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FAQs and Videos

Looking for a little help or some handy tips and hints? Check out our Bothy videos below...

Help Videos

Take a look around Bothy Threads with Kate…

Not sure which Bothy Threads kit is right for you? Take a look at our helpful video for a few hints and tips to help you pick the right one…

Here are a few things to think about before you make a start with your Bothy Threads kit…

Whether you are a beginner or a well seasoned stitcher, this video will answer all your cross stitch questions including:

  • What to expect from a Bothy Threads kit and how to use our charts
  • Which way to use your Aida and how to find the centre point
  • Where to start stitching the design
  • How to split your stranded cotton into one strand
  • How to start off – including the fantastic loop method!
  • How to do a cross stitch – including left and right handed demos
  • How to finish off your thread when you have finished your cross stitch

Don’t forget to watch Part B for more helpful tips on half cross stitch, working with a blend and fractional stitches.

Following on from Part A – this video explains how to do half cross stitch, working full cross with a blend of two colours and how to do fractional stitches.

Not sure where to start with tapestry or the best stitch to use? This helpful video should answer any tapestry questions you may have!

We love to use special threads in our designs to add extra sparkle. This video shows you how to work with metallics, lana (fluffly/woolly threads) and variegated threads. We also show you how to add beads and sequins to your finished piece.

Recently finished a cross stitch piece and not sure what to do next? Or do you want to try framing for the first time? Our how to video is packed with helpful hints and tips to ensure your finished piece is picture perfect.

Not sure how to do back stitch or where to start? This helpful video will explain everything including how to do piercing back stitch.

Ever wondered how to do long stitch? How many strands to use? Or what type of canvas? Hopefully our helpful video should answer all your questions.

Top tips and help on how to do the perfect French knot, lazy daisy stitch or couching!

Kate shows you how to do the daisy stitches in Spring At Last by Santoro’s Gorjuss.

Have a question? In this section you can find answers to the most common questions asked by our customers.

Orders & Delivery

Once your order and your card details have been processed by Stripe, you will be able to view an onscreen confirmation that your order process is completed and you will also receive an email invoice confirming your order.

Additionally, you will also be able to login to your ‘Bothy Threads’ account to view and check the status of your order (if you registered an Account).

When you place an order to purchase a product we will send you an e-mail confirming receipt of your order containing the details of your order, including transaction and order reference numbers. Your order represents an offer to us to purchase a product, which is accepted by us when we process payment for your order.

When we accept your order, we will send a Dispatch Confirmation E-mail.

Any products on the same order which we have not confirmed in a Dispatch Confirmation E-mail to have been dispatched do not form part of that contract. If you have incorrectly entered your email address your confirmation and dispatch email will fail. So long as payment has been processed successfully this will in no way affect your order. Failure by us to send a receipt confirmation email or dispatch confirmation email in no way invalidates your offer or our acceptance of your offer.

Payment Details We DO NOT store Credit or Debit Card details. This means that nobody can steal your details as we simply do not have them! We use Stripe as our payment processing partner who use the most secure up to date encrypted SSL (secure socket layer) when transferring transaction details in the checkout process. This means that no information submitted during this process can be examined, used or modified by any unauthorised third parties. Our customers’ credit card information never hits our servers, it goes from our customers’ computer/device straight to Stripe’s servers keeping their information safe.

Our Customers can also save their Credit & Debit Cards details for faster payment of any future orders, but for security we DO NOT store these Credit or Debit Card details, instead these details are saved on Stripe’s servers for added security.

You can pay by most major credit and debit cards. Your details will be encrypted to keep them secure.

Customer Personal Details Our website utilises industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to allow for the encryption of potentially sensitive information such as your name, address and other critically sensitive information. Information passed between your computer and our website cannot be read in the event someone else intercepts it. This technology includes the following features:

  • Authentication – this assures your browser that your data is being sent to the correct computer server, and that the server is secure.
  • Encryption – this encodes the data, so that it cannot be read by anyone other than the secure server.
  • Data Integrity – this checks the data being transferred to ensure it has not been altered.

When you access a website secured by an SSL certificate issued by a trusted Certificate Authority, you will see https:// at the beginning of its URL. Depending on the type of validation a certificate applicant passed prior to the certificate issuance, a browser may also show the connection as secure by displaying a “lock” icon in the address bar.

We accept the payment types through our online store.

  • Credit & Debit Card – We accept all major Debit & Credit Cards through our payment processor Stripe.
  • PayPal – payments will be processed through the PayPal gateway.

We make every effort to ensure that all orders placed before 2.00pm are sent out the same day.

All orders are sent by First Class Royal Mail and delivery time can vary depending on where you are in the world!

We try to make sure all orders in the UK are delivered within 3-5 days and orders outside of the UK are within 2-4 weeks.

If your order does not arrive within this time please contact us at info@bothythreads.com and let us know.

All orders are sent by First Class Royal Mail and delivery time can vary. Our delivery charges are as follows:

  • Delivery to the UK: £3.99 per order
  • Delivery to Europe: £5.99 per order
  • Delivery to the rest of world: Between £7.99 and £15.99 per order (total shown at checkout)

These charges are not applicable to trade orders. Please contact us for trade delivery charges or check the trade resource area.

  • Delivery to the UK: £4.99 per order
  • Delivery to Europe: £7.99 per order
  • Delivery to the rest of world: Between £9.99 and £17.99 per order (total shown at checkout)

Shipping charges for our Advent Calendar are slightly more than normal due to the value and size of the item. It will be sent via tracked mail at the following delivery charges:

If you are unhappy with any items you have purchased directly from us you can return the item unopened and in a saleable condition within 28 days for a full refund (excluding postage).

