Before we start — Painting Fairy Cross Stitch kindly offered me the chance to try out and review one of their scroll frames.
That said, if something annoys me, you know full well I’m going to say it anyway 😅

Ordering & Delivery

Before we even get onto the actual frame, let’s start with the ordering side of things.

Painting Fairy gave me a code to pick anything up to a certain value, with me covering the postage myself. I ended up going for the 50cm scroll frame because apparently I enjoy making projects as awkwardly large as possible.

One thing I really liked straight away was the amount of colour choices available. There’s loads to pick from depending on your setup and vibe… but naturally I went for black. Because it’s rock ’n’ roll and I clearly need my stitching equipment to match my personality 😅

The website itself was genuinely easy to use. No hunting through seventeen menus trying to work out what size you actually need, no weird layout… just clean, simple, and easy to find what you’re after.
Delivery costs were really reasonable as well, which honestly surprised me a bit considering it was coming from overseas.

And the tracking? Absolutely elite.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I basically knew where that parcel was at all times. It was so detailed it felt like it was one update away from telling me if someone had farted near it 😅

Genuinely one of the best tracked deliveries I’ve had in a long time.
It arrived in about 10 days… I think. Don’t quote me on that because it could’ve been 9. Or 11. Time has no meaning once you start stalking tracking updates 😅

But honestly, it arrived quicker than I expected considering where it was coming from.

Packaging-wise? Properly done.
Everything inside was packed tightly so there weren’t random bits rattling about doing battle in the box for a week. All the pieces were bubble wrapped separately as well, so everything turned up in perfect condition.

They’d also thrown in a little sample of their floss which instantly earns bonus points from me because… free stitchy bits. Happy days.

The only tiny negative I had at first was there was a bit of a smell from the paint/coating when I first opened it. Nothing horrific, just noticeable.

But honestly after leaving it out for a day it had completely aired off, so not exactly a dealbreaker.

Assembly Time… Or “Clamp It & Hope” Finally Makes Sense

Right… putting it together.
Now, unless I somehow missed them completely, there weren’t actually any instructions in the box.
Not that I’d have read them anyway because, you know… I’m male 😅

So naturally I did what every bloke does with flat-pack anything and just stared at the parts for a bit hoping the answer would reveal itself through confidence alone.

In all seriousness though… assembly was really easy.

You’ve basically got:

two scroll bars
two side bars
two plastic strips to secure the fabric
and four little rubbery/plasticky end bits that ho over tge ends of the scroll bars

Even for someone whose usual building strategy is “tighten things until the problem goes away”, it was straightforward 😅

The side bars are adjustable as well, with little nuts you tighten to change the tension. Which sounds far more technical than it actually is.

Honestly, it’s very, very simple. No engineering degree needed. No mysterious leftover screws at the end making you question your life choices.

And once it’s together, it actually feels solid too.

Stitching Experience

Once I actually got stitching with it, I found it really easy to get the tension exactly how I like it.

And let’s be honest, stitchers can get weirdly specific about tension 😅

The adjustable side bars make it really simple to tighten things up without feeling like you’re wrestling the frame every five minutes.

I would say though — if you’re planning on using it long term or for bigger projects, I’d definitely recommend grabbing some side tensioners as well. Just to stop the dreaded floppy/wobbly fabric sides that seem to appear out of nowhere over time and slowly test your patience.

Actual stitching-wise, it is quite a heavy frame. Not unmanageable for me personally, but definitely noticeable if you’re used to smaller hoops or Q-Snaps.

That said… I can absolutely see why Painting Fairy make so many different stands for them because I reckon paired with one of those, this thing would be brilliant.

I’ve already caught myself eyeing up the sofa stand that sits over your lap, which probably tells you everything you need to know 😅

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’ve genuinely been impressed with it.

It’s easy to put together, easy to get good tension on, feels solid, and most importantly… it’s actually enjoyable to stitch on. Which is sort of the whole point really 😅

It’s probably better suited to people working on larger projects or those wanting a more permanent setup rather than constantly swapping things around. And if you paired it with one of the stands, I honestly think it’d be a brilliant setup.

Would I recommend it?

Yeah… I actually would.

Especially if you’re at that point where fighting your stitching setup is becoming more exhausting than the stitching itself 😄

And because Painting Fairy clearly enjoy enabling my stitching addiction, they’ve also given me a discount code for you lot as well 😅

If you do fancy trying one out for yourself, you can get 5% off using my code: TATTOOD

You can check them out here:

And yes… I still recommend getting the black one because obviously it stitches faster. Probably.

I’ll stitch, I’ll swear, and I’ll be back. Words done, thread out—time to stab fabric with intent.