Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

The Hand Embroidery Network ramps up

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headerAdd the new Hand Embroidery Network blog to your reader right now! You’ll want to hear about all of the network’s new developments as they emerge. In brief,

Over the next few months there will be new developments of the Hand Embroidery Network. Starting with the launch of the new Hand Embroidery Network blog. This is where you will find all the latest developments plus a look at some of the work of the network community members. With now over 400 members the community is rapidly becoming the number one place for hand embroidery…

New features and sections of the network’s site will include

  • New Hand Embroidery Network Shop – where we will be selling a new range of hand embroidery patterns/designs, kits, materials and books etc.
  • The Hand Embroidery Network Directory – this will be a comprehensive directory of embroidery resources including; embroidery artists, embroidery galleries and embroidery education etc. …
  • Free Community Resources – to include new free projects, a completed stitch A-Z (including illustrations and photographs), embroidery videos on hand and free machine embroidery, stitch techniques and embroidery related articles.

And lots more! Get the details.

Read These Next

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Unique Stitch Crafts

Unique Stitch Crafts is a Turkish designer that has a couple of main interests in their cross stitch designs: travel and Christmas stockings. 

By far the biggest category in their storefront is Christmas stockings, with more than 100 options to choose from. There are fully stitched fronts with designs classic and whimsical (like an alicorn and a pastel rainbow, or a bunny in Harlequin costume playing violin to a mushroom) and designs that just go across the cuff of the stocking. There are ornaments with a Nutcracker or Frozen theme, New York City stockings and stockings for your dinosaur. 

As an example, here’s a stocking covered with mini holiday designs, which you could also use as ornaments if you wanted. The full design is 165 by 255 stitches, which comes out to 10.3 by 16 inches, or 26 by 40.6 cm on 16 count fabric. The pattern just makes the front of the stocking so you need to grab some fabric for the back of the stocking and sew it together yourself. 

There’s also a large collection of travel cross stitch patterns, including national parks designs both large and mini, and travel poster style designs for many US states and cities. (There’s not an Arkansas, which is my standard test since I live there, but there is a pattern of the Mississippi River bridge in Memphis, which is technically half in Arkansas.)

If you’re more of a world traveler you’ll find more of the travel poster style designs for cities and countries, including Thailand and China, Berlin, Sydney and Marrakech. 

In addition to all of that, you’ll find patterns called retro, which includes a wide range of designs, but many seem to be food and coffee related; folk art designs (lots of flowers and birds); and famous paintings translated to cross stitch. Smaller categories include Christmas, Halloween, animals, kids and castles. 

Check out all the fun designs at Unique Stitch Crafts on Etsy. 

[Photo: Unique Stitch Crafts]