Cross Stitch Charts

Modern Folk Embroidery was founded by Jacob de Graaf in 2011.

Jacob grew up in the Northern province of Friesland in the Netherlands. At a young age, he learned to knit, sew, crochet and embroider. His love for textile art gave way to a love for fine art.

For years, he ran a small art gallery after graduating from the School of Fine Arts in Kampen, and eventually rekindled his love for textiles arts.

Jacob settled on the name Modern Folk Embroidery as he wanted to create new designs for modern people – that they could display in both traditional and very modern houses. Jacob liked the fact that folk both refers to folklore and to people. In a way his patterns could be seen as neo-folklore patterns for modern folks.

Recently, he has started charting reproduction patterns from his collection of antique samplers.

Michelle and Wade are the team behind Bendy Stitchy Designs!

Michelle has had a love of needlework since she stitched on her first pillowcase under her grandma’s watchful eye at age six (it was the 80s). Since college, she has been an avid cross stitcher and has recently taken the plunge into design.

"Designing allows me not only to experience this community in a new way but also to share some of the ideas rattling around in my head. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a good justification for my constant stream of antique cross stitch purchases either.

I hope you enjoy my special kind of primsical stitching and I can’t wait to take you on this adventure with me."

"Speaking of adventures, none of mine would be complete without my IT Department, COO, and best friend. Wade is the mastermind behind the constant improvements on our Flosstube channel, as he’s never met a setting that he doesn’t like to tinker with. Also look for his special touches, from spiders to color choices, in many of the Bendy Stitchy Designs."

Krista West, designer of Avlea Folk Embroidery, delights in bringing ancient beauty to the modern world with embroidery designs inspired by traditional Mediterranean folk textiles.

She has worked as a specialty tailor to Greek Orthodox churches for over two decades and it was on a trip to Greece that she discovered Greek folk embroidery and fell in love, first stitching embroideries for her own home and then launching Avlea Folk Embroidery in 2017.

She happily spends her days tailoring and designing in the workshop of her 1923 home in Salem, Oregon. Her articles and projects have been featured in Taproot Magazine, the Embroiderer's Guild of America's NeedleArts magazine, and Just CrossStitch magazine.

Mary founded Canadian Stitchery in 2016. Her mom taught her to stitch when she was a girl under the big Alberta sky. When she returned to the craft as a young professional, however, she couldn't find any patterns that spoke to her. Everything was too old-fashioned or cutesy.

Then along came Pinterest, and with it a surge in the popularity of cross stitching. Suddenly, modern designs were available — from the political to the salty and sassy, and everything in between.

She grabbed a pad of graph paper and started sketching her own patterns with pencil crayons. Creating her own designs was so empowering. Soon, she graduated to an online stitch program, and then to Adobe Illustrator. When she learned how to laser cut her designs into sustainable wood, that was it. Canadian Stitchery was born in her Toronto living room.

Such a thrill comes from sharing this beloved craft with others. When she's not stitching, she juggles two day jobs, two children, a cat who's starved for attention and a dog who's starving for anything at all. You can drop her a line at canadianstitchery@gmail.com