Cross Stitch for Children - help!

[LovingBeingAMummy]

My DS (9) recently started cross stitching at school. He made a Xmas card with a snowflake. I then found a cheap set in Poundland. He really enjoyed this and copied the pattern from school successfully.

He has some pocket money and has asked me to help him by a kit. I've looked online and the cheapest i can see is £7.50.
Does anyone know of anywhere i can get a cheaper set for him?
Otherwise he will have to wait until he has earned some more money. He has £5 by the way.

Many thanks for helping this budding cross sstitcher.

Have just sent you a PM.

This is my favourite site, but I don't know what they do at the budget end of the market, cross stitch kits tend not to be cheap. The other place I would look is Argos - or eBay maybe?

Hobbycraft had some small cross-stitch kits before xmas - a couple of quid each and on 3 for 2 IIRC.

Its a nice absorbing hobby, rather delightful to find a boy interested in it!

Hi ChippingIn - sorry but I don't appear to have received a PM from you. Can you please resend?
Thanks Tribpot - I will have a good look at the website and at Argos/eBay.

this site has some a little cheaper, though I don't know what the P&P would add.

Hi Grimma, yes we are very surprised. He has sepnt ages over the last few days on his 'designs'. I am not art or crafty at all BUT my mum is super crafty - curtain maker, seamstress, knitter, cross stitcher. Not so much now as her eyesight is failing so the gene skipped a generation!!
Not sure whether he should mention this hobby in the playground tho .....what do you think?

Actually good point from Grimma, Hobbycraft (or the "googly eye shop" as my ds calls it) is another good port of call. Depending on what your ds particularly likes about cross stitch, you should be able to find something he likes as he gets into it - there are all sorts of maps, for example, if he doesn't like the more 'girly' designs. As well as cartoons and so on. There are some modern designs I really like, I'm trying to google to find a link!

Ah ha! Michael Powell. I love these.

There is a Hobbycraft 30 mins away from us. A good trip out I think!!
Many thanks - knew MN would be full of ideas

Does he actually need a kit? Seems like he already has the design side sorted. Perhaps just some cross stitch fabric and thread.

Actually, I've been meaning to dig out this section and ask about the count on aida fabric. I would like to get some for beginner children but I don't know which way the numbers go.

It's how many threads to the inch so the lower the number the bigger the holes :) 6 is good for kids starting out.

I got a set of 2 from wilkinson's for 99p...good enough for starting out I think, but the designs were a bit girly...

Here are a couple of links to free patterns - the dog is cute on the first link :)

Link for About

This one is quite good in places - if you go down the LHS of the page, click on animals and go to about page 6 there are some quite basic animals, other pages have cars, trains etc here

Thanks ChippingIn.

I've had the same thing recently DS (7) wanted to do some sewing, I do a bit of cross stitch and he always likes doing a few stitches of mine, so I went through a load of old x stitch magazines and copied a load of the smaller designs.. mostly 1/2 colours and found some little alien type stuff, bought some binca (big hole aida) and told him that within reason he could have free access to my threads... I've stretched the binca over a fixed frame which is big enough for a couple of aliens and he's dipping in and out of it when he feels like it.. DD (5) loves the idea but couldn't sit still long enough to thread a needle...