Meet Our New Dinosaur Stitched Shapes – 8 Fun Designs to Stitch!

 Meet Our New Dinosaur Stitched Shapes – 8 Fun Designs to Stitch! 🦕🦖

There's something prehistoric happening at Arlene's Crafts!

We're delighted to introduce our NEW Dinosaur Stitched Shapes Collection, featuring eight colourful dinosaur designs just waiting to be stitched.

A Fun Way to Learn Through Creativity

Our Stitched Shapes are reusable, 3D-printed stitching activities designed to encourage children to explore the wonderful world of sewing and lacing.

As children thread their needles through the holes, they're developing valuable skills, including:

• Hand-eye coordination

• Fine motor skills

• Concentration and patience

• Creativity and confidence

And best of all, they get to enjoy making something themselves!

Eight Dinosaurs to Discover!

Whether your little one loves a mighty T-Rex, a friendly Triceratops or a long-necked Brachiosaurus, there's a dinosaur waiting to become their next stitching adventure.

Each shape can be stitched in different colours and patterns, then unstitched and enjoyed again.

Watch Our Dinosaurs Come to Life! 🎥

We've put together a short video showing how our Dinosaur Stitched Shapes work.

Watch as a dinosaur is stitched, one hole at a time, and discover how much fun these little activities can be!

Shop Our Dinosaur Stitched Shapes 🛍️

Can't make it to the markets? You can explore our Stitched Shapes collection online!

Choose your favourite dinosaurs or mix and match designs from our other collections to create your own stitching adventure.

Shop directly with Arlene's Crafts on Square Online:

https://arlenes-crafts.square.site/

Or visit our Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArlenesCraftsShop

There's plenty more to discover, including our beautiful Christmas Elegance ornaments, embroidery kits and tutorials.

Come and Try Them at Oakey Markets!

We'll be bringing our new Dinosaur Collection to Oakey Markets on Sunday, 15 November 2026, from 8 am to 12 noon.

Children are welcome to try stitching at our stall, and we'll have plenty of other Stitched Shapes designs to explore.

You'll also find our beautiful 3D-printed Christmas Elegance ornaments, embroidery kits and tutorials — perfect for creative Christmas gift ideas.

We'd love to see you there!

💕 Arlene's Crafts – Creating, Stitching and Inspiring!

Something Old, Something New – My Embroidery Tutorials Are Back!

Hello everyone! 🌸

It's been a busy and exciting few weeks here at Arlene's Crafts, and today I have something special to share with you.

My printed embroidery tutorials are back!

Over the years, I've designed and created many embroidery projects, exploring everything from traditional Goldwork and Stumpwork to Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Surface Embroidery and Christmas decorations.

Recently, I've been spending time revisiting some of those original designs, preparing them as printed tutorials so that others can enjoy making them too.

There's something rather lovely about bringing an older design back to life, especially when it reminds you of the enjoyment you had creating it in the first place.

A Little Bit of Everything!

My growing collection of printed tutorials includes:

• Goldwork Beetle – a beautiful project exploring traditional goldwork techniques.

• Vintage Stumpwork Beetles – dimensional embroidery with lots of character.

• Golden Wattle – inspired by one of Australia's beautiful native flowers.

• Surface Embroidery Gecko – a colourful embroidery project.

• Silk Ribbon Embroidered Bookmark – a lovely introduction to working with silk ribbons.

• The Amazing Needle Case – something both beautiful and practical.

• Victorian Christmas Boot – a delightful festive embroidery project.

• Chevron Folded Christmas Ornament – a decorative Christmas project.

• Folded Ribbon Christmas Bauble – another lovely addition to your handmade Christmas decorations.

• Crazy Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt – a festive project combining beautiful fabrics and decorative stitching.

Whether you enjoy traditional embroidery techniques, love creating Christmas decorations or simply want to try something different, I hope you'll find a project that inspires you.

More Than Just Embroidery!

Of course, embroidery tutorials aren't the only things keeping me busy!

I've also been working on my colourful 3D printed Stitched Shapes, Christmas stitching kits, embroidery accessories and hand-painted wooden heads for MMMCrafts projects.

It's wonderful being able to combine my love of traditional needlework with some of the newer creative possibilities available today.

Come and See Me at Oakey Markets!

I'll be bringing my new printed tutorials, along with a selection of my other craft products, to the Oakey Markets.

If you're in the Oakey or Toowoomba area, I'd love you to come along, say hello and have a look at what I've been creating.

There's nothing quite like meeting fellow crafters, sharing ideas and talking about embroidery!

Come and Explore!

You can browse my growing range of craft supplies, kits and creative projects at:

Arlene's Crafts Online Shop

https://arlenes-crafts.square.site/

And don't forget to join my Facebook group, Arlene's Crafts – Class Discussion Group, where we can share our love of all things creative.

Thank you for following along on my crafting journey and supporting my little business.

Until next time, happy stitching! 🧵💕

Arlene

Arlene's Crafts – Stitch ♥ Create ♥ Be Inspired

Christmas Has Arrived at Arlene’s Crafts – New Stitching Kits for 2026

 🎄 The Christmas Collection is here!

Christmas crafting has begun at Arlene’s Crafts, and this year there are several new ways to stitch, create and decorate for the festive season.

I've been busy designing and making a new collection of stitchable Christmas projects, including Christmas Gift Tag Kits, Christmas Ornament Kits, and the My Christmas Wreath – 25-Day Stitch & Create Advent Calendar.

