Just Nippin' Out

A red hermit crab peering out of its spiral shell, drawn in Hannah Dale's watercolour style. The blue splashes of the background are already printed on the fabric, so only the crab itself is stitched and the piece grows faster than its square format suggests.

It is worked in full cross stitch, with a few fractional stitches, backstitch outlines and two French knots: some experience with counted charts helps, but nothing here is tricky. The threads come sorted by colour on a card organiser, so you can start straight away; alongside the kit it is worth having a hoop or frame and small embroidery scissors. The frame shown is not included.