G@mes & Stitches

Last night, I finished up one of the patterns from the Pusheen cross-stitch kit. I would like to start off by saying that I’m glad this kit exists! There are a few things that warm my heart about it.

1. Cross-stitch, embroidery, and arguably other needle arts are alive and well! If Pusheen made a cross-stitch kit for the mass market, it must be true.
2. I have hope that the sheer popularity of Pusheen, paired with the simplicity of the designs will encourage many people to give cross-stitch a try!
3. I think the designs are charming!

TLDR – With that said, I would give it 3.5/5 stars. For the price, it’s a good deal! It includes 3 (adorable) patterns, 3 pieces of aida, 2 needles, a 3 inch hoop, and 4 skeins. The only additional item you will need is scissors. Where it lacks is in the details, particularly for a beginning cross-stitcher looking to take this on. Even as a veteran stitcher, I had several moments of frustration.

If you’re interested in reading more, I’ve broken the review down by Included Materials, Pamphlet, and Patterns.

Included Materials

The kit included all the basics you need to get stitching:

• 2 Needles – The included needles were really sharp, and I ended up stabbing my fingers more times than I would like. Additionally, the eye of the needle was jagged, snagging the floss and shredding it. I eventually used one of my own needles, (a size 24 tapestry needle) and quickly my excessive swearing stopped.
• Aida (the fabric) – The 3 pieces of aida were pre-cut to be slightly bigger than the included hoop. As a beginner, it will free you from worrying how big you should cut your fabric, but generally speaking, you will want to give your self more space around your hoop. I always give myself a minimum of 2 inches so that I can accommodate for mistakes and so I can finish the back using a sewing method.
• One 3″ embroidery hoop –  You can either use the hoop to keep your fabric tight, and/or, if you choose, use it to frame your piece. If you do use the hoop to frame your first piece, you will need to head to Michael’s, Joann, or Amazon for another hoop of the same size.
• 1 skein of floss per required color in the pattern -There are a total of 4 colors used in the patterns. As mentioned, there is one skein per color. Pusheen’s body,  the light grey is the dominant color in every single pattern, yet there is only one skein. If you think you’ll need more of that color, be sure to save a little bit and bring into the craft store for a color match.
  • I don’t know what floss brand was used in the kit, but I found it to be very unforgiving whenever I made a mistake. Trying to pull out the mistake with a needle, broke the thread down. On multiple occasions, I had to frog my work, and recut more floss. I know, I know, by now you’re thinking… um “Lady Designypants, those patterns are so easy,” BUT there are some definite problems with the patterns and that will be discussed in the Pattern section.

Pamphlet

While the pamphlet attempts to explain the basics of cross-stitch, the pamphlet is just too small to do it effectively (3″x3″ and not many pages). As a result, the explanations are brief, if not confusing. The Hoop and Thread sections of the pamphlet are sufficient, and the Scissors section is spot on; use sharp embroidery scissors if at all possible. The remaining sections leave a bit to be desired.

How to cross-stitch section

• There are no diagrams illustrating the basic cross-stitch. I don’t fault them for not including a comprehensive how-to manual, but I think a quick diagram on how to stitch would be far more effective than trying to explain it using words, as they attempted to do.
• The good news is that the Internet is a beautiful, wonderful resource, chock-full of videos and articles. In particular, I found this video series to be a big help when I was learning.

Fabric section

• Neither the patterns nor the section about aida/cross stitch fabric mention what weave count you need. Inexperienced stitchers, might not even be aware that there is quite a variety. Why is this a big deal when fabric is included in the kit? Well, if anyone wants to make additional patterns once the included aida is used, or if someone messes up badly, they’re going to need to know.
  • Weave count determines how many stitches can fit in an inch. This, in turn, effects the size of the piece, which effects the size of the hoop you need, etc. For more info, check out this link! I have to be honest. I was lazy and didn’t count myself. I’m also a fairly veteran stitcher and have a nice stash of 14 weave aida and a multitude of hoops, whereas someone starting out would not.

Needle type section

• Just a quick note here: The needle section does discuss using a tapestry needle, but it does not mention what size to use for this kit.

The Patterns

Again, just want to preface that the kit is a good value and you will end up with a really cute piece of art (or many cute pieces of art) at the end of it all. You may also recall that I said the pamphlet was tiny, thus making the patterns equally tiny (3″ x 3″). They also lacked some basic elements that should be included in all good patterns!

• I highly recommend scanning the pattern and enlarging it, otherwise it’s just torture.
• Additionally, none of the patterns have the cross hairs at the center of the pattern, nor do any of them have the thick lines delineating units of 10.
• The grid lines are also a very light grey, making the patterns incredibly hard to read. This is why I made so many mistakes. 

Summary

Personally, I would have preferred a more expensive kit that included high quality patterns and materials, or a pattern book with a shopping list of what to buy. I think a lower price will ultimately lead to more people buying the product and hopefully getting into cross-stitch… and I can’t be mad at that!

Thanks for reading! Please leave any question for me in the comments section, and should you feel inclined, remember to subscribe!