The Next Mystery SAL: The Spring Mystery SAL 2019

Great news: There will be another Spring Mystery SAL this year! This post has all the information you need to stitch it - well except the patterns hehe. Please take the time to read everything carefully.

How to join in:

You don't need to do anything special - you just stitch your own version! That simple! There is a Facebook group listed below but you don't have join it to join in!

How much does it cost:

The patterns are free! So all it will cost is any fabric/thread you choose to buy for the SAL - I encourage you to dig in your stash and see what you have first though!

The patterns:

• You will be given the main mystery pattern in 14 parts.
• Two parts before the SAL proper starts.
• The rest during the SAL.
• At the end you will be given an additional pattern to use for the back if you wish to make a two sided ornament/pillow/biscornu.

Stitches used:

• The pattern uses whole cross stitches.
• There are NO speciality stitches
• There are NO backstitches (unless you choose to make a biscornu in which case there is a total outline of 25 1/3 - 32 2/3 inches of backstitch for both sides depending on your fabric count.)

The size, fabric and thread information:

The pattern is 55 stitches square.


Fabric and thread amounts:

• For 14ct Aida / 28ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 6 inches square - 15.24 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.2 skein.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 6 x 11 inches - 15.5 cm x 28 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.3 skein and colour B which requires 0.2 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.
• For 16ct Aida / 32ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 5 1/2 inches square - 14 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.2 skein.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 5 1/2 x 10 inches - 14 cm x 26 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.3 skein and colour B which requires 0.2 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.
• For 18ct Aida / 36ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 5 1/8 inches square - 13 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.2 skein.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 5 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches - 13 cm x 24 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour A which requires 0.3 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.

Thread colours:

You will need the following colours:

• One green - this is colour A. In the pattern this is DMC 369
• Two blues 
• One darker - this is colour B. In the pattern this is DMC 3811
• One lighter - this is colour C. In the pattern this is DMC 3756
• Two purples:
• One darker - this is colour D. In the pattern this is DMC 211
• One lighter - this is colour E. In the pattern this is DMC 153
• Two pinks:
• One darker - this is colour F. In the pattern this is DMC 3713
• One lighter - this is colour G. In the pattern this is DMC 819
• One yellow - this is colour H. In the pattern this is DMC 445

Obviously you are free to change things up as much as you like but I'd strongly suggest sticking to a green and a yellow at the very least.

These are the colours used in the pattern that are mentioned above

DMC stranded cotton: 016 - 3840 - 3841 - 352 - 353 - 744 - 745 - 3078

DMC stranded cotton: 909 - 3844 - 3846 - 606 - 608 - 741 - 742 - 018

DMC Color Variations in the colours: 4047 - 4237 - 4230 - 4255 - 4260 - 4180 - 4170 - 4077

DMC Etoile in the colours: C699 - C798 - C519 - C550 - C554 - C600 - C603 - C444

Jodyri Designs threads in the colours: Rainforest 004R - Arabian Days 199R - Mermaid Lagoon 007R - Perfect Purples 008R - 7 Deadly Sins Vanity 171R - Pink Laydee 009R - Princess Kari 014R - Pebble Beach 191R

The schedule:

• The first pre-stitch pattern will be given on March 15th
• The second pre-stitch pattern will be given on April 1st
• The SAL proper starts April 19th at midday CET - that's over the Easter weekend. Some people get Good Friday off from work, some people get the Monday off too and more than a few of you will be having some kind of family get together during this time, however I'm sure you will be able to find enough time to stitch. 
• New pattern sections will be given every four hours and the last part will be given sometime on Sunday depending on your time zone. 
• You can check your local time zone for the start here and a countdown is here.
• Central Europeans will get it around lunch time, Australians in the evening - with time to stitch at least one part before bed. Americans will have the first part waiting when they get up and if they get up in time they can sneak a part in before work, or take it with them to work for the lunch break. Doing something globally is never easy but I hope this works out for everyone.

I do not expect anyone to be able to be up to date at all times during the SAL - you need to eat and sleep at the very least so expect to be "behind" part - if not all - of the time! It's part of the nature of this type of SAL for this to happen, so being "behind" is the normal state of affairs. If you are a slow stitcher expect to finish "after" the SAL has "finished" - though tbh the SAL is always available and new people find the patterns on a regular basis so it's never really over.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! Either here or in the Facebook group or, if you prefer, you can DM me on Twitter or Instagram (@magical525 on both)