A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled up on the most incredible range of colourful modern cross stitch kits when I was window-shopping on Amazon, which had me squealing at the laptop screen in excitement. Yeah, I don't get out much...
The colourful, geometric designs are exactly the style I've been wanting to try doing freehand for several years now, but have never got around to doing, so I was excited to find such an awesome range of affordable kits online, and snapped two of them up almost immediately. I ended up being so impressed with them on delivery, that I ordered two others on my wish list straight away, and fully intend to return for more of them once I've made the ones I bought.
I'll of course be blogging the finished projects once I've made them, but I wanted to give you guys my first impressions of them now because it's going to take me months to make them all, and they're just too good to keep to myself.
The kits are from an English brand called 'The World In Stitches', who make original handmade modern cross stitch kits and patterns that are suitable for both beginners and cross stitch pros alike. They currently sell a variety of different designs, from geometric patterns and mandalas, to folk and scandi, and I think they're all absolutely gorgeous.
It was so difficult to narrow down my favourites, but I purchased the Geometric Heart and Geometric Squares kits on my first order, and then went back for the Spectrum Mandala and Spectral Mandala kits after the first two arrived because I was so impressed with the quality and the amazing colourful designs.
The designs are all so colourful, fun, vibrant, and eye-catching, and a world apart from the traditional and often frumpy cross stitch designs usually marketed at the older lady. I'm sure you'll agree, there's nothing frumpy or old-fashioned about these kits! I think lot of people are still under the impression that cross-stitching is still a dull, old-fashioned craft for dowdy old ladies and nothing more, but I hope these kits will prove that cross stitching doesn't have to be like that at all. It can be fun and modern and fashionable, and an enjoyable hobby for people of all ages- because it is. Sure, there are plenty of traditional kits out there only your Granny would want to sew, but there are heaps of modern kits out there for stylish younger crafters to enjoy, too. The choice of designs and styles out there is actually insane, and there's something out there for everybody.
Everything included in the kits are of fantastic quality- the aida, the threads, the needle, even the instructions.
They include thick, 14 count white aida.
The threads are DMC stranded cotton, which are basically the best quality embroidery threads you can get, and they're so brightly-coloured that they're going to be so fun to sew with.
The chart and instructions are printed in colour on high-quality, thick paper. They're nice and large, and very clearly colour coded, so they're very easy to follow and decipher, which is exactly what you want from a cross stitch chart.
The threads are also pre-sorted, which makes life easier- although it's unlikely you'll have difficulty matching up the correct colour threads to the symbols with these kits, since the rainbow colours are easily distinguishable.
The kits include almost everything you need to make them (aida, threads, needle, chart, beginner's guide); you'll just need to get your hands on an embroidery hoop, embroidery scissors, and a pencil or highlighter to mark the chart with as you go along. I usually use coloured pencils to cross mine off because I find it easier to see where I am when I'm stitching, although that works best on black and white charts.
I'm extremely impressed with the quality of all four of my kits, particularly because they are so inexpensive. The kits start from around £8.49, which is very reasonable for a cross stitch kit of this quality, and great value for money. The geometric heart and squares were both £8.49, and the mandalas, which are much larger in size were £17.49 each. They also sell some patterns separately for just a few quid each on Etsy.
I couldn't be happier with the four kits I bought. and I honestly couldn't recommend them to you more. They're some of the best cross stitch kits I've ever seen. If you're thinking of learning how to cross stitch or are a cross-stitcher looking for some new projects to make, give some of these kits a try! I promise you won't regret it!
Do you cross stitch in your spare time? Do you do any other crafts?
They look fantastic! I am tempted by the one with squares! I am hopeless at embroidery but I would like to give something like this a go because it has the seperate squares. I think I always get daunted by other projects because you have to do bits all together and I get confused. Seperate squares sounds good!!x
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