Stitching Kit Instructions
“Stitch our Stories” instructions here.
(Instructions below are for the Stitching the Situation block kits.)
If you would like to stitch a block, begin by signing up here.
Once I receive your information, you’ll be added to the list of stitchers and assigned a date that corresponds with a stitching kit. I mail kits once per week.
I’ll email you a couple days before your kit is sent to confirm your commitment to sew, with detailed information about the day you are assigned. If you have any specific questions, feel free to respond to that email. You’ll receive notice with tracking information when your kit’s on its way.
Please save your shipping envelope to reuse for return shipping. I am making every effort to conserve waste. The mailers are made from recycled plastics, reuseable for returns, and themselves recyclable. The mailing labels (and backing) and paper materials can be recycled. I love trees, and oceans, and having a healthy(ier) planet for all of us, our grandkids and their kids, etc.
Each Stitching the Situation kit contains the following items:
Instructions
Pattern (see how to read it)
Fabric with layout marked on it (14-ct aida cloth)
Red (DMC #498) and Blue (DMC #820) thread for outline
Needle and needle threader
Log sheet to document anyone else who stitches on the piece
Information for submitting a personal written account about your experience during the pandemic and/or participation in this project, as well as hashtags to use for social media sharing while working on your piece.
Read through all of the instructions before beginning to stitch. If you have any questions, contact me.
A Few Ground Rules
If you have any questions or need any clarification, please contact me and I’ll response ASAP.
1. Use 3 strands of thread. For beginners, this means you need to split the 6-stranded thread in half.
2. The thread included in the kit is for the OUTLINE only, which is marked on the fabric for you. Red thread is used to make stitches on the pink lines, blue thread for blue lines. This is for consistency across the project.
3. Color choices for filling in the spaces are limited to variants of red and blue, ranging from light to dark. DMC embroidery floss offers about 40-50 varieties of red to pink, and varying shades of light to dark blue. You’re responsible for the thread needed to fill the space. If you cannot do so, please contact me, or ask someone you know who is crafty. I bet they have some! This is a community project, even for materials.
4. Within the outlines, you’re free to go wild and fill it in with a pattern, a message, a picture — the sky’s the limit. Only rules are: every stitch must be filled and you must stay in the lines (red inside red, blue inside blue). You can freestyle and stitch at random, or plan something out and plot it. A list of design examples and a few patterns I’ve made is available on this website, as well as links to design software if you’d like to sketch something on a digital grid or convert a photo into a pixel grid/cross stitch layout. They’re great tools! You’re also welcome to just fill with a solid color. If you need to mark your design on the fabric, use a water erasable marker intended for fabric. These can be found at any craft/fabric store, or online. Many other markers will bleed and make a mess if the fabric gets wet.
5. Please include the date you were assigned in your design somewhere in the “blue” section. The website has a few stitch font links, or you can use a water erasable marker to mark it free-hand. Please do NOT sew the date that is already marked on the fabric. You can see images of this here.
6. You’re welcome to invite your family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, random people you meet, craft group, whomever, to stitch with you. If you trade off with another person, my only request is that either you’re responsible for getting the piece back and returning it to me when it’s completed or you contact me with the next stitcher’s information so I can keep track of all the individual pieces.
Psst…
If you’ve never cross stitched before or never even threaded a needle, this beginners page has all you need to know to get started.
Stitching Suggestions
I highly recommend starting by stitching the outline, then filling in with your design and date. I have made a step-by-step set of instructions with an example block here.
Don’t worry about what the back looks like. I’m interested in how everyone’s individual hand shows up. Perfection is not a concern. I’m not expecting Royal School of Needlework standards. Work in whatever way feels comfortable to you.
If you need inspiration for the blank canvas inside the lines, Badass Cross Stitch and Subversive Cross Stitch have a lot of cheeky patterns. Etsy also offers a lot of cross stitch designers, which you can purchase a pattern for a few bucks, or just search around for something to spark your creativity. Head over to the links page for free online design software, text pattern generators, and a few patterns I’ve designed.
Please document your progress! You don’t need to start your own Instagram daily feed or anything, but if you have a few minutes to take a photo of your process and your experience of working on your block, that story is important and I’d love to see it. For me, the process of making is just as essential as the end product, and the only way the public gets to see the process is if we share. Use the hashtag #stitchingthesituation when you post, and if you post on Instagram, tag the project page (@stitchingthesituation) as well as me (@heatherdschulte). This will help others see the project as it happens, and will be a wonderful record documenting its creation.
If you want to invite others to work on your block, that would be awesome. Please make sure they are included on your kit’s “Participant Log.” Again, this is a community project and I want to make sure everyone who contributes is recognized.