Recommended for first purchases.
Cross stitch has been around for centuries. It is the kind of craft your grandmother did, your mother maybe did, and now it has made a full comeback with ironic sayings and pixel art patterns. Sticker by number is the new kid on the block doing something surprisingly similar: building images one small unit at a time. If you are trying to choose between them, here is an honest look at where each one shines.
Let's be real: cross stitch takes forever. A medium-complexity pattern can take 40 to 100+ hours. Some people love that. It becomes a meditative long-term project. But if you want that same "building a picture one piece at a time" satisfaction in a fraction of the time, a sticker by number canvas like the Morning Mountains Canvas ($35 USD) delivers a comparable result in 6 to 10 hours.
Cross stitch has a learning curve. You need to learn the basic stitch, understand thread count, figure out how to start and end threads cleanly, and develop the tension control that comes with practice. Sticker by number requires exactly one skill: matching numbers. Peel sticker number 7, place it on spot number 7. If you can do that, your finished piece will look identical to everyone else's. No practice required.
"It was so easy to do and very relaxing. The quality of the art and the stickers are amazing. I highly recommend this to anyone new to this activity." (cloud7777)
Cross stitch is reasonably portable. You need a hoop, needle, thread, and your pattern. Sticker by number is even simpler: a flat sheet and a sticker page. No needles, no thread tangles, no tiny scissors. Something like the Cherry Blossom Picnic Sticker Sheet ($16 USD) is thin enough to slide into a notebook or bag and work on anywhere.
Cross stitch produces a fabric piece with genuine handmade texture. It has a warmth to it that is undeniably charming. Sticker by number produces a glossy, crisp, vibrant piece that looks more like a print or a digital illustration. Both are beautiful in completely different ways. Cross stitch says "I made this by hand over many months." Sticker by number says "I built this and it looks like professional art."
A quality cross stitch kit with fabric, threads, and a pattern runs anywhere from $15 to $50+, and you often need extra supplies: hoops, frames, better needles. Sticker by number kits come with everything you need. A Frog Desk Friend starts at just $10 USD, and even our largest canvases are under $38 USD. No extra purchases required.
This is where the two crafts really diverge. In cross stitch, a mistake means carefully unpicking stitches (or living with it and pretending it is "character"). In sticker by number, if you place a sticker wrong, you peel it off and reposition it. The stickers are designed to be forgiving. There is basically no penalty for making a mistake, which makes the entire experience far less stressful.
Absolutely. A lot of our customers are cross stitch fans who picked up sticker by number as a complementary hobby. Cross stitch for the long, meditative projects. Sticker by number for the evenings when they want to create something but do not want to count threads. They scratch similar creative itches in very different ways. Try a Lavender Cosmos Sticker Sheet ($10 USD) as a quick starter project between your bigger cross stitch pieces.
If you love the process of stitching, the texture of thread on fabric, and you are happy investing dozens of hours into a single piece, cross stitch is a wonderful craft and we genuinely respect it. If you want something faster, easier, and with a finished product that looks sharp with zero experience, sticker by number is the clear winner for most people. Browse our full collection to see what catches your eye.
All orders ship from our Raleigh, NC studio. We would love to see what you build. Tag us when you finish your kit!
