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Casio F-91W Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan 10 Oct 2:21 AM (yesterday, 2:21 am)

Title: Casio F-91W
Date Completed: August 2026
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 20
Canvas: Black
Colours: 7
Pop Culture: Japan & Watches

Considering the size of this cross stitch, it sure took a long time to stitch!
But without spoiling the story, let’s go back to the start; with me scrolling on Instagram.

One of my favorite cross stitchers is ksclark, another male cross stitcher who mostly stitches on vinyl fabric. Specifically, he tends to stitch a lot of wrestling belts.
Now, this isn’t my interest at all, but I’m always in love with the concept. So I thought I would take on his style for a cross stitch.

What I didn’t realise is that at the same time, he was kind of taking on my style of 3D cross stitch, making his own N64 cartridge:

 
However, I was unaware of this.
I looked at what he was doing and decided that maybe I should combine it with another cross stitch of mine, my Last Of Us cross stitch watch. This was a great cross stitch at the time, but there were problems;

• It was overly large
• The strap was felt (not useful for wearing
• It didn’t look enough like a real watch

So, I went into the pattern phase!
I quickly ruled out vinyl aida, which is what ksclark uses, and went for standard aida. But in order to get the look and the scale I wanted, I needed to source 20 count!
Thankfully I found some without having to resort to dying my own aida again, and scaled my second favorite watch, the Casio F-91W to fit perfectly.

 
However, when stitching, I quickly finished off the black, the colors, and just needed one more dark grey to complete it.
And then I fell out of love with DMC 3799.

I’ve used this thread in the past a lot, but for this project, it just wasn’t dark enough.
This led me onto a whole process of finding a darker DMC dark grey thread, leading me to Cosmo’s 601. However getting hold of the brand in the UK can be a challenge, so for the first time in a long time, I had to use a store not on my list of great cross stitch stores.
And let’s just say there is a reason it wasn’t included in the list!

After a long old time, three deliveries, and half a dozen tracking codes, I finally got the threads I needed and could complete my cross stitch!

 
I’m personally very happy with this one, and I think it would be a fine addition to ksclark’s collection of belts!
 
Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan

 

The post Casio F-91W Cross Stitch by Lord Libidan appeared first on Lord Libidan.

The Dark Side of Cross Stitch: Gothic, Witchy & Spooky Books 6 Oct 2:59 AM (5 days ago)

Cross stitch has a reputation for being traditional, twee, and wholesome. The flower patterns, the samplers, the cute animals. I do like these, but some people don’t. And it doesn’t have to be like that.

There is another side to cross stitch. One that is growing month by month, in the face of current trends like cottagecore. One filled with skeletons, ghosts, witches, death, gothic architecture, medieval imagery, strange animals, occult symbolism, and generally weird stuff. And I am SO there for it.

Gothic, witchy, macabre, historical and downright weird cross stitch isn’t just a niche curiosity anymore. There is clearly a market for it. Publishers are repeatedly producing entire pattern books around the aesthetic, all of which gain massive positive buzz and great reviews on places like Amazon.

 

Why Is Weird Cross Stitch So Popular?

With all the trends, pattern types, popular IPs, all the small designers, big designers, and everyone in between, does the weird and dark seem to be doing so well right now?

It Escaped The Sampler

For a long time, the public perception of cross stitch seemed to be tied to the traditional sampler. As time went on, the “three patterns” of the early 2000s opened this up slightly, but modern cross stitch took it to a new extreme, offering anything you might desire in cross stitch form.

And I mean that too. Cross stitch isn’t about stitching something specific; it works if you’re stitching home sweet home or a skeleton riding a bat through a haunted forest that’s glitching out.

But actually, there are a few things that make the weird and macabre particularly popular.

It Makes Dark Things Cosy

We mentioned the cottagecore trend at the moment, but actually, the true point of that trend is making something cosy. And the dark does something like that too.
This isn’t a case of a scary skeleton that makes you want to hide; this is a case of making a fun skeleton making a bones joke, or a little cute ghost.

There is something inherently funny about taking something traditionally associated with darkness and horror and turning it into a little handmade textile object.
To take cross stitch, the cutest of cute hobbies, and turn it a bit dark and dangerous.

And it helps that there are just so many dark things that can be turned cute!
Horror is getting another boost right now, but so is cute horror!

People Want Weird

Millennial Grey anyone? My house is full of it. And it’s boring.
The same can be said for your hobby. In fact, putting up cross stitch on millennial grey is a great way to fix the boring walls!

But this is the one thing I’m most proud of when it comes to cross stitch; you can turn it into anything, but there are people out there who already have.

Pull up Etsy, and you can find patterns for horror, witchcraft, folklore, medieval history, occult, dark academia, and anything gothic you can imagine!
Cross stitch has finally gone from being a hobby of a select few patterns and into something anyone can join, yet still feel like it’s their hobby.

And people love it!
There is actually a trend right now on /r/crossstitch where people share their creepy cross stitch walls!

The Best Creepy Cross Stitch Book Right Now

There are LOADS of books out there right now about this. From Creepy cross stitch, to Witchy Sttiching and everything inbetween, I’m sure you’ll find the book you want.

There is something out there for you. However, we do have a hot favorite right now:

 
However, if you’re just dipping your toes into the world of the weird, maybe the Cross Stitch Cabinet Of Curiosities is more your bag.

Why Does Unusual Cross Stitch Work?

I’ve picked the dark and spooky cross stitch for this post, but that doesn’t mean this is the only weird pattern topic trending right now. From just plain weird to unusual subjects or even weird finishing, there are bigger audiences out there for your cross stitch dreams than you might think.

There will always be people who want to stitch flowers, samplers and cute animals. But there are also stitchers who want ravens, skeletons, witches, medieval monsters and things that probably shouldn’t be hanging on the wall of a nursery.

And judging by the growing number of books, patterns and designers catering to them, they’re not exactly struggling to find something to stitch.

Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan

The post The Dark Side of Cross Stitch: Gothic, Witchy & Spooky Books appeared first on Lord Libidan.