Today we’re going to talk about something slightly different. For two reasons. Firstly, we talking about how craft can help people, how it can enable the worst situations in life to seem a little more acceptable. And we’re not talking cross stitch. Well, we kind of are, you see the thing that made me interested in this story originally, was Nete Hangel, and how she used my free cross stitch patterns.
If you hadn’t worked it out already, we’re doing to be talking about perler beads, which whilst a totally different craft uses patterns the same way.
Nete Hangel, or Mininete as she’s known online, is a pretty typical 19 year old from Denmark, with one major exception; she has complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a rare condition that can cause severe or extreme pain in arms or legs. Because of this, she can’t do much without pain being on her mind. However, there is one thing; perler beads.
It’s been a coping method and a thing I could do even if I couldn’t think straight because of pain and pain meds
For her, the repetitive action of beading has been almost “a form of meditation” and helped with “clearing your head”, which for almost every cross stitcher I know is the same. And whilst we might not stitch to burn through pain, it helps keep us grounded and a little more settled. We’re massively devoted to helping mental health, and we’ve even talked before on how cross stitch helps me destress.
The fact that Nete picked up her largest project to date, our free epic pokemon cross stitch pattern at a time of seriously bad pain, and the fact that she’s able to get up and battle the world now, just goes to show that sometimes cross stitch isn’t such a closed off-world, and it helps real-world people with real-world problems every day. We’re damn proud to have helped that.
What a wonderful story. I believe that almost any form of handwork involving repetitive motion is calming and soothing. It takes your mind away from unwanted thoughts. I appreciate all your posts and find them enriching and uniquely different. Thank you for the effort.
Excellent story. I am new to the cross stitch world and just learning. I chose cross stitch as my first craft to learn because I remember my Grandmother doing it. It is a beautiful craft that has been perfected through generations of family passing it down and teaching others. It has a history and staying power. The work can be handed down from generation to generation. A rare craft these days.
I would love it if you could explain beading and how to do it. Is it different from the diamond painting which seems to be all the rage right now?
Its pretty much identical to diamond painting to be honest. Unlike diamond painting though you have to get a pin board to put the ring like beads on. You then have to iron the top and all the beads melt together slightly.
Wow! I think I will stick to cross stitch! At least until I can do it so well that the front and back look the same!