International customers

To my international customers,

Welcome! I'm so glad you've discovered my folk embroidery designs and kits!

Many of my designs are inspired from traditional textiles from Greece, Italy, the Balkans, Scandinavia, Romania, Ukraine, and other countries in which folk embroidery has long been a cherished handcraft. I have been collecting and researching folk textiles for almost twenty years now, and one of the main goals of my work is to keep these historic designs alive for the next generation of stitchers.

However, because my studio is located in the Cascade Mountains on the West Coast, I understand that shipping can be prohibitive for my international customers. If you are looking to stitch some of my designs and would like to avoid high shipping costs, I have a few recommendations:

* Choose PDF patterns and kit your project locally: most of my called-for fabrics can be substituted with the 28-count or 30-count linen or "etamin" (evenweave) fabric of your choice and you can convert English measurements (inches and yards) to metric (cm and metres) easily online. DMC Floss is widely available internationally and each of my patterns provides the called-for floss numbers and names. 

* Choose fabric by the yard: if you're looking to do several folk embroidery projects and you want to use the authentic folk fabrics I offer, consider purchasing fabric by the yard on the Fabrics and Notions page as this will save you shipping costs. 

* Measurement conversion: one inch = 2.5cm

* Ask a local shop to carry my designs: I do offer my kits through several shops in Europe and Australia, so consider finding one of my kits locally. If your local shop would like to stock my kits, have them contact me at avleaembroidery@gmail.com

Thank you for your interest in folk embroidery!

Krista