StitchyBox Subscription Review + Coupon- September/October 2016

StitchyBox is a themed, bi-monthly subscription box for cross stitch and counted thread supplies. 

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This review is of the Big Picture, $36.50 every other month, box. 

The Subscription Box: StitchyBox

The Cost: $36.50/box for the “Big Picture Box” (contains one cut of 14-16 count Aida and one cut of 28-32 count linen or evenweave) or $38.50/box for the “Detail-Oriented Box” (contains one cut of 32-36 count linen and one cut of 40 count linen).

Note: StitchyBox has introduced some add-ons to the bimonthly subscription.

• “Bling It Up” (beads and crystals for $7.50 one-time purchase or $7.13 as a bimonthly add on)
• “Buttoned Up” (hand dyed buttons for $10 one-time purchase or $9.50 as a bimonthly add on)
• “Stitch It Up” (small pattern charts for $6.50 one-time purchase or $6.18 as a bimonthly add on).
• You can also subscribe to “Just the Threads” to get a selection of threads and fibers each month (this is $22.99 for a one-time purchase or $21.84 for a bimonthly subscription; this is not an add-on but a separate subscription).

ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first month
CODE: SURB1

The Products: Over $40 worth of stitching goodies including two cuts of stitching fabric and a variety of threads and embellishments. (Note: patterns and instructions are typically not included.  However, the StitchyBox blog has some project ideas. And you can choose one larger piece of fabric instead of the two smaller ones when you sign up.)

Good to know: You can buy extras of supplies you liked from this box from the StitchyBox shop (while they last). I’ve taken most of the values listed below from the StitchyBox shop when I could.

Ships to: US for free, $6 international.

Check out all of our StitchyBox reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great craft and DIY subscriptions!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

This month’s StitchyBox came with a card detailing the theme for the box. This box’s theme is “Wooded Path in Autumn.”

14 Count Aida in “Goldspinner” from Silkweavers – Value $4.74

The items from this month’s package aren’t in the Stitchybox shop, so I am doing my best to find them elsewhere. This color seems to have been exclusive to Stitchybox, so I have calculated the price based on Silkweavers limited edition fabrics. (These are fat 16ths.) This is a wonderful for late summer or early autumn.

28 Count Evenweave in “Simply Sage” from Hand Dyed by Stephanie – Value $7.50?

This is a regular color from Hand Dyed by Stephanie, but the value is an estimate because the smallest piece of fabric on her site is 13" by 18", whereas a fat sixteenth is about 9" by 11", and I don’t actually have the precise measurements of this piece of fabric. (So just know this could be off by a bit either way.) At any rate, I had a lot of fun poking around on her site and looking at some of the examples of stitching on interesting colors of fabric.

Weeks Dye Works Cotton Floss in “Blue Jeans” – Value $2.40

Weeks Dye Works shows up in nearly every Stitchybox. It is a good basic thread and comes in a variety of colors if you’d rather support independent producers (as opposed to DMC and Anchor).

Ship’s Manor Silk in “Lamplight” (12 stranded, 5 yards) – Value $5.30

Silk is not my favorite material to work with (is a bit difficult for me to unwind), although this golden yellow is quite pretty.

Kreinik Silk Mori (5 meters, shade 4214) – Value $3.12

Kreinik is another mainstay in Stitchybox.  I do have to say, I like this stuff better than working with Kreinik blending filament.

The Pure Palette Baroque Silk in St. Helens (15 yards) – Value $4.50

This is so pretty to look at all bundled up, with the golds and oranges and reds and purples. You can get some interesting gradient effects if you stitch over wide areas.

Valdani Hand Dyed Cotton in Blackened Teal (6 ply, 10 yards) – Value $2.26 USD

This appears to be a Canadian brand so I’ve converted the price on their website to US dollars. I like that we got some darker colors that aren’t necessarily the traditional autumn colors!

The Gentle Art Sampler Threads Floss – Value $2.19

I couldn’t figure out the name of this color so I’ve linked to a page that sells a bunch of different ones. This was easy to work with and is another good choice if you are looking to support smaller producers.

Brass Leaf Charms (4 pieces) – Value $0.75 (?)

Brass Acorn Charm (1 piece) – Value $0.50 (?)

I really have no idea how to look these up and get values so these are estimates. These things are so tiny (but that is important for stitching; you might want a little texture, but you don’t want to weigh your fabric down too much).

Lady Dot Creates 100% Cotton Hand Dyed Chenille in “Algae” (3 yards) – Value $6

I was wondering how to use this in embroidery (I’ll admit to not having strayed far outside floss and beads) but I have seen some absolutely beautiful examples of embroidery embellished with chenille via Google image search. Makes me all the more excited to try it!

Here are some 5 x 5 squares I stitched with the regular threads for the month. All are 2 strands. Eek, it is a little blurry. (Don’t worry, I got a new camera and will hopefully be learning how to use it soon. That will stop this sort of problem from happening in the future. But you can see the colors at least.) From left to right: The Pure Palette Baroque Silk, Ship’s Manor Silk, The Gentle Art Floss, Kreinik Silk Mori, Valdani Hand Dyed Cotton, and Weeks Dye Works Cotton. This is a really nice fall palette!

Verdict: I calculated a value of about $39.26 for this month’s StitchyBox. That is higher than the cost of the subscription and is pretty close to the promised $40 value (with the caveat that the actual value may be higher since I had to estimate for some items). I thought the colors of threads and fabric were lovely and seasonally-appropriate and I am now interested in trying some embroidery with chenille embellishments.

What do you think of the September/October 2016 StitchyBox? Would you like to see reviews of some of the new add-ons for the subscription?