which is cheaper? Needlepoint kit versus separate items

hi - I find it's much cheaper to use separate items, but you have to have a decent pattern or design in mind beforehand.

As for kits, I have usually run out of the background color, had to write or call the company and then sweat getting enuf. (See my thread about Bucilla sending me one stinkin' strand one time and having to fudge it in). And, you won't see your work everywhere if you design your own. It's more satisfying to think you have a only-one-in-the-world item, esp. if it's a gift.

I probably have enough of a leftover stash now to do some major projects. I also have a lot of canvas scraps too - last time I bought it, they wudn't sell me less than a yard.

There are lots of charts out there now in xs magazines etc - plus library books. I would strongly advise, tho, that you have the chart blown up at a copy shop - easier to read and you can mark it as you go. I like orange pencil best.

Val

That never happens with a Beth Russell kit; plenty for the background....Erica Wilson too.

You definitely get what you pay for. IMO, buying the monodeluxe canvas with a good pattern and wool all separately is the way to go. If making rugs or chair pads, Blueline canvas is more sturdy.

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

Well, it depends. Cheaper is not always better, and the suitability of the materials should be the first consideration. If I can't find the materials anywhere except in the kit I'm more likely to buy the kit. Patterns seem to be a common determining factor. However, when buying kits, shipping and exchange rates often become a consideration, at least in my case. Good kits that I would care to make don't seem to be available locally.

You also have to consider that when buying materials separately for a project there is going to be a certain amount of waste and excess of materials. If this is being used in planning future projects, then that brings the cost down. Otherwise, no.

Dora

Hi Miss G

It really depends on how much of that type of work you do.

The kits are cheaper IF you don't run out of what is supplied in the kits and have to try and replace what is missing.

However, if you regularly do that kind of work, which means you would have a use for the overage in other like projects. Then it is cheaper and more importantly, less frustrating, to buy your items separately.

What I have found with most kits, even the hi-end expensive kits, is that the backing material is usually smaller than I like to work with. The floss packets are not often clearly marked to determine which colors go with which symbols. And because I DO cover the whole backing with floss, there is NEVER floss provided for this purpose. On the few kits that did supply the floss, they only supplied half of what was needed for full-cross stitches.

I rarely work from store bought patterns, prefer to design my own. However, my wife loves the bought patterns, but she more often than not changes the colors of certain stitches to blend with the decor of the room the item will be hung or used. So a good portion of what was supplied in the kit goes unused and never exactly matches the dye lots of what is in her stash.

TTUL Gary

I'll add my pennies. I think a small kit is the best thing to do when you are trying a new technique and wouldn't already have a lot of the necessary materials in stash. If you decide you don't like the technique, you aren't stuck with a bunch of leftovers.

Kits are also convenient if you have no way to get materials locally. I did this a lot in college because I didn't have transportation. Mail order causes problems if you have to order the pattern by mail and wait for it to arrive before you can make up the materials list. Then you have to wait some more for all the materials to arrive. You can easily waste 3 months before you get to place a single stitch. [By that time a new semester had started and instead of a 12-credit courseload with plenty of stitching time I had 18-credits and a job so no free time!!!]

That said, I really like designers who will kit up the hard-to-find or costlier fibers and beads that go with a chart but let you pick your own fabric (keeping in mind it must be of a certain size) and "common" fibers. It is a good compromise so you aren't stuck buying 500 beads when you only need 3 or several yards of silk when you are only going to use a couple of inches.

-- Brenda

I just finished a project by Canvas Creations:

This project not shown here. Ibought it at the Reagan Library. It is Nancy Reagan's Favorite Flower, "ThePeony". It is done in basketweave stitch. I had more than half done anddidn't like the way it looked, my stitching. So removed all the stitchingand started over. I didn't think I would have enough wool to redo it, soordered just the wool. I finished it a few days ago, and didn't use any ofthe new wool. Susanne