santa and his reindeer to a snowman or angel! See the full collection of 3D cone characters and buy all the previous pattern PDFs so you can make the full set at www.gatheredshop.com SCAN ME How to… make your decoration 1 Use a ruler to find the…

We write a list, we check it twice, and there is somehow always something we’d forget in the run-up to the biggest day of the year. Emma Congdon’s festive map takes us on a journey through all the moments that make the holiday special with funny puns, mini illustrations and a variety of memorable events. Appearing tricky with the complex details, experienced beginners looking to improve their current skillset will feel comfortable working on this as the design uses simple stitch types. However, remember to count the stitches carefully to avoid making mistakes! Four different colours of backstitch were used, so refer to the chart frequently to ensure you’re stitching the design correctly. We mounted our finished piece using plastic magnetic hangers in a snowy white colour, but any complementing…

One way to celebrate your pets this Christmas is by putting them at the top of your tree! Any furry friend lover will adore these tree toppers. Choose between a cat and a string of twinkly lights, or a dog and festive coloured baubles, both finished with a golden star above them. Cheryl has designed these toppers to be festively fun and easy to make up with household items! You’ll be working on perforated paper, so remember to stitch with clean hands to keep the paper pristine as this won’t be washable! For the holder, we used a toilet roll tube affixed to the back of the design with hot glue so it can sit on top of the tree and shine brightly. It’s always fun to get the little…

We are big fans of stocking up for seasonal occasions and these 3D winter woollies cards by Heather are just the thing! Stitch the full set and make into cards so you have them to hand to send greetings for Christmas, winter birthdays or just well wishes! These wintry cards are designed in a Fair Isle style and stitched on perforated paper – this makes the cutting out much easier. We gave them a 3D effect using sticky foam pads (turn to page 64 for the how-to). However, if you don’t have perforated paper to hand, then use aida to patch the motifs flat or fix inside complementing aperture cards. Choose from any of your favourite winter woollies! We left off the green backstitch ‘cord’ connecting the mittens, and instead…

PICK OF THE MONTH Festive fancies SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS! This band of cats is getting up to some mischief, ready to wish everyone a meow-y Christmas. Satsuma Street’s* ‘Purrfect Presents’ stocking is packed with festive cheer, vibrant colours and the ideal dose of kitten chaos. The PDF pattern includes alphabet charts to add a name and step-by-step directions to make the stocking. Accompany the stocking with fun and merry ornaments, with designs ‘Winter Break’, ‘Little Drummer Girl’, ‘Sweater Weather’, and ‘Gold Rings’. As these projects are digital downloads, you can access them instantly after purchase so you can make headway on your stitchy Christmas. GREATEST GIFT If you know someone who loves to stay on trend with their home décor, or another who looks for gardening tips and tricks, then…

CHOOSE YOUR ESSENTIALS… Start with these must-have items FABRICS Most stitchers start off using aida – a block-weave fabric, which is divided into squares by a grid of holes, making it an ideal fabric for beginners. Each cross stitch is worked over one square. Or you may prefer evenweave, which is also woven in a grid but in a finer count. Each cross stitch is usually worked over two threads of the fabric (shown below), making it the equivalent size to stitching on aida (eg. 28-count evenweave would produce the same size finish as 14-count aida). Fractional stitches are easier to work on evenweave, as there’s a central hole spare so you don’t need to split a block as you do for aida. THREADS You’ll need stranded cotton – this…