The buyer is responsible for paying the postage for any items returned and we cannot accept responsibility should your return items go missing in the post. All returns should be accompanied by a covering letter or the original invoice.

If the return is due to an error made by Bothy Threads we will refund the returns postage in full.

If you bought one of our kits from another retailer (on eBay, Amazon, Etsy or another website) and would like to return the kit please contact the retailer who you bought the kit from directly.

If you would like to get in touch you can either use the contact us section of our website, email us at info@bothythreads.com, call us on +44(0)1900 828844 or write to us at Unit 7, Aspatria Business Park, Park Road, Aspatria, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 3DP.

Bothy Bonus Points are a retail customer loyalty scheme where points can be earned by buying any of our kits directly from our website. You can earn 10 Bothy Bonus Points for every £1.00 you spend.

Find out more about Bothy Bonus Points

Product Help & Advice

We currently stock cross stitch, blackwork, tapestry (also known as needlepoint), long stitch and silken long stitch kits. We have a range of videos explaining all these techniques on YouTube

Bothy Threads kits mainly use Madeira threads. We also use specialised threads, like lana, variegated, metallic and sparkle threads, of which some are made exclusively for our kits. Derwentwater Designs kits use a mixture of Anchor and DMC threads.

All the threads used in our kits are top quality embroidery threads. If you run short of a colour when stitching one of our designs please let us know by phone on +44(0)1900 828844 or send us an email to info@bothythreads.com and we can post some more out to you.

We would suggest starting with a smaller design on 14 count or one with limited back stitch

Maybe start with one of the simpler designs, like DRAGONFLY or SUMMER MELODY by Suzy Taylor. The WRENDALE TAPESTRY designs are a bit more challenging, as they involve more colour changes, but they are on a larger 10 count canvas.

Working with one strand folded double is the same as working with two strands! The reason we recommend working with one strand folded double, is because it allows you to start with the ‘loop method’, which is a great way to anchor your thread.

Check out our ‘How to cross stitch – Part A’ video on YouTube to find out how…

If you make a mistake, or run a little short of a thread or if you have any other problems with your kit please contact us at info@bothythreads.com or give us a call on 01900 828844 and we will do our best to help you with your query.

We currently only sell complete kits, which include everything you need to stitch the design. The one exception is ‘Our Family Home’, a special chart download exclusively from Bothy Threads to support the NHS.

Yes, we can sell you another piece of fabric, thread card and any embellishments so you can stitch any of our current complete kit range again without having to purchase the full kit again. Just give us a ring on +44 (0)1900 828844 or send us an email to info@bothythreads.com.

We often print the chart bigger than the finished design to make it easier to see the symbols on the chart. At the bottom of the colour kit front you can find the size of the finished design – your piece of Aida should be roughly 5cm bigger than this all the way round.

‘HPI’ stands for holes per inch – it means that your piece of Aida has 14 or 16 holes for cross stitches per inch of fabric. A higher HPI means there are more holes per inch, which allows for more complex patterns. A lower HPI means there are fewer holes per inch, which can make it easier to stitch with.

If you let us know when buying your kit, we will do our best to swap it for a fabric you prefer. Please note this is only possible if you buy the kit direct from our website or over the telephone, and it is not possible to swap all fabrics for an exact match – for example, we cannot swap any printed fabrics and only have a limited range of colours available.

Most of our fabrics can be washed by hand in luke-warm water using a delicates hand wash. Rinse thoroughly in cold water. To iron, press the reverse side onto a towel. The exception is some of the fabric used in our ‘Fairy Tale’ and ‘Enchanted’ designs. Previously, we were using hand-dyed Aida which cannot be washed. We now use printed Aida, which has a white border with the kit name and © Bothy Threads printed on it – this can be washed. We do not recommend washing long stitch designs and tapestries.

We recommend lacing the finished piece over acid free mount board, a technique we explain in our ‘Washing and framing your finished work’ video.

We prefer not to have glass in a frame, so protect our finished stitching with a waterproofing spray (available for upholstery or clothing).

Bothy Threads offers a finishing kit for your cushion. It contains a velvet backing fabric with a zip sewn in, with piping in a matching fabric. All you need to do is stitch your finished tapestry onto the backing fabric and insert a cushion pad (not provided).

Please ring +44 (0)1900 828844 or email info@bothythreads.com for more information.

Website Help

Once you have registered an account on our website, you can log in using the ‘Login/Register’ link in the header of the website, which is at the top right of the page. Clicking ‘LOGIN’ will take you to a page that allows you to login with your account details.

Clicking ‘LOGIN’ will take you to a page that allows you to login with your account details.

You will see a link below the ‘LOGIN’ button, which says “Lost your password?” Click this to be redirected to the ‘Lost Password’ page. On this page please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Our system automatically emails you on order completion so that you have a copy of your order information. If this is the first time we have sent an email to you it’s most likely that your email provider or the email software you use has stopped the email we have sent from being delivered to you. Ask your provider to check and configure your email software to accept our email address so that it is not marked it as spam.

Emails that are not delivered to your “inbox” are most likely delivered to a “Junk Mail” or “Spam” folder.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

If you didn’t find an answer to your question, please call us on +44 (0)1900 828844 or complete the form below and we will be happy to help and answer any questions you may have.

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