There are many useful, but not necessarily essential, pieces of cross stitch equipment that will make your life as a cross stitcher more enjoyable and simpler. Purchasing the best quality tools that you can afford, and treating these tools with great care and respect, means that they should last for many future years.

The different equipment detailed below can be acquired as and when you wish as they are helpful, however, not essential equipment to have in a cross stitcher's tool kit.

Unpicking scissors have a neat little hook in the bottom blade which assists the removal of offending cross stitch threads.

Table or floor-standing frames allow you to have one hand at the fromt of the work and one hand at the back of the work, which results in speeding up your work considerably.

Gold-plated needles are sheer self indulgence for some, but a must for those whose body chemistry reacts with and removes the plating from an ordinary tapestry needle.

Stitching gloves prevent the hands getting tired as you cross stitch.

A stitch catcher is a handy little gadget which allows you to use even the last tiny piece of thread before it runs out.

Needle threaders are useful if your eye sight isn't the best and also if there is no one else about to thread the needle for you.

A work stand allows you to clamp a hoop or frame to it, leaving both hands free to work.

Chart holders are magnetic boards used in conjunction with magnetic chart markers to help you to keep your place on a cross stitch chart.

Daylight bulbs can be used in most lamps to give a good light for stitching at night or on dull days.

Magnifiers can keep us stitching happily when our eye sight is failing. They range from a pair of strong spectacles to floor-standing magnifiers with built-in lights. Line magnifiers can be placed over charts to make them easier to read. Magnifiers are available which hang around your neck, or which clip on to your existing glasses. For cross stitch embroidery to be enjoyable, you have to be able to see what you are doing.

Shade cards available from thread manufacturers are invaluable if you progress to choosing your own shades of cross stitch thread for projects. Colours are grouped into 'families' of different depths of each shade, so, if you want, for example, a light, medium and dark blue which tone well, choose them from a suitable blue family. You can see at a glance all available shades which also assists your choice.