Great Customer Service
Quick, friendly replies to your emails. Please contact us with any questions about your order – even just to chat about your project!
Low Prices Everyday
Pay less to stitch your beautiful project. We strive to have Australia’s best prices for DMC and Zweigart.
Happiness Guaranteed
We put together your order with loving care and have it delivered as quickly as possible. If we can improve your shopping experience in any way – please let us know!
Thank you…
for visiting Itchy Stitchy! Our aim is to offer Australian stitchers the best quality Cross Stitch and Embroidery products for a great price. Stitching is such a wonderful craft, but it can be an expensive hobby, therefore we are so happy to offer these materials at an affordable price.
We opened in November 2016 due to a love of all things cross stitch and embroidery. Thank you to all our customers who have helped us grow our little store to include more stitchy goodies.
We hope you enjoy browsing our store. If we can help you with anything please contact us at [email protected] – we would love to hear from you and are always happy to help!
— Steph & Angela —
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Starting Cross Stitching or Embroidery?
What do you need?
Threads!
There are two main brands of floss in Australia – DMC and Anchor. In Australia you will find most people use DMC as it is readily available here. Anchor numbers can be converted to DMC and vice versa. We are proud to offer DMC threads in our Itchy Stitchy store. Semco brand threads are also readily available in Australia, however they lack the beautiful sheen and quality of DMC threads.
Fabric!
Cloth woven for counted thread stitching has an even number of threads in each direction. The “count” refers to how many stiches are within an inch of fabric. Therefore the bigger the number count, the closer together the holes will be. You can use different counts to increase or decrease the size of your pattern.
Aida
11-22 count
Has clearly defined holes making it ideal for cross-stitch. The most popular count Aida is 14 count, as your eyes do not need to strain to see the holes. Aida is generally less expensive. Two strands of DMC are usually required for 14 and 16 count, while 18 count and bigger may only require 1 strand for adequate coverage.
Evenweave
18-32 count
Cross-stitches are usually stitched “over 2”. This means if you are working on a 32-count fabric, this creates a piece the same size as if you had used 16 count Aida. Most evenweaves aren’t as stiff as Aida. This can be a pro or a con depending on your preferences.
Linen
25-36 count
Some linens are quite loosely woven and uneven, and therefore more difficult to work on than evenweave.
Needles!
Choose needles that are labelled ‘cross stitch needles’ or more widely called ‘tapestry needles’. The smaller sized tapestry needles are perfect for cross stitch because they have a blunt tip but a larger eye for threading.
Hoops!
Using a hoop will keep your fabric at an even tension whilst you stitch. For large designs, you can use freestanding hoops.
Scissors!
Embroidery scissors are best for snipping thread. These are small with a pointed end that is also handy for unpicking any mistakes.