Bucilla WM46433 Mermaid Cross Stitch Review

This is a cute design but it is not intended as a starter kit as advertised. The very first stitch and a number of other stitches in the kit are quarter stitches which are difficult to make, especially on the very stiff Aida fabric that comes with the kit. I have done a lot of cross stitch and quarter stitch is not that common in my experience.

The blue frame is just a frame, not a real embroidery frame. The "instructions" are on the back of the plastic covered image so you can't mark what you did. And in fact there isn't even a guide, nothing more than "insert needle and go". The chart is also difficult to read. Nice design, but absolutely NOT for beginners. I bought some for myself which are more suitable for beginners.

I think it turned out really cute. I use it in my mermaid style bathroom. Keep in mind that this is NOT a good kit for beginners unless someone leads them. The instructions are not detailed enough for a beginner and there are quarter stitches, french knots and lots of reverse stitches. The 14ct fabric may be a bit small for little fingers if used to teach cross stitch to a younger child. The frame I used (shown in the photo) is not the one that comes with the kit.

My 10 year old daughter was interested in cross stitch so I chose this kit for her. Remember - this is really a counted cross stitch kit. This is not printed on canvas. The kit is amazing. It has canvas, thread, needle, backing and a frame for hanging. There is no hoop, but the canvas can be 4 inches by 4 inches, so you don't really need one. My only complaint is that the instructions really suck, especially for the starter kit. They are in 3 languages (good) but don't explain very well (bad)…

Not worth it! The only one I used was a chart I could easily find online. I paid 25 dll for the graphics (I bought 2) and I had to replace the hoop and floss. I bought 2 sets to teach my niece and she was able to follow me. Instead of a standard embroidery hoop, a single plastic ring is used with a piece of round cardboard to hold the fabric in place. Cardboard is too thin to hold stiff fabric. I had to buy a separate set of wooden hoops. When we started, I couldn't untie the embroidery thread.