Christmas Gift Tag Stitching Kits

Add something handmade to your Christmas presents with reusable stitchable gift tags. Choose your designs, stitch them in your own style and use them to finish your Christmas wrapping.

Christmas Ornament Stitching Kit

Create your own collection of colourful stitched decorations for the Christmas tree. The ornaments can be kept simple for beginners or decorated with more detailed stitching if you want to get creative.

They're designed to be enjoyed year after year, so once Christmas is over, simply pack them away with your decorations ready for next Christmas.

My Christmas Wreath – 25-Day Stitch & Create Advent Calendar

This is an Advent Calendar with a difference.

Beginning on 1 December, you open one numbered parcel each day, stitch the piece inside and gradually build your own Christmas wreath.

By Christmas Day, you'll have completed a full stitched Christmas wreath to display as part of your Christmas decorations.

🎁 Advent Early Bird Extended!

To celebrate the launch of the new Christmas Collection, I've extended the Advent Calendar Early Bird offer.

Early Bird: $69.95 until 15 October 2026
Regular price: $79.95

Only 20 Advent Calendars will be made for Christmas 2026, with dispatch beginning from 1 November.

There is still more to come from the Arlene's Crafts Christmas range, including our personalised Christmas options, so keep an eye out for those too.

🎄 🧵 🎁

Stitch. Create. Have Fun.

Shop online:
https://arlenes-crafts.square.site/

Visit the Etsy shop:
https://arlenescraftsshop.etsy.com/

Come and See Arlene’s Crafts at the Twilight Markets This Saturday!

 We’re heading to the Twilight Markets in Toowoomba this Saturday, and we’d love you to come and visit Arlene’s Crafts! 🧵✨

We’ll be bringing along a colourful selection of our Stitched Shapes, including lots of individual designs and our Choose Your Own Sets, as well as ABC stitching products, weaving products, threads and accessories.

With Christmas getting closer, we’ll also have some of our Christmas range on display, with plenty of ideas for something a little different for Christmas gifts and stocking fillers. 🎄🎁

If you’ve been following our new Stitched Shapes range online, this is a great opportunity to see them in person, feel them, choose your favourite shapes and colours, and have a chat with us about how they work.

Twilight Markets – This Saturday
📍 Indoor Bowls Club
10 Annand St, Toowoomba

Come along, say hello and have a look at what we’ve been creating!

Arlene’s Crafts
Stitch, Create & Have Fun!

🎉 Our New Arlene’s Crafts Online Shop Is Live!

 I’m very excited to share some big news — the new Arlene’s Crafts online shop is officially live! 🎉

You can now browse the Arlene’s Crafts range all in one place, including Stitched Shapes, ABC Stitching Name Sets, embroidery kits and tutorials, stitching accessories, our Christmas Wreath Advent Calendar and more.

The new shop also makes it much easier to choose your shapes, colours, letters and sets, then order directly online.

🛍️ Visit the new Arlene’s Crafts online shop

Stitch • Create • Have Fun

Thank you for following along as Arlene’s Crafts continues to grow. I hope you enjoy having a look around the new shop! 💚

New Animal Stitched Shapes Have Arrived! 🐾

 🐾 Meet the newest members of the Arlene’s Crafts Stitched Shapes family — the Animals!

I’m excited to introduce our new Animal Stitched Shapes, now available in Choose Your Own Sets of 3 and 4.

Children can choose their favourite animals, select from 10 available colours, and create a combination that’s completely their own.

Stitched Shapes are designed to make learning to stitch simple and fun. The evenly spaced holes can be used for basic threading and lacing, or children can begin experimenting with different embroidery stitches as their confidence grows.

And because they're reusable, when the stitching is finished, simply remove the thread and start again with another colour or stitch!

What’s included?

Each Animal kit includes:

🐾 Your chosen Animal Stitched Shapes
🧵 Thread
🪡 Stitching needle/s
📖 Easy-to-follow instructions

They’re a lovely activity for creative play, homeschool, classrooms, daycare and learning to stitch at home, while also helping children practise fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Choose Your Own Animal Set

You can now choose between:

🐾 Choose Your Own 3 Animal Stitched Shapes

🐾 Choose Your Own 4 Animal Stitched Shapes

With the different animals and colours available, there are lots of combinations to create.

Which animals would you choose for your set?

🧵 Stitch • Create • Have Fun!

Arlene
Arlene’s Crafts

The Goldwork Beetle is Back – A Classic Arlene’s Crafts Tutorial Refreshed for 2026

The Goldwork Beetle Embroidery Tutorial is back in the Arlene’s Crafts Etsy shop, with a fresh new look for 2026. 🪲✨

This is a project with quite a history for me. I began creating my stumpwork and goldwork beetles many years ago, and the Goldwork Beetle has remained one of those special designs that I still love returning to.

The tutorial takes you through creating your own dimensional embroidered beetle using beautiful Goldwork techniques, metallic threads, beads and layered embroidery.

Inside the digital tutorial you'll find detailed step-by-step instructions, photographs to guide you through the different stages, helpful tips and stitch information.

Already have your own Goldwork supplies?
You can purchase the tutorial as a digital download and start creating your beetle with your own materials.

Need the specialist materials as well?
I also have Goldwork Beetle materials kits available separately in my Etsy shop, including an option with a 4-inch embroidery hoop.

It's lovely to bring one of my classic Arlene's Crafts projects back into the spotlight — refreshed and ready for a new generation of stitchers.