crossstitchalley.com

1. Secure Foss: Bring needle and floss up through the fabric leaving a 1 1/2″ tail on the underside. Secure the tail with the first few stitches. Never tie the tail into a knot of any kind as this will cause the fabric to pucker. To Secure floss after stitching is complete, run the needle under about 5 stitches on the back side of the design and clip close to fabric.

2. Stitching Method: To make smooth stitches make sure to use a push-pull method. On the wrong side of fabric, bring the needle straight up, pulling floss completely through to the right side of fabric. Now, reinsert the needle and bring it straight down while pulling needle and floss completely through to the back of the fabric. Make sure to keep the floss flat and do not pull it tight. Make sure to keep tension consistent throughout the design.

3. Carrying Floss: If you need to carry your floss to another area on your fabric, you can weave it under previously worked stitches on the back side of your fabric. Do not carry the floss across any part of the fabric that will not be stitched because loose strands will show through the fabric.

For more tips for cross stitch beginners, see Tips for Cross Stitch Beginners

Sara

craft ideas

Cross stitching is great fun and really easy to learn. If you are a beginner, follow these tips and you will be cross stitching in no time.

To prepare fabric for cross stitching cut the fabric at least 3” larger than the finished design. This will leave room for matting and framing. Either whipstitch, use a machine to zigzag, or apply liquid ravel prevention to the edges of the fabric. This will prevent fraying of the fabric while you work.

Use a blunt tipped tapestry type needle. Do not use a regular sewing needle as it will pierce holes in the fabric and is not necessary due to the fact that cross stitch fabric has holes already. For fabric with 11 or fewer threads per inch use a size 24 needle, for 14 to 18 threads per inch use size 26. Also no not leave the needle in your work as it may rust or leave a permanent impression.

You will need a hoop or stretcher bar frame to keep your fabric tight and this will help you make stitches that are uniform. It is best if you can find a frame large enough to cover your entire design.

The graph has squares that contain a symbol that represents 1 stitch. Each symbol corresponds to a color of embroidery floss. Usually the floss is identified by name and number on a color code.

You will need to find the center of your fabric by folding it in half horizontally and then vertically. Then put your needle through the center of the fabric. Next you will need to find the center of your graph and then begin stitching from the center out to the edges.

Use about 18” of floss. This is a good length to work with. Separate all 6 strands and then combine them as per what your pattern calls for. If your floss begins to twist you should try to straighten it by suspending the needle and allowing it to unwind.

Hopefully these tips will help you get started cross stitching soon. Cross stitch is fun and also makes for great gifts.

Article by S. Armstrong

cross stitch

How about making a cute Trick-or-Treat bucket with a cross stitch design wrapped around the bucket like a band.

You can use an unused paint can with handle (and lid if you like) available from many paint stores. Paint the bucket any color you like with acrylic paint. You can pick up halloween stencils from the local craft supply store and stencil them onto the bucket. Black cats and moons would be cute.

You can design a simple cross stitch pattern on some graft paper or find a simple pattern. Jack-o-laterns and ghosts would be cute.

Measure the circumference of the can and add 6 inches. Decide how high you want the design to be and add 1 1/2 inches to the bottom and top of the design. Cross stitch your design onto the fabric and when finished fold raw edges of fabric under and glue fabric to can around the center (or wherever you want to design to be).

Painting the can purple and using black fabric would be cute. Paint black cats and yellow moons on the can. Cross stitch orange pumpkins and white ghosts on the black fabric. Very cute.

cross stitch

Welcome to the blog for Crossstitchalley. This is the place to make comments, write a story about Cross Stitch, or share helpful hints. I love Cross Stitch myself and wanted to create a website dedicated to Cross Stitch. I have several completed Cross Stitch projects in my home. Some of them were simple, easy, and fast, and others were much more time consuming. The Cross Stitch peice that is displayed in the upper left corner of the index page (www.crossstitchalley.com) is a project I completed about 10 years ago. That peice is one of my favorites. Thank you for stopping by and come back soon as I will be adding new material and information.
Sara