This post was originally in XStitch Magazine Issue 29: 80s, and has been adapted.
When we think of the history of cross stitch, we tend to focus on the old stories of how cross stitch came to be, and moved into Europe and beyond. But what we tend to forget about is the more recent history. There is good reason for this; for a long time, nothing of particular note happened to the cross stitch community. It ebbed and flowed in popularity, more pattern books came out, threads were perfected with anti-bleed technology whilst staying relatively unchanged, and embroidery became firmly sconced as a hobby.
This all changed in the 80s.
In fact, the 80s marked a true time of innovation and one of the most significant periods of change for cross stitch. Without the 80s, our hobby simply wouldn’t be what it is today.
The first thing of note to happen in the 80s was popularity. Yes, popularity had built up a few times in the prior 300 years, but the 80s launched cross stitch from a relatively unique embroidery form into a hobby in its own right.
Thanks to the rise in other DIY and crafting movements in the 80s, more people searched for a hobby that would scratch their creative itch. The simplicity of cross stitch saw a larger and larger group of people taking up needle and thread.
But this increase in popularity just happened to drop at the perfect time. With the growing popularity of cross stitch, there was a huge demand for new and exciting designs, and designers and publishers responded by creating a wide range of new patterns and designs to meet this demand. Many of the cross stitch magazines out today were started early in the 80s and started offering monthly, or even weekly drops of hundreds of new patterns.
And these patterns weren’t just new and generic. With a larger customer pool, and an increased need for new and fresh patterns, designers started to be given greater ability to choose their own style or size. From massive pieces to tiny pieces, there was now something for everyone.
But making patterns on that scale, by hand, is no easy job. As the need grew, more and more programs started being produced allowing designers to create patterns with relative ease on home desktops. This new way to create patterns flooded the market with pieces that were even bigger, or had more colors, or even included dreaded confetti stitching.
The 80s was also a big decade for branding. With brands becoming ever more intertwined with the zeitgeist, along came brand deals. From official Barbie cross stitch books to the birth of kits, we saw more and more products being released for the hobby.
And with a renewed interest; comes innovation!
The first of these great innovations was a fairly short-lived interest in polyester and Rayon threads. These threads flooded the market, offering a so called ‘vibrant’ and ‘bold’ color palette. And whilst these new threads didn’t last all that long; established brands like DMC and Anchor grew their color ranges out to incredibly large ranges compared to the previous decade.
These brands gained in popularity, with DMC in particular growing massively in this period, even opening their American factory and moving some limited thread manufacturing away from France.
The second and third innovations in cross stitch during the decade were fabric based. Or as I should say; fabric replacement.
Whilst we’d had aida since 1890 and evenweave fabrics for even longer, the introduction of new materials, technologies and manufacturing saw innovation that no one saw coming.
Fabrics that were made of plastic and stood firm, allowing for 3D creations. Fabrics that were washable and fell out, allowing you to stitch on surfaces previously thought impossible. And fabrics printed with designs.
Stitchers were allowed to create a wider range of designs, mixed with experimental new innovations in new styles and with branded patterns.
And people went wild for it. In fact, one of the first recorded forums on the newly launched world wide web was an embroidery forum, allowing stitchers to share their knowledge and experiences, learn from each other, and connect with others who shared their love of the craft across the world for the first time.
All of these elements came together at the perfect time, leading to something the hobby had never seen before; mass adoption from all genders at once stitching whatever designs they wanted. In fact, the often-touted Rosie Grier’s Needlepoint for Men which came out in the late 70s stopped being a novelty, and cross stitch gained even more popularity. Sure, even to this day cross stitch is seen by some as a grandma hobby, but without the 80s cross stitch fad, many of us would never had heard of cross stitching.
Thankfully, cross stitch was acceptable in the 80s…
Happy stitching!
Lord Libidan