How Social Media Killed the Cross Stitch Magazine

I truly think that about 12 years ago, we were at the peak of cross stitch magazines. They appeared to be everywhere, from the traditional to the modern. And then, they died.
The loss of major cross stitch magazines like Cross Stitch Crazy and Cross Stitch Gold to the small upstarts like the Xstitch Mag, and every cross stitch magazine losing readership and circulation.

But I’m not here to lament the loss of these mags (although I do miss them); instead, I’m here to discuss how these stalwarts of cross stitch ended, all thanks to social media.

 

The Magazine Era (1990s to early 2010s)

We start in the true magazine era; not just that of 10 years ago, but the 90s, 2000s and 2010s. This era was a major one for cross stitch, where new designers were sprouting up (like yours truly), new trends like plastic canvas or waste canvas were coming out, and people brought things in actual physical shops!

For this period, magazines were the thing that brought cross stitchers together. Here we could share ideas, community news, tips, patterns, and more.
If you wanted inspiration, you went to your local shop and picked up a copy of your favorite.

It was the heyday of cross stitch magazines.
And like all things that rise, one day it must fall.

Pinterest Became the World’s Biggest Cross Stitch Magazine

In comes Pinterest, the first of the social media platforms to really change cross stitch. Unlike other social communities to come after it, Pinterest only allowed for one thing: inspiration.

 
Magazines had truly owned this space for decades, but with that also came complacency. I’ve spoken before about how this period was defined by the same three cross stitch patterns. And magazines really lent into this.

So when a challenger came in, offering inspiration of ANYTHING you could imagine, no wonder it settled into the cross stitch world.

Instead of 50 patterns a month of the same bear you knew you’d always get, you could suddenly get a million at your fingertips in a moment’s notice. Sure, copyright was being ignored, and most of the patterns were questionable if they weren’t copyrighted, but they were there.

Instagram Changed Everything Again

So when Instagram came along, you probably thought it would fight for the same ground; but it found a whole new area to enjoy.

Instagram changed the cross stitch world from “look at this pattern” to “Look what I cross stitched“.

Instead of following a magazine you liked, you could actually follow the designer you liked. But not only that, you could speak with them, ask them questions, inspire them, and find like-minded people just like you.
And this, in turn, meant designers no longer needed magazines to reach audiences.

This process brought in the rise of Etsy cross stitch stores, new places to buy patterns, and a spike in the volume of cross stitch designers.

TikTok and YouTube Finished the Job

So, as cross stitch magazines died, pushed out by their own hubris, their lack of variation, and their lack of community, in came our final two to knock them for good.

Short-form content (TikTok), and its bigger brother, long-form content (Flosstube). With over 82% of cross stitchers having confessed to watching a cross stitch YouTube tutorial, cross stitch magazines lost their last unique feature: tips, tricks, and tutorials.

82% of cross stitchers have confessed to watching a cross stitch YouTube tutorial – Block Quote from page: https://lordlibidan.com/social-media-and-cross-stitch/
 
You could get all the education you needed, along with personality, parasocial relationships, real-time trends, and instant feedback. And even better, it was free!

The New Magazines Aren’t Magazines

So now we sit in a world where cross stitch is no longer defined by a few magazines, but Pinterest boards, Instagram feeds, Flosstubes, Discord servers, Facebook groups, Patreon communities, and Reddit groups.

Sure, we no longer see magazines, but the need is still there. People still want inspiration, and people still get it. No, cross stitch isn’t dying; it’s now in different communities.
Cross stitch patterns themselves are changing, and there are still more cross stitch publications like books than you can shake a stick at!

But I do miss those magazines…

Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan