Favorite place to get new charts

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xLilyx42
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Favorite place to get new charts

Post by xLilyx42 »

I've mostly worked from books or kits I've bought from craft stores (Joann's, Micheals, AC Moore, etc) or have made my own charts of very small projects that I've spotted online. I also have a few patterns that I've gotten from magazines as well but I was wondering if there was a good online source that folks recommend for getting charts (not kits). I prefer if it's a printed out chart that can be mailed to me versus an electronic chart I download and have to either use from the screen or print out myself (home printer is busted with no certain future purchase on the horizon). Guess I'm mostly just looking for more variety of charts to purchase than what is available in stores (which are mostly kits as well). Thanks in advance!
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xLilyx42
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by xLilyx42 »

Oh! And a follow up question :-)

What are your favorite places to get cloth? What are your favorite ones?

I've only ever worked with aida, which is readily available in stores but I'm looking to move onto evenweave/linens and not really sure where to start. I picked up an evenweave in the craft store but they didn't have much of a selection (in the cross stitch aisle at least). All tips welcomed!
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Mabel Figworthy
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Mabel Figworthy »

Hello Lily, welcome to the Forum! I don't buy many charts (any, really :-) ) so can't help you there, but I get most of my standard fabrics (Zweigart Lugana and linens) from Sew & So, who in spite of a new website that isn't a patch on the old one still offer an amazing range of stuff, good customer service and reasonable postage.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by xstitchalanna »

If you don't have a local needlework store, ABCstitch.com and 123stitch.com have a great selection
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Allyn
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Allyn »

If you're in the States, 123stitch.com and nordicneedle.com are my first and second choice for fabric. 123 has a good selection. Nordic is a little more expensive, but has stuff I can't get anywhere else.

What kind of charts do you like to do? If I were to buy a chart, the places that have charts I would be interested in are mysticstitch.com, goldenkite.com, scarletquince.com, and artecy.com.

You can browse at hoffmandis.com. You can't buy from them (they're a distributer, not a retailer), but if you find a chart you like, you can then search it online and find a retailer that sells it.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by rcperryls »

123Stitch is my first "go to" supplier for threads, fabrics and other necessaries for stitching as well as for hard copy charts when an electronic copy isn't available. . I also like Nordic Needle. Both have great customer service. Since I prefer most of my charts to be in a PDF format, I tend to stick with websites that provide it. My personal favorite is HAED. One of the advantages (or disadvantages depending on how much stash accumulation you are willing to do) of the forum is that it has widened the world of cross stitch designs, designers and techniques more than I ever could have imagined. I think if I was limited to what is available today in the large craft stores, I would probably be doing much less stitching and a lot more of something else.

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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by richardandtracy »

Have to confess that my 'go-to' place for charts is my computer - where I keep my charting software, as I haven't found anywhere that does exactly the chart I want to stitch. Even if the image is right, the cropping is frequently wrong as far as I'm concerned, or the colour count, or the size in stitches, or the dithering or the fact there are no blends, or insufficient blends. Not that I'm picky or anything. :doh:

Scarlet Quince & Golden Kite are good for really detailed charts, and many people seem to like Heaven & Earth Designs (HaED).

As for chart type, I always use paper at the point I stitch. A PDF download will need a paper printout at some time as far as I'm concerned. Printers can sometimes be cheaper than a replacement ink cartridge. Recently I've seen some offers at £30 - keep an eye out for them. They could possibly be paid for/partly paid for by the difference between the paper & pdf price for the chart, then you have the printer for other purposes.

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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Allyn »

richardandtracy wrote:Have to confess that my 'go-to' place for charts is my computer - where I keep my charting software, as I haven't found anywhere that does exactly the chart I want to stitch. Even if the image is right, the cropping is frequently wrong as far as I'm concerned, or the colour count, or the size in stitches, or the dithering or the fact there are no blends, or insufficient blends. Not that I'm picky or anything. :doh: ....
I will vouch for Richard's software. I can't find charts that have the level of detail, number of colors/blends, or the size of the design that suits me. Like Richard, I'm not picky. :) But I want what I want and I hate to compromise.
richardandtracy wrote:...As for chart type, I always use paper at the point I stitch. A PDF download will need a paper printout at some time as far as I'm concerned. Printers can sometimes be cheaper than a replacement ink cartridge. Recently I've seen some offers at £30 - keep an eye out for them. They could possibly be paid for/partly paid for by the difference between the paper & pdf price for the chart, then you have the printer for other purposes.
Richard makes a good point about printers. The less expensive printers get you in the wallet when buying ink cartridges since they usually have all-in-one cartridges that are quite pricey. They advertise all-in-one cartridges like it's a good thing, but really all they're telling you is they're gouging you for ink colors you don't need in order to get the ink colors you do need because you have to buy expensive four-color cartridges. By spending a little more on the printer, you'll pay less for the ink. The more expensive printers have individual ink cartridges, so if you run out of one color, you can buy and install just that color cartridge.

