Did you know you can cross stitch with crewel wool? Not just for needlepoint, crewel wools create a lovely, cozy texture on counted thread fabrics and can be a fun change of pace from cotton floss. They are particulaly good for cushion cover designs. I am delighted to offer Appleton's crewel wools in the basic Avlea colors (I'll be adding more as I develop more designs for crewel). Appleton's is a British company that has been sourcing, spinning and dyeing wool for 180 years. In fact, their colors were initially created for William Morris! 
 
$2/skein (27m/29.7yds)
 
To substitute Appleton's crewel wool for DMC floss in any of my designs, simply double the yardage. Crewel wool comes in one "strand" (whereas DMC comes in 6 strands that you use in 2-strand groups), but it covers a bit differently than DMC, so please allow DOUBLE the yardage in any pattern specifying DMC floss.
 
A few other notes:
What's the best count fabric to use? After experimenting, I have found that any of our 26ct fabrics work best with the Appleton's wools--the slightly looser weave allows plenty of room for the wool to "fluff up."
How do I substitute DMC colors? Wool takes dyestuffs differently than cotton, so when I provide a DMC color for reference, please keep in mind that this is an approximation and I have chosen my palette with the greatest harmony to the Mediterranean palette, not necessarily exact matches.
How do I care for pieces I've stitched with Appleton's? They recommend surface cleaning, but I have successfully hand washed a test piece with a very dark color and had no color bleeding.