Hobbies can be expensive and cross stitching is no different. That being said I feel like it’s a really affordable hobby compared to lots of other similar options. No matter what hobby you have, learning how to be a bit thrifty is important and I think it can be fun and creative as well. Thankfully there are lots of ways you can learn to save money on supplies for cross stitching. I’ve put together a list of my favorite thrifty tips that I hope will help you save a bit too!
- Use what you have – If you are like me (and I know a lot of you are), then you have amassed a large collection of fabric, threads, patterns and kits all waiting for the right time to be pulled from the cupboard and used. Also, if you are even more like me, you rarely get to them and they sit there, unused, for years, maybe decades, collecting dust. You get my meaning. For example, I purchased this beautiful book of wedding samplers from Stoney Creek years ago for a friends wedding. I bought the special dyed fabric, the embellishments, beads and specialty threads for it… and never made it. I found a different pattern I feel in love with and did that one instead. It’s been almost 15 years since then and the pattern, fabric and materials have just languished in the cupboard, lonely and unused.
So my first tip, maybe my challenge to you (and myself), is to pull out those unused resources just waiting to be loved, and find a use for them. Even better pull them out and organize them (a new hobby all on it’s own) so that you know what you have and include these supplies in your cross stitch plans for the upcoming season or year.
This organization progress is also a fabulous way to motivate yourself, after all what stitcher doesn’t love to admire the beautiful fabrics, patterns and materials that have caught your eye over the year. Every time I do this I remember why I bought this kit or that fabric and get excited about someday stitching it. This is a great opportunity to remind yourself of what you already fell in love with rather than searching out new projects on Etsy (yet another activity that could qualify as a hobby all of it’s own).
- Thrift Shops – This might seem obvious but it wasn’t until I stumbled across my first stash of cross stitch items in a thrift shop while out browsing with my daughter that it occurred to me that this was an untapped treasure trove I had not discovered before. Yes thrift shops, second hand shops, yard sales, estate sales, these can be full of all sorts of treasures for cross stitchers and a fabulous way to save money on supplies. I think the reason I dismissed it was because I didn’t know to many folks that actually stitched so it never occurred to me that there might be second hand items available. But not only are there cross stitch items to be found, but also beautiful accessories, embellishments and frames.
Like any second hand shopping experience, it can be hit or miss but a few of the things I have had success with over the years are:- used patterns that I could re-kit for myself
- containers for storing supplies (like baskets)
- partially completed kits that can be either finished, or taken apart and used for other projects.
- frames and other products used to display or finish projects, like display boxes, shadow boxes, hoops etc.
- unlabelled or older threads, these can be added to your collection and used for smaller projects or embellishing finished ones (adding an edging etc).
- Be careful with the supplies you already have – I tend to be a touch thrifty by nature and I don’t have a shop around me locally to easily purchase new materials regularly or quickly so this one is just something I I have always done. For example, most patterns will tell you to start stitching in the middle, I admit that this is not something I generally do, as a matter of fact, I don’t usually like to do this at all (gasp). Of course, there are some projects where this makes sense but usually I just carefully measure my fabric, perhaps grid it, and count and double count to make sure I have enough space. I admit, it’s got me into hot water once or twice, well maybe warm water. One of my first larger projects, I ended up with just less than half an inch around the edge of my pattern and it was super tight to have it framed. But I snagged an extra bit of material, stitched it around the tight edge, and that gave the framer enough to pull and stretch it properly, so even then, it worked out just fine. I learned to count a bit more carefully and I’ve never had an issue since.
My point was that you can save money on supplies like fabric by counting and measuring carefully rather than leaving 6 inches of excess around the edges. Now if you do end up with a ton of those spare bits of material that aren’t quite big enough for another full project, save them in a basket or bin somewhere. They make the perfect size for tiny projects, like gift cards, or gift labels. I have a small collection of these that I’ve been saving to stitch up and use on the top of some of my homemade jam jars to give away as gifts at Christmas. - Explore your local library – While this won’t help you with your stash of fabric or threads, your local library could be rich with a huge collection of patterns. Most libraries have magazines that are available to take out. If you use the Libby app and connect to your local library (this is used by many libraries in the US, Canada and the UK for sure) you can get all the back issues and be notified when new issues come out of all the top cross stitching magazines online! These can be a gold mine for patterns and have something for everyone. From Stitch-a-longs to gift cards you can find patterns for every theme and occasion and all for free!
- Play a lot of thread chicken – This is something I do a lot, I really hate wasting floss. If you don’t know what thread chicken is, it refers to the art of using every last bit of floss on your needle before threading a new one. There are some fun techniques you can look up on YouTube where stitchers will even demonstrate just how you play thread chicken, but I think you get the idea. I will generally go so far as to take my unthreaded needle and stick it through the next hole for my project before then threading it with the tiniest little remaining tail and pulling it through until there is only enough thread to just secure it under another stitch or two with my new thread.
This isn’t something I chose to do all the time, although I do do it pretty regularly for sure. I find it especially useful when I have only a couple stitches left in that section or colour, or when I know I’m running low on that colour of thread. So next time you get to the end of your thread, check and see if you can come up with a way of using just a tiny bit more, maybe challenge yourself to finish off just one more stitch. - Disassemble old kits – I have definitely collected numerous kits over the years that I will likely never stitch and these can be a great way to save money on supplies. I’ve been gifted kits, bought kits used from second hand shops and made purchases that have become outdated or will never be completed for various reasons. Rather than just letting these kits sit and collect dust, why not raid them and use the fabric and threads for other projects. The fabric can be easily used elsewhere and the threads, although probably not DMC, are useful in other small projects where you don’t need to care about the number or exact shade you are using. The kits often come with needles as well so don’t forget to add them to your needle stash!
- Make use of free patterns and online resources – the last tip I have is to save on patterns by checking out cross stitch groups on Facebook and looking online at your favorite designers, many of them give away free patterns. For example, you can sign up to our newsletter and get not just a free pattern every month, but also great tips and challenges and even a set of monthly challenges you can try out to keep you stitching. Sign up for our newsletter today to keep in touch and see what’s new on our site.
While hobbies can be expensive, and cross stitching can definitely be too (there are way too many gorgeous kits and patterns and fabrics and threads and…), there are some great ways to save money on supplies while still having a great time and creating beautiful items. You might even find that being a bit thrifty brings out your creative juices as you think outside the box for ways to use your supplies carefully and completely!
