Tips, tricks, guides, reviews, round ups, free cross stitch patterns, news and more from the Lord Libidan team.
Ethan Jones first cross stitch for his friend Alex, proving that guys cross stitch too.
I'm a big believer in sticking with a project and seeing it through, but I, like every cross stitcher, have asked the question "should I just give up?" before. And you know what, sometimes giving up is the best thing to do. Sticking with a project you're just not in love with can drain on…
DMC 743 thread with labels marked
The vast majority of threads for embroidery come in skeins, or more accurately, 'pull-skeins'. However, not many people know that, as a result, people often ask me how to make sure they can get the thread out, without it knotting. Now, I know Christmas is a time when a lot of people gift and receive…
World War 2 sampler by imprisoned POW Major Alexis Casdagli (source: V and A website)
A few weeks ago we wrote about what makes a cross stitch sampler and in it, we featured some of our most loved samplers. However, we didn't speak about them. So I've decided to do another roundup post, this time of my favorite samplers, but instead of stitching with modern samplers, I thought I'd do…
The oldest surviving sampler. Jane Bostocke, England, 1598 (source: collections.vam.ac.uk)
Today, I want to talk about samplers, both in the general sense as well as cross stitch. I know your first thought might be "Its a sample, what's more to learn?" however samplers are a very interesting part of cross stitch history. One that whilst looking rather simple actually has complicated roots. Sampler [sam-pler,…