The post Daruma Dolls Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan first appeared on Lord Libidan. Daruma Dolls Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan Title: Daruma Doll Calendar Date Completed: December 2022 Design: Lord Libidan Count: 13 Canvas: White Colours: 11 Pop Culture: Japan   When Jamie (Mr X Stitch) from the Xstitch Magazine reached out about a 2023 calendar I was happy to join in! But then he set the challenge, and I panicked! We had to make a pattern using only 12, pre-selected colors!   I don’t mind admitting, that I was stuck on this one for a long time. But one of the traditions passed on from ..read more

The post Everyone Needs A Favorite Cross Stitcher first appeared on Lord Libidan. This post was originally in XStitch Magazine Issue 14: Mixtape 3, and has been adapted. Vincent van Gogh is one of the most revered artists in the world thanks to his post-impressionist paintings, and with that comes an admiration that has resulted in his artwork and himself being considered to be some of the most influential in Western art. I’ll say that again, Western art. You see, despite this prominence and recognition in Western art, Vincent van Gogh didn’t care for it in the slightest. Instead, he was inter ..read more

The post DMC’s New Printed Aida – A Future Trend? first appeared on Lord Libidan. The DMC company love a seasonal product! From themed thread packs, to seasonal bundles. But they tend to be only that; bundles and packs. However, this year DMC are doing something new; they’re launching new products. And they’re focusing on fabric. And mostly printed fabric.   If you’re not aware, you can actually print on aida at home with a standard printer. This allows you to make fantastic themed aida which you can stitch on top of; giving your work a greater punch, and making it much more unique! So wh ..read more

The post Moon Tarot Card Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan first appeared on Lord Libidan. Moon Tarot Card Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan Title: Tarot Card – XVIII – The Moon Date Completed: December 2021 Design: Lord Libidan Count: 18 Canvas: Black Colours: 8 Pop Culture: Mystery   For the next issue of the Xstitch Magazine, I had to come up with a pattern for the theme “mystery”. Annoyingly, that also meant what I was going to stitch was also a mystery to me!   But with a few reruns of Parks and Recreation on Netflix I saw that tarot cards feature a lot!   Tarot Cards In Parks And Re ..read more

The post All Cross Stitch That Glitters… Is Gold? first appeared on Lord Libidan. This post was originally in XStitch Magazine Issue 13: Fortune, and has been adapted.   I use a gold petite needle when I stitch. It slips through the aida like a hot knife through butter, and whilst the small size does a lot of the work, the nice gold covering just gives it a bit more ease. This type of needle, is in reality just a frivolous expense. It’s only 9-carat gold, and it’s a tiny covering on a Nickle needle, and the extra price is a few pence or cents. However, it’s not needed. I could just use a ..read more

The post Is FlossTube getting its second wind? first appeared on Lord Libidan. One of our most popular posts is our list of Flosstubers. Since we first published it the flosstube community has continued to bloom and even been picked up by the cross stitch crazy magazine. However, the history of flosstube and video cross stitching (including Twitch) has had a turbulent past, with both highs and lows.   Whilst FlossTube and streaming sites are for very different audiences, they share a lot of similarities. Videos by a cross stitchy creator given out to the wider web. Whilst streaming might ..read more

The post Where To Get Custom Cross Stitch Kits first appeared on Lord Libidan. One of our most popular posts is our review of cross stitch pattern software however recently I was asked about kit creation! This isn’t something I’ve ever done before (being so keen on making my own patterns), but it did make me think a little further about why you would want one of these, and how good they were.   In my mind, it stood to reason that anyone wanting a custom cross stitch pattern would have to learn how to make one themselves, but that’s not actually the case! If you’re just wanting a pattern y ..read more

The post Whats The True Story Behind The US Only DMC Threads? first appeared on Lord Libidan. I thought pretty much everyone by now would have heard of the notorious “US only DMC threads”, however people do regularly ask about them on cross stitch forums and Facebook groups. However, alongside these questions come the obligatory rumors. Theories ranging from US factories, to EU laws, to other failed experiments like the linen DMC threads.   But what is the deal with these threads? Why are they US only? When were they officially discontinued? And why are there so many rumors?   The 10 ..read more

This post was originally in XStitch Magazine Issue 12: Noir, and has been adapted.   With a theme like noir, it should be no surprise that I want to talk about black. Black is a color that to a cross stitcher could mean the backstitching outline, it could mean the shadow of a figure, or even the stitching that makes something else stick out more. When it comes to patterns it takes another form, it can mean the black background of a retro video game monitor, the pupil of an eye, or even cables, wire, and metal parts.   But black is more than that. Black conveys a feeling. It can mean ..read more

When it comes to cross stitch, it’s rare to get bogged down in fancy words that only a graphic designer would know. But there is one notable exception; dithering. A rarely spoken about tool of every cross stitcher, dithering is a technique that can elevate any cross stitch to true master status. But despite that, most cross stitchers don’t know what this really is (if they’ve even heard about it!) So today, we talk about what dithering is, how you can apply it to patterns and cross stitch, and how to avoid patterns without it! Cross Stitch Pattern with and without dithering example (Source: Th ..read more