Normally I write about how to improve your cross stitch, and how making a simple change can have a massive impact and make your work truly unique. However, that advice is only good if you can see the effect it has. As a result, I wanted to go over my personal favorite glow-in-the-dark, metallic and french knot cross stitches to show you that sometimes just choosing a different thread can have a MASSIVE impact on your work.
 
I’ve had a few people ask me about how to use these threads, but fear not you can find out how to make using specialty threads easy in a previous blog I wrote.

The Best Metallic Cross Stitch

I’m a big fan of The Crafting Geek, however this collaboration with Spykles is one of her best. Not content with a great little pixel art Wonder Woman, The Crafting Geek incorporated metallic flourishes throughout the piece, on Wonder Woman’s sword, shield, and headband. Small changes that just make it pop.

The Best Glow-In-The-Dark Cross Stitch

Glow in the dark thread is an odd thread. Not only is it a serious pain to use, but its always white. So you need to make sure whatever you’re doing, the color is white in the day. Most people, myself included, take this as a white element, with a hidden message. But StitchFight takes this to a whole new level. A seriously cool Iron Man cross stitch by day suddenly turns extra cool in the night.

The Best French Knot Cross Stitch

I want to be clear here; my french knots are terrible. However, I think my poor attempts make anyone that uses french knots infinitely more impressive. This example by Peakcock & Fig is a fantastic example of how french knots can add something special to a normal cross stitch. The plain black tree trunk is actually quite plain, but a series of pink and white french knots on the top needs no explanation. All of a sudden a plain cross stitch has been completely changed, and now invokes Japanese cherry tree blossoms.