It’s another edition of SCK Tries where we try out a DIY to see how it works in real life and whether we’d recommend you give it a go. This time it’s a cute Christmas cross stitch subscription box from The Make Arcade.
The Original DIY
My family are doing a craft kit Secret Santa this year and I was going to put this adorable Gingerbread Lane box on my wish list but I wouldn’t have had time to make and enjoy the ornaments before Twelfth Night so I bought it for myself! I rarely have time for festive crafting but cross stitch is so quick and generally stress-free so I was hopeful it would give me a chance to relax a bit. While part of The Make Arcade’s Stitch Mail subscription box, I chose the option to buy a one-off box at a higher price.
Kit Contents & Materials
The kit includes everything you need to make 2 Christmas ornaments – green aida & gingham fabric, batting, ribbons, floss, needle, hoop, printed instruction booklet with pattern, and a zine with general tips and extra mini patterns. All you need to add is a pair of scissors. There’s a generous amount of thread, pre-cut to size, so you can stitch all the mini patterns or make extra ornaments. I also appreciated that the box was sent inside a plastic bag so the box itself was in perfect condition for gifting.
Process
This is such a quick and easy kit that there were few opportunities for process images! Usually, I take a photo of the printed pattern so I can mark off stitches on my iPad but I found it easy enough to keep myself right, especially as the designs are very symmetrical. While you get a hoop in the kit, I used a larger one that was more comfortable to hold and had room for a needleminder.
The patterns are simple enough for a complete beginner (with full guide and full colour photo instructions to help you along). The only tricky bits are some backstitch (the decorative lines) and those little one-stitch gumdrops on the roof. There is literally one orange stitch across both patterns! I could have finished these very quickly but spread it out over a couple of Christmas movies per design.
The next step is to turn them into ornaments and this is a clever idea using batting for a squishy padded look and some ribbon and string embellishments. I thought it was clever that you use the kit box for the cardboard circles and the mini hoop as a template to draw around.
The aida and gingham fabric are gathered around the cardboard and batting and then stitched together with a hanging loop inside before adding candy cane string to hide your stitches and a little ribbon bow on top. I did find this whole stage a bit tedious after the cross stitch but it’s so much nicer than just putting it in a hoop.
The End Result
Look how cute they are! They look both professional and handmade, and the colours are so festive but modern too. My gingerbread man is a little off centre and I should maybe have cut a smaller piece of cardboard for that one. I also knew there was no way I was stitching on the candy cane string and used fabric glue instead. I made sure to take my time as I preferred not to add a bow on front and thankfully it looked neat enough without. I also stitched up some of the mini designs but that’s for a gift so I’ll share a photo later.
Overall, this was a cute and fun kit that kept me occupied for a few afternoons and taught me some new things. I know I’ll be happy to see these every Christmas, and hopefully I’ll have a bigger tree next year. It’s good value too with high quality materials, full colour instructions and lots of nice little extra touches. I’d definitely buy another Stitch Mail box if I liked the theme and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys or wants to try cross stitch.
The Stitch Mail subscription box has a new project every month – this month’s theme is ‘A Moment to Slow Down‘ with a fika-inspired winter design. It’s £14.95 for a subscription or £18.95 for a single box. There are also a few leftover boxes available from previous months – including Gingerbread Lane – so you can still grab one if you’re quick. The Make Arcade ships worldwide from the UK.
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