Help wanted for baby cross stitch kits

[Cez]

Hi all,

I hope you knowlegeable cross stitchers can help. I used to cross stitch a lot but havent for a number of years. I've just found out a dear friend has had some fantastic baby news and I wanted to stitch something for her and the baby - possibly a blanket or a sampler - in neutral colours (she doesnt like pink or blue). I wondered if anyone could point me in the direction of a suitable kit/chart. I dont want to spend too much and i'd probably have to buy materials online as the nearest craft shop isnt local or easy to get to.

I've looked at a few kits but none seem quite right - can you help? Is there a place you prefer to get your materials from online?

[Serinde]

Welcome to the forum from the West of Scotland!

There must be a zillion baby sampler thingies out there, so narrowing down the subject or taking designers out of the mix might help? For example: religious or not? what style (cute, floral, alphabet, animals, etc), cartoon characters?

[Cez]

Thank you for the reply and the welcome - I'm from the South of Wales.

Oh blimey - there's a lot to think about but i'd prefer non-religious and not floral but cute, animal, alphabet etc is all fine - the main thing is that it has to be neutral - most kits seem to swing one way or the other.

[Rose]

I would say that Sew an So is the best place to look for ideas in the UK. And they have a ton of kits many that could be unisex/neutral.

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/search.aspx?k ... ybvin=cat2" target="_blank

[Cez]

Thank you - i will certainly look there.

I'm really looking forward to getting into the x-stitching bug again!

[willow]

What about tatty ted, forever friends, boofle, Humphrey, country companions just a couple of suggestions.

[MaggieM1750]

My sister is currently pregnant with #2 and so is my sister-in-law-in-law (The sister of my brother-in-law.. but I see her so often, its almost like she is my sister-in-law) Both due with girls. One in July, the other in September. So I have been on the hunt for baby items lately.
And don't let the overly baby pinks or blues steer you away from designs- thread color can always be changed. Instead of stitching in pink- do a purple, or an orange, or red. Or change from a light pink- to a hot pink Or a baby blue- to a royal blue, or apple green, or browns. Its amazing how different a design will look when done in a different color.

My sister also does not like overly cutesy baby things. Nor does she subscribe to the pink is for girls/ blue is for boys. (Most of my 3 yr old nieces clothes are from the boys department. You know how hard it is to find girl clothes that aren't pink and glittery?!?! Shop in the boys section!)

When my sister was due with baby #1.. I stitched Baby Shoes by Janlynn and changed the color of the laces to match her crib set. Its small- maybe 5x5"


Now for baby #2.. I've thought of re-stitching those shoes with a different color for the laces. But, I've found another shoe pattern, Baby Shoes from Vervaco that I will do instead. Same idea, but little bit different design. Again, just changing the color of the laces- simple enough to switch.
http://www.123stitch.com/item/Vervaco-B ... PN-0011694" target="_blank

And I've also got this on my list for sister-in-law-in-law, Lizzie Kates, Oh Baby. Easily done in any thread color, on any color of fabric, with any combination of motifs.
http://www.123stitch.com/item/Lizzie-Ka ... ern/LK-152" target="_blank

And I also was seriously considering a few of the animal outlines from Alessandra Adelaide. The elephant, the bee, the sheep.. adding the name and birth info below the pattern. Easily modified.
http://www.alessandra-adelaide.eu/categ ... MALS~.html" target="_blank"

Happy shopping.
(I've linked to US sites.. but I would think they would be available at Sew and So.. or any other UK based site)

[Serinde]

I've just had a look on Bothy Threads, and they do some lovely samplers as well as some baby things, mostly under Samplers -- particularly liked "Building Blocks" and "Patchwork Farm". A bit expensive, but they are good kits, and if you've not been stitching for a while, you won't perhaps have much in the way of stash. (Stick with us, and we'll soon sort that out.)

[Cez]

Thank you so much for all the advice. This is just fantastic.

[lytehouse]

Baby stuff and Christmas....there's never a shortage of this kind of stuff! LOL
Lorrie Birmingham has got some really cute baby patterns and there's Precious Moments by Gloria and Pat. I recently did a blanket for a friend of mine, her theme was jungle animals.

[Cez]

Where did you get the blanket - it's fantastic! x

[lytehouse]

Where did you get the blanket - it's fantastic! x

I did a quick search this morning....that was harder than I thought!
This is the only one I could find that was close to the one I did above:

http://everythingcrossstitch.com/baby-a ... aspx?k2=y3" target="_blank" target="_blank

You'll have to let us know what you decide to stitch up for your friend

[Heidi]

Congrats on the good news!

I know your friend feels about either pink or blue options.

If you are look for some agfan blankets to stitch sew and so, as well as sewalong (both UK sites) have some lovely choice. When I was looking they had this lovely Peter Rabbit blanket,