Grow Your Own

The Aida comes with the speckled background already printed, echoing the splashes of paint in Hannah Dale's watercolours: the specks are part of the picture and are not stitched, so the finished piece keeps the soft look of the original illustration. It is worked in counted cross stitch from the chart, with a little backstitch to pick out whiskers, leaves and outlines.

The threads arrive sorted and bundled on an organiser, so you can start straight away instead of matching shade numbers. You will also want a hoop or frame and a small pair of scissors; the picture frame is not included and can be chosen once the work is done, in a square format. A good project if you already have some cross stitch practice on a printed ground.