StitchyBox Craft Subscription Review – October 2017

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

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

This review is of the Big Picture, $36.99 every other month, box. 

The Subscription Box: StitchyBox

The Cost: $36.99/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 $38.99/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 bimonthly add on)
• “Stitch It Up” (small pattern charts for $6.50 bimonthly add on)
• "Buttoned Up" (a variety of buttons for $5.00 bimonthly add on)
• "Thread It Up" ($17.50 worth of threads for $15.00 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).

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: U.S. for free, International for $6

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 “Leaf Peeping.” (All of this year’s color themes will be inspired by nature!)

3 Natural Red Agate Beads

You’ll usually get a few beads and embellishments in StitchyBox. These red agate beads are tiny from a beader’s perspective, but great from a stitcher’s perspective because they are small enough to be included in embroidery without pulling or tugging at the fabric due to weight. These are a great color for fall, too.

Autumn Brown Aurora from Thread Gatherer

I think this is seriously cool; it has some mohair content and some sparkly thread as well. I tried to stitch a swatch for you but it was too thick to go through the holes of my aida fabric. I am wondering how this will look in some kumihimo braiding? I might try that. Or this may be better for plastic canvas or needlepoint.

14 Count Aida in “Butterscotch Cookies” from Handdyed by Stephanie

This is a fat 16^th and it is a wonderful fall color. You’ll see Handdyed by Stephanie fabrics quite often in StitchyBox and they are always wonderful quality. If aida is not for you, there are other options for the fabric. (My vision is not what it used to be and aida is easier for me to see with than linen!)

Gentle Arts Sampler Threads Limited Edition Cotton in Poison Apple

This color of floss is exclusive to StitchyBox. (You’ll see this brand a lot in StitchyBox and they’re almost always exclusive shades.) This is a deep green with a hint of brown in it although I think I need bigger than a 5 x 5 swatch to show the true extent of the variegation. This one was easy to work with.

Canary Yellow Soie d’Alger Silk

I am iffy on working with silk. Sometimes it tangles or has other issues. But this was absolutely lovely to stitch with and the results were nice, too. (You can see it in a swatch below.) This is a nice fall color.

2 Maple Leaf Charms

These are some lightweight and small charms that go great with all the fall colors in this package. There were quite a lot of embellishments this month but they are all fun to unbox and discover.

Nymo Beading Thread

This is something I already have tons and tons of as it used to be my preferred beading thread back when I started beading in the 1990s. I have moved on to Fireline for most things, but there are some instances – usually when beads are combined with embroidery – that Nymo still comes in handy. This is a neutral color that will be less obvious when used in embroidery than some of the colored flosses from this month.

Quiet Fall 6 Ply Cotton from Valdani

Here’s a lovely orange cotton floss. You’ll see a fair amount of Valdani floss in Stitchybox (maybe not every package, but often) and it is always high quality and very easy to work with. This actually has some variegation but it is quite subtle.

Handpainted Ceramic Owl Bead

This little guy is pretty cute and is definitely on the larger side for a bead to be used in embroidery projects. He wouldn’t go very well flat in a frame but could work in something more dimensional, like at the top of a bookmark. I have a lot of owl charms and beads now and I am thinking of doing something with all of them together.

20 Handcarved Peridot Beads

These are quite small and would be easy to incorporate into a stitched piece. If you want to work up something quickly, a handmade stitched card would be a great place to use them (you may not want to drop it in the mail in that case, though).

Metallic Bias Plaid Quilt Fabric

Lately, we’ve been getting small bits of quilt fabric in StitchyBox. They always go wonderfully with the theme and embellishing them with the included supplies is good practice. One thing I like about this subscription is that it gets me thinking outside the box when it comes to embroidery – I don’t absolutely *have* to stick to premade patterns on aida fabric, but can branch out on my own and be creative.

Weeks Dye Works Cotton in Sweet Potato

You’ll see Weeks Dye Works floss in nearly every StitchyBox package. This is a nice orange that is somewhat different from the Valdani floss, but the differences aren’t captured well on camera. As usual, this is easy to work with and has almost no tendency to tangle.

Zweigart 28 Count Lugana in “Wheat”

In addition to one piece of aida, with the subscription options I have, you also get one piece of evenweave fabric. The second piece of fabric (if you get one) tends to vary among the subscription options, though Zweigart shows up fairly often. This is a neutral color that I think would look wonderful with some light colors and/or some fall colors of floss.

Wood Slice & Twine Ornament Backer

I am going to find a small leaf pattern and embroider it on a small piece of perhaps the wheat colored fabric above and attach it to this ornament backer. Then I will just hang it somewhere that I want to feel more fall-like! We had some decorations a little bit like this (but on a larger scale) in our kitchen when I was a kid so it brings back some fond memories.

Here are the four colors I was able to stitch on aida fabric with this month. From left to right, they are the Valdani floss, the Weeks Dye Works floss, the Soie d’Alger silk, and the Gentle Arts Sampler Threads floss.

Verdict: The StitchyBox shop did not yet have these items available (in fact, there was a note that it would be closed for inventory for quite a long time, though some items were available for purchase).   There were 14 items, which works out to about $2.61 per item. Fat 16ths of fabric are worth a lot more than that, of course, as are some of the exclusive floss colors, so I think the value was good. What I like about this box is that it encourages me to break out of my comfort zone in terms of stitching – I try new threads, I add embellishments, I adapt patterns or create my own instead of using a kit, I learn about new types of fibers, etc. It also exposes me to some products from smaller companies I might not have encountered otherwise. There were definitely a lot of possibilities this month.

What do you think of the October 2017 StitchyBox? Would you like to see reviews of some of the new add-ons for the subscription?