Cross Stitch in time (Cross-Stitch Magazines)

Member Name: welshfruitbat

Product:	Cross-Stitch Magazines
Date:	10/02/06 (266 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free gift every month

Disadvantages: Trying to find the time to read and sew!!

Whilst travelling back on the train from a works conference quite a few years ago now (before marriage and children entered my life), I noticed a colleague doing some sort of sewing. When I asked her about it, she explained that it was cross stitching and a hobby she had been doing for many years. As she explained more about it, I became quite interested. As she bought the magazine regularly and didn't always have time to do the free kits, she promised to bring one into work for me to try......

And so another cross stitch fan was created!!

I started buying Cross Stitcher shortly after and still buy it to this day. The only difference is now I subscribe.

Anyway, onto the magazine itself.

Cross Stitcher is published by Future publishing and comes out on a monthly basis. It costs £3.35 and has approximately 100 pages.

Every month you receive a free gift - be it a little kit to sew, a container to keep threads in or a project organiser to keep your charts etc in.

Every month the magazine publishes the following;

Dates for your diary which includes any stitching event that will be happening in the coming month.

A 'dear Cathy' letters page where people write in with pictures of completed kits they have sewn, or projects they are currently working on.

A number of charts are printed every month as well. These charts are printed in colour so it makes them easier to follow and a key chart is also printed so you know which colour to sew where. It prints a 'shopping list' for each design telling you what size needle to buy, how much fabric, what size frame etc. It will sometimes give you a step by step for a certain stitch. It will also list all the stitches that will be used for the project, how long it will take to complete, and whether it will be suitable for beginners. It will also give advice on how to complete each specific project.

As a subscriber I have an extra section called 'subscribers' extras' which includes competitions and additional small projects for you to complete.

A section called 'Crossstitcher Club' where people write in and discuss projects they are undertaking, cross stitch clubs that readers have formed, penpals, design a chart, and readers writing in asking for help if they are looking for a certain kit which they cannot find, magazines they want to buy etc.

'Ask the Experts' section where you can write in with any problems you have with your sewing and get some good advice from the magazine staff.

'Buy the best' section which goes through top selling kits and any new kits that are on the market and give a rating on them.

'Beginners start here' section which gives advice to people who have never cross stitched before - for example how to start, what size needle is used, different types of fabric etc.

A 'Just for fun' section which includes competitions.

A 'Wise words' section which is words of wisdom. Some of these which can be quite funny.

A good thing which they do is certain projects featured in the magazine, you can buy the kit directly from them. This saves you the hassle of finding a sewing shop and travelling to it, buying the correct amount of fabric, finding the right size needle and spending ages looking for the correct thread. If you are a subscriber you can have them cheaper than someone who buys the magazine from a shop.

A great variety of designs are printed - such as DMC's Flower Fairies, Designer Stitches Popcorn the bear, Tina Wenke's spring sampler, valentine card designs by the likes of Sheila Hudson, Margaret Sherry and Maria Diaz, wall hangings by Joan Elliott, Lily of the Valley designs by Joanne Sanderson, a baby sampler by Gail Bussi and Lesley Teare's London Guard. These are just the ones that appear in this issue!!

Others that have been featured in previous issues include designer stitches Winnie the Pooh collection, DMC's Country Companions, Anchor's Me to You Tatty Ted and Friends, and Fay Whittakers All Our Yesterdays.

Apart from the normal stranded cotton which is the most commonly used (comes in a wide variety of colours. It is sold in what is called a skein, which means six individual strands which have been twisted together to make a thicker thread. When sewing you will normally use two or three of these), the magazine also includes charts with specialist threads used such as metallic and light effects (light effects threads are fluorescent, glow in the dark and precious metal thread to name a few), with instructions on how to use.

The fabrics which are covered in this magazine are;

Aida - This one is used the most for cross stitching. It comes in a large variety of colours which are easily available in sewing shops and is known by its count (holes per inch). The most commonly used size is 14 count (14 holes per inch). It works out that the higher the count, the smaller the holes will be. I normally work with a 14 or 16 count fabric. This is quite a stiff fabric and because of the regular weave, makes it a good choice for a beginner.

Evenweave - Again this comes in a variety of colours and is readily available. It is also referred to by its count, but because every cross stitch is worked over two vertical and horizontal threads the count will be higher. For example 28 count evenweave only has 14 stitches per inch, but 28 threads in the inch, as you sew over two each time (very confusing!). This is a softer fabric than Aida, but would more suitable for advanced stitchers. To be honest, I have never tried using this as it sounds too confusing - I think I would lose track along the way and go back to stitching over one thread instead of two.

Waste Canvas - This is Aida but what you can do with this is tack it to a tee shirt, pillowcase, bath towel etc and sew your design on the canvas. Once finished you lightly dampen the waste canvas and remove it with a tweezers. You pull it from the side and top and each section of thread will come loose. This allows you to stitch a design on anything you want, but without having to have aida on display all the time, which could ruin the effect.

Some of the stitches featured in the magazine are cross stitch, half stitch, back stitch, fractional stitches and french knots, to name a few. They are all used in cross stitch projects. A cross stitch is in the shape of a cross, half stitch is half a cross, back stitch is straight lines normally used to outline your work, fractional stitches are used when two colours need to go in the same square, french knots are little knots used for eyes, buttons etc.

My favourite section of the magazine is the 'Dear Cathy' section as reading how other people are working can motivate you along with your own project.

My favourite designer is Fay Whittakers and her 'All Our Yesterdays' collection, based on her paintings. (For those of you not familiar with her work it normally includes victorian dressed children)

My favourite section of the magazine is the 'Dear Cathy' section as reading how other people are working can motivate you along with your own project.

This is an ideal magazine for someone who has been doing cross stitching for many years as there are projects for experienced sewers, plus it is also suitable for beginners as there is always a project that would suit them, plus the 'Beginners start here' section. It is also suitable for someone who has never even tried cross stitching before as with the free kit that comes with the magazine, plus the step by step instructions on how to do it - it is a small enough project to have a go at - thats how I started!!

I would recommend this magazine.

Please note that this review has previously been published on Ciao website under my user name Welshfruitbat

Summary: A magazine for all Cross Stitch fans.