We’re Sandy and Kirsty, a mother-daughter team in Brisbane, Australia. We make small, finishable cross stitch patterns and stitching tools, because we know the best part isn’t just the stitching, it’s the finishing.
We’re also massive nerds. Sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, tech – if it’s got a spaceship, a dragon, a spinosaurus or a really satisfying spreadsheet, we’re in.
Our Story
I’m Sandy. Cross stitch found me nearly 40 years ago, on a walk with my 3-month-old baby after dropping my toddler at kindy. I was a newly full-time mum in a new city where we’d moved for my husband’s job. I knew no one, and I was immensely sad after the sudden death of my eldest brother in the North Sea, on the other side of the world.
That day, a display of cross stitch patterns and threads in the window of Lincraft caught my eye. I literally couldn’t walk past them. The precision, vibrancy, and intricate details spoke to my sad soul.
I went in and came out with my first cross stitch book, a small piece of linen, and just enough thread to stitch one letter of my daughter’s name. Hey I had a young family, we didn’t have a lot of spare cash!
I’d been a sewist for years, so this was just another needle craft, right?
Hah!
Cross stitch became more than a hobby. It was a peaceful escape that I could get lost in for the moments while my toddler was at kindy and my baby was sleeping. I didn’t know then that crafts like this have real mental and emotional health benefits. I just knew my whole self kind of calmed down for whatever minutes I could get lost in it.
I went on to design my own patterns, then kits for a couple of shops, and eventually to our Etsy shop and this website.
I remember the joy of finishing a design. That’s why so many of our patterns are small, so you can feel that too.
The Team
Sandy brings 40 years of stitching and 20 years of design experience to every pattern, plus a minor obsession with tweaking charts until every single square is right.
Kirsty, who was that 3-month-old baby when cross stitch popped up, is now the co-creator of Lost In Cross Stitch. Data analyst by trade, gamer and crocheter by choice, with a truly wicked sense of humour. She’s the one who dreams up half our ideas, designs alongside Sandy, and makes sure every chart is clear, logical, and a pleasure to stitch. If there’s an error in a grid, she will find it. It’s basically a personal quest.
Together, we don’t just design patterns. We stitch them, test them, and fuss over them until they’re right.
Why our charts are different
We believe a pattern should be as relaxing to stitch as the finished piece is beautiful to look at.
Every pattern is designed and checked by Kirsty and Sandy, so it stitches up like the picture. If you’ve ever bought a pattern that looked nothing like its photo, our guide to spotting a fake cross stitch pattern shows what to look for.
- Every square is manually reviewed to manage orphan stitches and confetti
- Thread palettes are hand-selected so your work looks brilliant
- Every grid is mathematically checked: distinct symbols, no errors
- We don’t do pattern-mill charts. We create pieces we’d be proud to spend 40 hours stitching ourselves
- We also make a range of printables and tools — things we’ve needed for our own stitching, like DMC floss inventories and project organisers. You can find those here.We manually review every square to manage “orphan stitches” (confetti) and hand-select DMC palettes so your work looks brilliant.
We also make a range of printables and tools, things we’ve needed for our own stitching, like DMC floss inventories and project organisers. You can find those here.
Like to ask us something?
Say Hello
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Or get in touch through our contact form. When you message us, you’re talking directly to us. And yes, we still do a little happy dance with every order.
