From Stitch by Stitch to Stitches by the Second

We built our world one tiny stitch at a time.

Cross stitch was—and still is—our first love. It’s slow. It’s meditative. It’s filled with little surprises (like how a single misplaced X somehow gives your cat pattern evil gremlin eyes). It taught us to love the process more than the perfection.

But then one day, we said it:

“What would happen if we machine embroidered one of our puppy patterns?”

We laughed.
We shrugged.
We plugged in the machine.

And just like that, a new creative rabbit hole opened up.

The Spark: Curiosity, Always

This wasn’t about efficiency. It wasn’t about scaling. It wasn’t even about finishing things faster.

It was about curiosity.

Could our soft watercolor-style blends translate into thread?
Would our quirky patterns hold up to high-speed stitching?
Could we find the same playfulness, humor, and chaos we love in cross stitch… in machine embroidery?

Spoiler: Yes.
Also, sort of.
Also, in totally unexpected ways.

It’s Not the Same (and That’s the Point)

Here’s the truth: machine embroidery doesn’t feel like cross stitch.

It’s faster, louder, and full of new tools to learn (hello, stabilizers and bobbin tension). It’s a little more chaotic. A little more technical. And—if we’re honest—a little bit intimidating at first.

But once we got past the learning curve, we started to see something familiar.

There was still color theory.
There was still fabric texture.
There were still happy accidents (read: misfires and tangles and “why is it doing that?” moments).
There was still story and softness and soul.

It turns out: we didn’t leave cross stitch behind.
We just found another way to speak its language.

Our First Attempt (Was Hilarious)

One of the first pieces we tried was a basset hound in a birthday hat—because of course it was.

We digitized the design, loaded the machine, and hit start.
It jammed.
It beeped.
The hoop flung itself across the table.
The thread broke.
The basset was decapitated.

We laughed so hard we cried.

We finished the piece anyway. And now we’re reworking the design to intentionally incorporate the tear—because obviously the basset hound saw something offscreen and launched itself at it.

That chaotic energy? That’s very Pattern Crafters.

So Why Machine Embroidery?

Because it’s exciting.
Because it stretches us.
Because it lets us bring the same playful spirit into new formats—like patches, gifts, and fast-finish pieces for people who don’t want to stitch for 18 hours straight.

We’re not giving up cross stitch. We’d never.

We’re just building a bigger creative playground, with more swings, more colors, and yes, more machines.

What’s Coming Next

We’re working behind the scenes to release some of our favorite designs (like our watercolor heart series) as machine embroidery files, formatted for:

• 4x4 and 5x7 hoops

• Patch-ready projects

• Hoop art and soft goods

• Messy fun with clean outlines

And because we love you, we’re offering a free mini embroidery file for newsletter subscribers, plus 15% off your first embroidery pattern when you join.

Let’s Keep Stitching—No Matter the Speed

We believe crafting should be joyful, weird, and accessible. Whether you stitch by hand or machine, what matters most is that it feels like you.

So if you’re feeling machine-curious, nervous, or just wildly intrigued, come hang out with us.

We’re learning as we go, and we’re loving what’s possible.