And then, there's always Kinkos to get a PDF printed for a couple of bucks.
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xLilyx42
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by xLilyx42 »

Thanks everyone for all the great responses!! I'm not looking for any style chart in particular, guess I'm just looking for more variety than I find at the local craft stores. I've heard good things about 123stitch from a few sources so I guess I'll start there but also check out the others mentioned. I think it will just take a bit of time browsing to find a designer or style that really speaks to me (since I'm really not familiar at all with all the variety out there). Also looking forward to trying my hand at my first non-aida project! Now to go find it.... :-)
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Allyn »

xLilyx42 wrote:Thanks everyone for all the great responses!! I'm not looking for any style chart in particular, guess I'm just looking for more variety than I find at the local craft stores. ....
If all you've had is what is available at your local craft store, be prepared to go NUTS once you start looking around at what is out there. The craft stores carry nothing. Think Wish Lists! Put charts on the Wish List at the sites you visit. Tell yourself you're only allowed to buy one now. Revisit those wish lists after a couple of weeks and see what still holds your interest. Then revisit them again in a month and see which ones you still want. It's so easy to go nuts buying everything only to find a few weeks or months later that they aren't as charming as they were originally.
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xLilyx42
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by xLilyx42 »

Allyn, I have definitely been overwhelmed! :-) Luckily I'm rather practical to a fault so I've been able to hold off on actually buying anything yet. However, I've fallen completely head over heels in love with the Mirabilia mermaids! I've already made a list and have been anything but subtle to my husband about that list and Christmas coming up :-D
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by CavyMom »

xLilyx42 wrote:I've already made a list and have been anything but subtle to my husband about that list and Christmas coming up
I hope he picks up on the hints and you get some stitchy stash! Isn't it wonderful the variety of charts and kits that are available online? The selection in craft stores is so disappointing.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by agent_clone »

Personally I like artecy shop http://artecyshop.com/" target="_blank . I've only bought the PDF files but there is the option to get a printed version.

In regards to the printer I bought myself a laser printer as I don't print that often and the ink dries up in the inkjet printers. The printers and the ink is more expensive however I understand that the catridges print more, and they won't dry up after a year.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by DahliaDoll »

Allyn wrote:If all you've had is what is available at your local craft store, be prepared to go NUTS once you start looking around at what is out there. The craft stores carry nothing. Think Wish Lists! Put charts on the Wish List at the sites you visit. Tell yourself you're only allowed to buy one now. Revisit those wish lists after a couple of weeks and see what still holds your interest. Then revisit them again in a month and see which ones you still want. It's so easy to go nuts buying everything only to find a few weeks or months later that they aren't as charming as they were originally.
That's a wonderful approach!

I also like the idea of having a chart printed at Kinko's in lieu of buying a printer just for that purpose. There are so many beautiful charts for downloading, and even free ones. I rarely purchase a chart but do spend a lot of money in printer ink.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by isaacson72 »

My favorite stuff to stitch on is jobelan fabric. It's so silky soft, it's easy to work with. I usually make puffy mason jar lids, and this fabric is wonderful for that. I like evenweave too - it's similar, but the jobelan feels silkier to me. I still have a bunch of aida and I find that I get so annoyed now when I have to use up what I have left so my stash of fabric doesn't get any bigger. It's already ridiculous. The aida feels so stiff & unforgiving to me now! With evenweave/jobelan/linen, half-stitches are SO much easier. You'll love it!

As for patterns, like I said I do a lot of smaller stuff like jar lids. I get a lot of patterns off of Leisure Arts but I recently discovered Heaven and Earth Designs and will be purchasing a big pattern soon. Scarlet Quince has a lot of big patterns too.

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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Kathy_A »

Since I like the big projects, my favorite chart site is Scarlet Quince. However, for a good selection of all different types of charts, I really recommend Mary Jane's Cross 'n Stitch: http://www.maryjanes.com/" target="_blank It used to be headquartered in my hometown back in the 1980s, and my sister and I subscribed to their catalog that we got in the mail (this was pre-internet, of course!). It's only expanded over the decades, and it's still an excellent source. I don't order supplies from them as often as I used to, because they really aren't as competitive in terms of cost with floss and fabric, but their chart store really can't be beat, IMO.
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Re: Favorite place to get new charts

Post by Sarandipity »

One site I have had good experiences with is http://www.everythingcrossstitch.com" target="_blank" target="_blank The staff are very helpful and my orders have always come very quickly. They have both patterns and kits, as well as any supplies you could need.
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