Cross Stitch-A-Long Kits and Patterns
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What Is a Cross Stitch-A-Long?
A stitch-a-long is a project released in instalments rather than all at once. Everyone taking part starts at the same time and works through the same sections on the same schedule. You'll see it written a few different ways, including stitch along, cross stitch along, and SAL for short. They all mean the same thing.
The design is kept secret. You'll know roughly how big the finished piece will be and what colours you're working with, but the picture reveals itself section by section as you stitch. Half the fun is guessing what it's going to turn out to be, and the other half is watching everyone else guess wrong.
You can join with a full cross stitch kit, which comes with the threads and fabric you'll need, or with the pattern on its own if your stash is already well stocked.
How Our Stitch-A-Longs Work
Each stitch-a-long has its own release schedule, set when the project launches. You'll find the dates on the product page before you buy, so you know what you're signing up to.
The process is straightforward:
- Order the kit or the pattern for the stitch-a-long you'd like to join.
- Your supplies arrive in the post. Your pattern doesn't, and that's deliberate.
- On each release date, the next section of the pattern arrives in your inbox as a PDF.
- Stitch that section, then wait for the next one.
- Somewhere near the end, the design finally makes sense.
You can stitch at whatever pace suits you. Nobody is checking. If you fall behind over a busy fortnight, the sections don't expire and you can catch up whenever you like.
One small piece of practical advice: keep everything together. A cross stitch- a-long runs over weeks or months rather than an afternoon, so a project bag with your threads, your fabric and your finished sections in it will save you a lot of hunting about later on.
What's in a Stitch-A-Long Kit
The kits contain everything the rest of our kits contain, with one deliberate exception.
Inside you'll find pre-sorted DMC stranded cotton on a card thread holder, Zweigart or Permin fabric in the count you choose at checkout, a needle, and illustrated instructions. The only thing you'll need to find yourself is a pair of scissors.
As mentioned above, your kit doesn’t arrive with a pattern, but don’t worry - it’s not an oversight. Because the design is a surprise, sending a printed chart would give the whole thing away on day one. Your pattern arrives by email instead, in sections, on the release dates. This is part of what makes a stitch-a-long so exciting.
If you'd rather not buy the supplies, most stitch-a-longs are also available as a pattern only. You'll get the same emailed sections without the threads and fabric.
Why the Patterns Are Digital
We did post printed patterns for stitch-a-longs in the early days, and it didn't work. Printing individual pattern parts and getting them to arrive with everyone on the same day, in different countries, turned out to be far harder than it sounds. Somebody always got theirs a week late, which rather spoils a project built around everyone stitching together.
PDFs solved it. They arrive on the dot, wherever you are. They also turn out to be more useful day to day, because you can read them on a tablet or phone and zoom right in on a fiddly section, which is something a printed chart will never do. If you'd rather work from paper, you can print them at home or take them to a print shop. Plenty of people print each section as it arrives and keep them in a folder, which gives you the best of both.
Can I Join a Stitch-A-Long Late?
Yes, and plenty of people do.
If you join partway through, you'll receive that month's pattern with all the previous parts included, so you're not chasing anything down or emailing us for the bits you missed. You start from the beginning and stitch at your own speed until you catch up, or you don't catch up and stitch it over the following year instead. Either is fine.
This is the question we're asked most often, and the answer really is that relaxed. A stitch along is meant to be something to look forward to, not a deadline. Nobody has ever been thrown out of one for being three sections behind.
Stitching With Everyone Else
The community is the point of a stitch-a-long. Stitching a mystery design on your own would be a slightly odd thing to do.
Most of the conversation happens in our Facebook community, where people post progress photos on release day, compare fabric choices, and speculate wildly about what the finished design might be. It's also where you'll get an answer within minutes if a section isn't making sense, which is worth knowing if you've never done a SAL before and aren't sure whether you've gone wrong or the design just looks odd at this stage. Usually it's the latter.
If you're new to cross stitch and worried a stitch-a-long is too ambitious for a first project, it usually isn't. That said, if you'd rather start with something you can see in full, our beginner cross stitch kits are a gentler first step.
Cross Stitch-A-Long FAQs
What does SAL stand for?
Stitch-a-long. You'll see both used interchangeably, along with "stitch along" written as two words.
Do I get the whole pattern at once?
No. The pattern arrives in sections on set release dates, which is what makes it a stitch-a-long rather than an ordinary kit.
Why isn't there a printed pattern in my kit?
Because the design is a surprise, and a printed chart would reveal it immediately. Pattern sections are emailed to you as PDFs instead.
What if I miss an email?
Get in touch and we'll resend it. It's also worth checking your spam folder and adding our address to your contacts before the first release.
Can I see the finished design before I buy?
Not for a live stitch-a-long, no. That's rather the point. Past stitch-a-longs are often available afterwards as ordinary kits, where you can see exactly what you're getting.
How long does a stitch-a-long last?
The length of time varies hugely across projects and can run anywhere from 4 weeks to a full year.
Do you ship stitch-a-long kits worldwide?
Yes, we currently ship to over 50 countries worldwide so you can join in on a SAL no matter where you are.
Ready to Join a Stitch-A-Long?
Have a look at what's running above. If a stitch-a-long isn't open at the moment, it's worth joining our Facebook community or signing up to emails so you hear when the next one launches.
If you're unsure whether a stitch-a-long is right for you, get in touch and we'll talk you through it.
