Blackwork and cross stitch lace-makers

Some designs work well in both blackwork and cross stitch, as the lace-makers on this page show. 

If you haven't tried blackwork before, you might find my beginners blackwork e-book helpful to teach you the basics. 

The Lacemaker

Design size: 5.9 x 3.6 inches

Downloadable Chart - £2.25

I originally designed the cross stitch lace-maker for the National Christmas Lace-makers' Fair, held in Birmingham each year. I arrived on day one with boxes of kits and returned home with none!

I took even more with me for day two, and not only did all those fly off the stand as well, but I took orders for more. 

Whole cross stitches make her easy to work and being relatively small, she is a wonderful project for a beginner to the craft. 

Blackwork Lace-maker

Design size: 6 x 3.75 inches

Downloadable Chart - £2.25

The cross stitch lace-maker proved so popular that my customers soon asked me to create a blackwork version of the same design.

A quick project, she is ideal as a gift for a lace making friend or a lovely addition to your own craft room wall. I have also seen her stitched on the front of a sweatshirt with the help of waste canvas.

Mainly worked in black stranded cotton/floss her hat and apron have gold embellishments. The design also uses gold for the thread on the bobbins and the bow in her hair. 

Blackwork Stitcher

Design size: 6 x 4 inches

Downloadable Chart - £2.25

The stitcher is another blackwork and cross stitch design, this time facing in the other direction, which makes a lovely partner to the design above. We have replaced the bobbin lace pillow with a stand and hooped fabric. This time she is sitting on a chair instead of a stool.

We highlight her patterned dress with gold metallic stars, while we work the rest of the pattern in black stranded cotton/floss.

The stand, hoop and chair comprise whole cross stitches. 

Mary - a lace-maker in sepia (1885)

I based Mary, the lace-maker, on a print of an 1885 original. The Honiton Lace Shop in Devon, UK kindly permitted me to convert it into a cross stitch design. 

The result is a large project with an even larger impact! The chart comes on 12 A4 pages plus a key. Please keep in mind that the downloadable cross stitch chart is a large file at just over 26mb.

We stitch her in 8 shades of brown and cream DMC thread, with not a single backstitch! You won't need to use fractional stitches in this design.

Design size: 13.85 inches x 21.33 inches (35.2cm x 54.2cm)

Downloadable Chart - £6.99