Tip 7 - Comparing embellished and stamped cross stitch kits

Embellished or printed kits: The entire picture is printed in beautiful color on evenweave fabric. The stitcher decorates the printed work with cross stitch, free embroidery, metallic threads and such. Whether to work a printed piece is a personal matter, and it does require a certain flexibility and willingness to "bend the rules" - you may need to add a stitch here or there to get it to match the chart. Or just go wild and add all the color you like! Don't let early experience with bad printed art stop you. Give it a try, perhaps with one of the small 8x10 pieces. If you like it, try a bigger one.

Stamped kits are different. Typically these are printed on cotton (shirting weight) and not on an evenweave. The design is stamped in "X's" that you stitch right over. Usually the X's are in blue. These are a bit more forgiving, and many of us learned on these X stamp designs as children. After falling into disfavor, we're starting to see more of the stamped kits from a number of manufacturers.

	This picture is from the Kinkade leaflet. The kit for this design is fully charted and does not have any painting on the fabric.
	This design is so subtle! You could only get that by having the difficult sky and water printed on. You decorate the leaves, add metallic highlights, outline buildings, etc.
	Embellished cross-stitch kits typically include charts to tell you what stitch goes where, but with printed designs you have to be willing to wing it a little. A picture being printed a mere half-stitch off can affect your entire design. To avoid giving yourself a migraine, think of instructions for stamped kits as "suggestions." No one will notice an extra stitch here and there. Enjoy!