The History of Mill Hill

Today, Wichelt Imports is a leading distributor of embroidery fabrics and supplies from various brands, including Mirabilia Designs, Kreinik, Lavender & Lace, Jim Shore, Debbie Mumm, Thea Gouverneur, Permin, and many others. The most renowned brand under Wichelt Imports is “Mill Hill,” which produces Japanese Mill Hill beads, buttons, and various ‘Treasures’ — crystal beads in different shapes and sizes. Moreover, Mill Hill is currently the only company that produces perforated paper for embroidery and embroidery kits featuring perforated paper.

Interestingly, Mill Hill did not invent perforated paper; it dates back to the 19th century, originating in the 1820s! Initially produced as plain sheets for bookmarks, perforated paper became one of the most popular Victorian-era crafting materials.

Enthusiasts of antique fairs and flea markets might come across vintage notebook covers, wallets, letter cases, or candle screens embroidered on perforated paper.

Before the 1850s, most perforated paper embroidery consisted of bookmarks and small pieces featuring Bible quotes or designs inspired by Berlin woolwork patterns, often without background filling.

From the start, perforated paper was available in various colors and with hole counts ranging from 10 to 28 per inch, allowing for different counts. Books and magazines from the 1850s recommended specific counts depending on the project: finer paper was suitable for silk embroidery on small works, while coarser paper was better for wool embroidery. The variety of threads and wool available for embroidery was immense.

Popular materials included colorful wool threads, silk floss, glass beads, and chenille. Mottoes and Bible quotes often featured metallic threads and decorative elements. Foil was another embellishment, cut to size and slightly crumpled before being placed behind the embroidery, creating a shimmering effect through the unstitched holes.

The very first Mill Hill kits

Initially, Mill Hill produced Japanese-made Mill Hill glass beads. To promote their beads, what did Mill Hill do? That’s right — they started producing bead embroidery kits. Yes, bead embroidery, not cross-stitch! While there were booklets with cross-stitch patterns, the kits exclusively featured beads.

The very first booklets with cross-stitch sampler patterns and the first bead embroidery kits from Mill Hill were released in 1989 (at least, I haven’t found any earlier Mill Hill booklets or kits).

In 1989, at least two series of Mill Hill kits were released: Beginner’s Counted Glass Bead Kit for Christmas and Beginner’s Counted Glass Bead Kit for Everyday. These were very simple bead embroidery kits aimed at beginners.

The 1989 Mill Hill kits included 14 ct Aida fabric from Zweigart (Germany), threads, Mill Hill beads (Japan), a needle, and a chart with instructions. The patterns for samplers and bead designs were created by American designer Jill Siegler.

I also discovered three Mill Hill booklets with cross-stitch patterns released in 1989: Band Sampler I, Band Sampler II, and Heart of Christmas Afghan Vol II — based on the title, there must have been a Heart of Christmas Afghan Vol I as well. So at least four Mill Hill booklets were published in 1989. The patterns were also designed by Jill Siegler.

In 1990, at least two series of Mill Hill Christmas ornaments were released: Holiday Ornament and Angel Ornament, featuring bead embroidery on perforated paper. This marked the introduction of perforated paper in Mill Hill kits, which would later become a staple of their collections.

The History of Mill Hill Company. Vintage 1996 Mill Hill Kit

For my birthday, a friend sent me a vintage 1996 Mill Hill kit — Christmas Village. The kit is already 28 years old!

While stitching this kit, I started wondering: which kit was Mill Hill’s first? And when was Mill Hill founded? It turned out that there’s almost no information about the history of Mill Hill online! I had to conduct yet another embroidery investigation!

In this article, read what I discovered about Mill Hill and how their kits from the mid-1990s differ from modern ones.

What sets vintage Mill Hill kits apart from modern ones?

1. This vintage kit contains no cross-stitching. Areas embroidered with floss are done in half-stitch using six strands of floss. In modern Mill Hill kits, half-stitching is rare, with most designs using full cross-stitch.
2. It includes specialty stitches such as Smyrna stitch (Bulgarian cross), double stitch (elongated crosses over 1×3 squares, staggered), and diagonal satin stitch (counted satin stitches laid at a 45-degree angle). These have largely disappeared from modern kits.
3. Over half of the design is embroidered with beads (originally, there were kits made entirely of beads).
4. All beads, whether size 11 or petite 15, are attached with half-stitch. Modern Mill Hill kits sew size 11 beads with half-stitch and petite beads with full cross-stitch.
5. For older kits it was typical to include three ceramic buttons. Modern kits either include one button or none at all. Additionally, since 2023, Mill Hill buttons have been made from polymer clay (essentially plastic), not ceramic.

My vintage Mill Hill kit, “Christmas Village,” was released in 1996 as part of the “Holiday IV” series. The kit includes a chart, needles, perforated paper, DMC floss, plenty of Mill Hill beads, and three ceramic Mill Hill buttons.

I first sorted the floss by color, winding it onto bobbins, and the beads into labeled containers. I always do this because leftover DMC floss and Mill Hill beads can be used in other projects.

In another article I already described how to embroider on perforated paper.

I started by stitching all the floss areas: half cross-stitches and diagonal satin stitches with six strands, and Smyrna and double cross-stitches with four strands. Here’s a tip: don’t change the count of the base material or the number of strands if you want your embroidery to look as vibrant as the cover image.