DimensionsNeedlepoint Kit, Hydrangea Bloom, 14" x 14"

I read a lot of comments about the fact it’s hard to decipher the colour blocks and that you need to be careful with the amount of wool you have to work with. I’ll keep my stitches simple and so far, I don’t find the canvas coding to be a problem. For the price, it’s a good kit.

I have finnally finished this needlepoint. It was very time comsuming but worth the effort. It turned out very nice. the yarn is pre sorted and labeled so that made it much easier to get started. There were a lot of similar colors so it may not be for a beginner.

This is a review of the Hydrangea Bloom needlepoint kit.Kit comes with 3 ply tapestry wool (sorted out), needle, paper schematic map of canvas, interlock canvas with design printed atop and brief instructions.Kit is worked in tent stitch (half cross), but kit provides enough yarn to do it in continental style or basketweave (background areas mostly) which gives a nice heavy coverage on the back side for durability. There are also double French knot accents.Cons:Very difficult to see the highly detailed areas on the canvas in order to discern the small color blocks. Mostly in upper right hand bloom. Solution: I scanned the black/white schematic map and superimposed a 172 x 168 square grid atop using markup R-XP cross stitch software. (Really inexpensive I pad or iPhone app available on the App Store) You can likely overlay a grid using Photoshop as well.Quality of the interlock is poor but you get what you pay for.Pros:The color palette of the yarns is beautiful. On par I would say with Ehrman or Elizabeth Bradley palettes (31 colors). No garish, tacky shades here.The yarn is just slightly fuzzier than the old 3 ply Paternayan (now Colonial) but in general very comparable. Coverage with 2 strands on this 12 mesh is great. I prefer the smoothness of a non divisible wool like Appleton or DMC. However for this amount of yarn you would pay twice the kit price or more.Wishes:I wish that Dimensions would properly chart their needlepoint designs out similar to higher end needlepoint books or cross stitch charts an include that along with the blotchy schematic. Not that costly to add a sheet with a proper chart. I would simply prefer to count the design out as opposed to trying to make out the color blotches.Conclusion:Worth the kit cost. Avoid it if you are not willing to chart it out for yourself or you have trouble seeing.Update:After working with this for a few weeks I would suggest that you photo the color photo on the package then blow it up on your phone or pad in order to see the stitches in the difficult areas. The grid I suggested above is just too cumbersome and not as accurate as just counting from the enlarged photo where you can see the stitches. Also be very careful about yarn usage. They are cutting it extremely close with the yarn supplied. Honestly I wish DIMENSIONS would have charged 10% more and been slightly more generous with the yarn. I’m a frugal stitcher and am finding it difficult to not run out.

This is lovely. The way they have the color code set up is very nice. However, I didn't seperate the yarn as indicated, and found I was running low. I called the company to see if I could BUY more. I received horrible customer service, even though the instructions say to call to order more yarn. He said he could give me the stock #'s for a type of yarn to buy at Michaels or JoAnnes, but I know this thread to be very thin, and glossy. The service rep finally, with total frustration, said he would mail me "a few strands." I've yet to see them. So the bottom half will be a matte finish, and the top half, glossy!I bought two needlepoints from this company, at the same time. I won't be buying anymore.

Very happy with this purchase. I have never done needlepoint before. It was a bit of a challenge, but definitely not difficult. I found it best to highlight the chart as I completed areas so I didn't get "lost". This was fun to do and took me less time to do than I thought it would. In fact, my mother loved it so much, I'm an doing another one for her for her birthday. There is plenty of yarn and everything is clearly marked. The only negative thing I can say is that the printed meshes were a little "off" square, but all I had to do was do a few extra rows to "straighten" it out. The edges are hidden once in the frame anyway. The suggestion is to make a pillow, but after working on this, I personally felt that putting it in a frame was much better way to go. I couldn't see this falling on the floor or someone actually sitting on it or using it as a pillow!! I have since done several other Dimension Needlepoint kits (six 5" x 5"). All came out great. This company does put out a great product at a reasonable price.

This canvas was challenging but well worth the effort and the attention to detail. The colors are vibrant and I will be very proud to display the finished piece.