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After the last year of lockdowns and quarantines, it seems that the whole world has cabin fever. And while you might not be ready to hop on a cruise ship or fly out of the country, you might want to take a little road trip to visit family, or rent a cottage by the beach for a change of scenery. With summer around the corner, getting away, even for just a few days, is good for our mental health and it’s even more fun when you can take along hobbies that you enjoy.
If you’ve ever done a quick Google search for crafts to travel with, embroidery (and cross stitch) are pretty high on the list! Embroidery projects are great to take on the go precisely because they are so portable and compact. If you’re ready to hit the road and take some stitching with you, here are some tips to help you make the most of your crafty time!
Make a list.
Making a good packing list is always an excellent place to start before traveling, even if it’s just for a long weekend. Plus, there’s nothing worse than forgetting something important that isn’t easy to replace when you are away from home. Here I’ve saved the work for you by making this Embroidery Project Packing List that you can download and print as you prep whatever projects you want to bring along.
Prepare what you can before you leave home.
There’s no need to pack more than you need to (unless you really want to, of course!) But if space is at a premium on your trip, take the time to prep your project at home so you can jump into the fun stuff once you’re on vacation. These steps might include things like:
Cutting your fabric to size
Pressing your fabric and stretching it in your hoop
Transferring your pattern so you don’t have to take pens or other transfer supplies along
Selecting all the thread colors you need
Winding thread on bobbins so it’s ready for your use
Pre-threading and storing your needles in this cool threaded needle case tool from Clover
Hold on to those needles!
Misplacing a needle when stitching is always a little anxiety-producing and it’s about 100 times worse when you’re in a moving vehicle or going from place to place! Traveling is a really good time to invest in tools that will keep your needles secure when you’re not using them. This might look like creating a felt needle book, picking up a magnetic needle case, and definitely investing in a magnetic needle minder for when you are actively stitching. When you are finished stitching, put your needle back securely in its case so it doesn’t accidentally get knocked off of your embroidery project.
Make a felt needle book to keep your needles organized and secure.
Keep everything in one place.
Once you have all of your project supplies gathered, you’ll need a place to store them where everything is together and you can easily grab what you need. This storage could be as simple as a zip-top plastic bag, or something with more pockets and compartments such as DMC’s StitchBow™ Mini Needlework Travel Bag or regular-sized Needlework Travel Bag which corresponds with their StitchBow™ floss organizing system.
I love my embroidery project bag!
If you have several projects and want to have room for more supplies, you could even try this embroidery project bag. I recently picked one of these up for a week-long visit with my family and I love it! It’s a bit like a glorified laptop bag with lots of great pockets for my favorite embroidery books, hoops, a thread storage case, fabric and lots of other supplies. I love tossing this in the car and having a number of different stitching projects to choose from depending on what I’m in the mood for! (Here’s a video of all I’m able to fit in it - plus room for more!)
Choose an all-in-one option.
If gathering all of these supplies isn’t something you have the time for, select an embroidery kit to dive into instead. Embroidery kits generally come with all of the supplies you could need, except for maybe a small pair of scissors or a needle threader. Selecting a kit will save you a lot of the prep steps above and you can just get to the fun part: stitching!
Don’t have time to gather thread and trace patterns? Try an embroidery kit!
Do what works for you!
The bottom line here is to do what works for you! These are just ideas for you to consider—the most important thing is that you are taking time for self-care and doing something you love while getting out of your house for a bit. Even if you aren’t going on a vacation, packing up your embroidery for a day at the pool or an afternoon in the park is still great fun!