So much choice ... You have hundreds of cross stitch designers and suppliers to choose from, so here is a little more detailed information on some of them, their products and our opinions ...
Valerie PfeifferValerie Pfeiffer specializes in birds and flowers from the cartoon Chickadees to the stylish Serenades. She captures the essence of her subject with wit and grace. Her beautiful watercolour paintings have been carefully translated to counted cross stitch kits by Heritage Crafts.
You will love the sweet little bird counted cross stitch kits. There's a set of pairs of colourful little birds with flowers called Duets featuring cute, fluffy baby birds from little Goldcrests to Owls and Puffins. She also has a range of attractive flower posies.
Heritage Crafts are a very high quality studio and their kits are complete with everything you need, including a needle. Their black and white charts are large and easy to read and they always provide two charts: one with just the cross stitch and the other with the overlaid backstitch. They include a separate sheet of instructions for either working with evenweave fabric or Aida depending on the kit.
Please note all Heritage Crafts kits instructions are in English alone. Rico DesignRICO DESIGN embroidery products are very popular in most major European countries. Their range is characterised by contemporary design, high quality and low cost.
They make and supply needlework fabrics, laces and aida linen bands, ready made and part made tablecloths and table runners, terry cloths, embroidery and cross stitch ideas booklets, cross stitch kits, tapestry and embroidery kits. And of course, a vast collection of supplies and accessories.
The home textile collection contains a range of embroidered tablecloths and wall hangings either as finished articles or as kits. The designs are worked in a range of embroidery styles - free, cross stitch and shadow embroidery.
RICO DESIGN GMBH & CO. KG was founded in Brakel/Westphalia (Germany) in 1974 by Franz Jacoby under the name Tap-Service as a service company for textile manufacture and framing of Gobelin pictures and is definitely the leading manufacturer of products in the embroidery field. Maria van ScharrenburgMaria van Scharrenburg has produced a range of cross stitch fantasy figures, romantic baby pictures and a cute nursery range for Lanarte.
Maria van Scharrenburg is a well established artist who began her career in her early twenties and since then has developed a unique and identifiable style. She is not only an accomplished painter but has experimented with various techniques involving textiles.
From 1982 Maria concentrated exclusively on cross stitch designs. As her business grew, she found herself more and more involved with the business activities and decided that she was missing her true passion - for design. She decided to pass the production and marketing of her designs to Lanarte and she now devotes her time to creating beautiful cross stitch patterns which are enjoyed all over the world.
Lanarte are a long-established Dutch company whose hallmark is style. Their kits contain high quality large scale charts in black and white with detailed instructions in several languages. Lanarte
The Dutch company Lanarte have produced many and varied designs. They produce quality large scale charts in black and white with detailed instructions in several languages.
In 1934, Augustinus (Guus) Vergnes opened a shop in Leeuwarden selling yarn and knitting wool. The range was gradually extended to include other needlecrafts, such as simple cross-stitch kits. Over the years, Guus managed to open numerous shops throughout the country under the name Naaldkunst (Needlecraft). As the range of needlecraft kits was not very broad at that time, Guus felt the need to design his own.
Lanarte, now grown into a family business was set up in 1973 and new business premises were built on the newly developed Schenkenschans industrial area in Leeuwarden, Holland.
Lanarte's collections consist of :-
- Art Nouveau - Stylish images from the golden age of art
- Home and Garden - beautiful flower pictures, individually, in bouquets and vases or in garden setting;
- Romance - delicate colours and subtle shades in pictures of beautiful women, children and flowers;
- Marjolein Bastin - designs of flowers, birds and samplers from the well known Dutch illustrator;
- Classic - from paintings, posters and Dutch tiles;
- Animals - styled, realistic and cartoons;
- Culture - Egyptian collages, oriental ladies, dark African beauties are all in this group;
- Holiday - lighthouses and seaside views and the country with fields of flowers;
- Just for Kids - cute teddies, toys and contemporary birth samplers;
- Maria van Scharrenburg - beautiful fantasy figures, romantic baby pictures and a cute nursery range.
John ClaytonCross stitch kits from the landscape and figure paintings of John Clayton come in interesting shapes: tall and thin, short and wide, and circular. All are very picturesque. The International Collection features several famous international panoramas and there are many attractive countryside views.
You will also enjoy the Elegance range of beautiful ladies from different eras, a change of style with the stitching feathered at the edges.
Flights of Fancy is a collection of birds in flight from the little hummingbird to the elegant swan.
John Clayton has also produced a set of vertical flower panels with attractive shaded backgrounds.
Heritage Crafts are a reliable and quality studio. Their black and white charts are large and easy to read and they always provide two charts: one for the cross stitch pattern and the other showing the overlaid backstitch. They include a separate sheet of instructions for working with evenweave fabric or Aida depending on the kit.
All instructions are in English alone. Green AppleGreen Apple Inc. has been a leader in the cross stitch industry for many years and has become known for having designs of sophistication and artistic quality - designs truly worthy of becoming heirlooms.
Among their most popular are the adorable Beatrix Potter and Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies, as well as Southern Roots and French Country Designs. These come mainly in booklet form with a large number of pictures in each, clearly illustrated on black and white charts. Some booklets have colour illustrations of the finished works.
Many of the individual designs are small and would therefore be suitable for all abilities. Larger pieces would be for those with more experience.
Ever popular is their Beatrix Potter collection with converted illustrations of birds and animals from her books which are suitable for children and the nursery. With many different formats and uses these are excellent value.
Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 into an upper class Victorian family in London. While her brother was sent away to school she was educated at home in art and music. She became interested in nature and the environment in family holidays spent in Scotland and the Lake District and became a skilled artist at an early age. As well as the famous illustrations for her books, she painted landscapes, flowers and fossils.
Her first book The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902 and a large number of small books followed up until around 1920, featuring her much loved characters Jemima Puddle-duck, Mrs Tiggy Winkle, Tom Kitten and many more.
She retired to the Lake District where she bought a sheep farm and with the steady stream of income from her books she bought more land in the area which on her death was left to the National Trust to ensure that the beauty of the area would remain unspoiled. Her legacy is now part of the Lake District National Park.
Her most famous books have been published by Frederick Warne & Company since 1902. Anne PedenAnne Peden is Arts and Designs own in-house designer. Anne has over 40 years' stitching experience and has designed and worked hundreds of projects in cross stitch and embroidery.
Our own brand kits embody her creative talents, skill and experience, and come with full colour charts and with the edges of the fabric zigzagged, ready to begin immediately.
You can find many interesting greetings card kits for special occasions, cushion and curtain tie back kits for home interiors, and lots of pictures, many with a Scottish theme.
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