Stitches in Time

By Lisa Arnett
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Shops specializing in needlepoint, cross-stitch, and embroidery supplies 

Friendly Stitches Sewing Center

2135 W. 63rd St., Downers Grove

If machine embroidery is more your style, this sewing center has everything you need to get started or up your game. The store stocks Brother-brand sewing and embroidery machines, everything from a beginner model all the way up to semiindustrial, multineedle machines suitable for a home business. “Brother is known for the quality of the embroidery stitching and the ease of use—it’s pretty intuitive,” says Lisa Klingbeil, a longtime sewing machine technician who purchased the store last summer from the original owners, who’d started the business in 2012. “Brother also has an exclusive partnership with Disney, so they have licensed designs with certain machines, and that’s a draw if you’re a big Disney person,” she says. The store also stocks embroidery thread, as well as sewing accessories ranging from cutting pads to rulers to books. Classes hosted throughout the year feature projects such as recipe-embroidered tea towels, makeup pouches, and fabric buntings. 

Good to know: Klingbeil is originally from the Seattle area but has local roots by marriage. “My husband’s family came into Naperville from Germany through Canada in the mid-1800s,” she says.

Tomorrow’s Heirlooms

20 N. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn 

Having opened in 1988, this shop has a long history in Glen Ellyn. “We’re kind of a dinosaur,” says co-owner Pam Douda, a longtime needlepointer and cross-stitcher. “I used to spend my babysitting money on embroidery floss.” Douda’s daughter, Kim Propst, was in high school when the store opened, and she often lent a hand behind the counter. Today, they co-own the shop. When the store moved in 2017 from its original Roosevelt Road location to its current spot, they decided to stop carrying needlepoint supplies and focus entirely on counted cross-stitch. “We stock probably almost 10,000 cross-stitch charts,” Douda says. “And we have an entire wall of fabrics…and drawers and drawers of threads.” They’re also big on accessories. “We love the toys,” Propst says. “We sell needle minders that magnet onto your fabric when you’re using a hoop.” 

Good to know: While the shop has amassed a loyal following over the years, Douda and Propst welcome newcomers. “Cross-stitch only looks hard—it’s not. We can teach somebody in 15 minutes,” Douda says. “I’ve always wanted this to be a welcoming place.” 

Stitchers Garden

1163 E. Ogden Ave., Naperville

In 2017, Debora Krizek decided to combine her favorite hobby and her background in retail by opening this needlepoint shop. “I’ve been doing needlepoint since my daughter was a year old, and now she’s almost 29,” Krizek says. “It’s not that it wasn’t popular before, but it really took off during COVID and then, with the emergence of TikTok, it has just expanded out of nowhere.” The store specializes in hand-painted needlepoint canvases with designs that range from classic to cutesy to edgy. “We do not shy away from a good sentence enhancer,” Krizek says. She stocks a wide range of thread—from $2.30 to $15 a skein—so customers can tailor projects to fit their budget. Krizek also partners with local finishers who can take a stitched project and turn it into a finished item, whether that be a pillow, wall hanging, tote bag, ornament, or wearable.

Good to know: Krizek offers classes, private lessons, stitching groups, and a retreat hosted twice a year at a local hotel that draws needlepointers from around the country. “We have an all-ages, all-skill-levels group on Thursday nights where anyone can come, and we’re open until 8 p.m.,” she says. 

Which Stitch Is Which?

Embroidery is the umbrella that everything falls underneath,” explains Deb Krizek, owner of Stitchers Garden in Naperville. “Cross-stitch is done on a woven type of fabric, and it has a count to it—so many threads per inch. Needlepoint is done on a woven mono canvas; it’s heavier and thicker, not soft like fabric, and [the design] is printed or painted on top of it.” There’s also hand embroidery—designs stitched by hand onto fabric with a single needle—as well as machine embroidery, done with a sewing machine with special settings.  

Photos: Friendly Stitches Sewing Center; Kim Propst/Tomorrow’s Heirlooms; Debora Krizek (Stitchers Garden)