Re: How to get started...

Tips, Tricks & Techniques - anything to help fellow cross stitchers.

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JacquiP
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Re: How to get started...

Post by JacquiP »

Good Afternoon

I hope it is ok to come to this forum and ask such basic questions as I am about to. I have not undertaken a cross stitch project in years and purchased four kits at the weekend and would be most appreciative of some advice on how best to start. One of the kits is in the link below and the other three each contain a duck and a different setting.

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/product/duckl ... GwodhjQBfQ" target="_blank

So, the instructions advise not to commence with a knot. How best do people advise to start. I found this really useful website (http://www.dmc-usa.com/Education/Techni ... Guide.aspx" target="_blank) and there are various options but I am not sure of the best one.

Do people work one row of slanted stitches and then work back in the other direction to form the crosses or do people make one cross, then move onto the next cross and so on? Looking at the chart, there seems to be lots of single stitches – or maybe only one or two crosses – before there is a colour change so I was wondering whether it best to work a complete cross and then move onto the next one. I am also unsure regards carrying the colour across the back of the work. Is this what other people do? As I have said, there are lots of little pockets of each colour and some are rather close by so I would assume I can carry the colour across. Do people start with the lightest colours first and work all those stitches in the entire design before moving onto the next colour – or do people just assign themselves a part of the pattern – maybe an inch square – and work the all the lightest stitches first in that area before moving onto the next colour? I assume, if that is what people do and they are carrying their thread across, that they start at the top of the design and work downwards.

Thank you so much xxx
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Mabel Figworthy
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Re: How to get started...

Post by Mabel Figworthy »

Hi Jacqui and welcome to the Forum!

There are almost as many ways of stitching as there are stitchers, I sometimes think, and often there are several "correct" ways of doing something. So I can't really say what the best way is, only what I've found works for me - in time you will find what works for you, and it may be quite different from my way :-)

To start I use a loop start if working with an even number of strands. So if the design specifies two strands, cut the thread twice as long as you would normally and double up one strand; feed the two cut ends into the needle so that the loop is at the very and of your thread, if that makes sense. Start the first stitch but don't pull through completely so there is a little loop at the back of your work. Take the needle down into the fabric to complete the first half cross stitch, catch the loop and pull. This anchors it and you can then go on as usual.

For an odd number of strands I leave a tail and cover that with my first few stitches.

I work both by doing a row of half crosses then coming back to cross them, and by doing complete crosses. It depends on how many there are of one colour, and also whether I'm using variegated thread.

Hope that helps!
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Purple Patsy
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Re: How to get started...

Post by Purple Patsy »

I do the same as Mabel for starting but I seldom use the loop method just start by stitching over the ends. I sometimes put the needle in from the front at the end of a small row of stitches and leave a small tail this makes it easier to ensure you catch the thread with your stitches and then you can give it a slight pull and snip it off as you get to it when stitching. After the first few stitches are made I usually just run the thread into the existing stitches near where I want to start but try not to make the back of any one area too chunky.

As far as carrying threads over the back of the work is concerned my rule of thumb is to carry only as far as it would be to run in threads to start and stop the thread, eg if it would be a half inch finish and a half inch start I would carry the thread up to an inch. Though if I'm crossing a worked area I try to run it in while travelling. My rule is not to carry over unworked fabric unless I absolutely have to and than never in a vertical or horizontal line as these are often most visible in the finished design.

Hope you get started ok and love the craft. Also looking forward to seeing your work in the SAL thread.
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Inkysloth
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Re: How to get started...

Post by Inkysloth »

If you have more patience than I do, you could do a test square to see what feels comfortable - just a small 10 x 10 or so, with two colours, and then you'll have a feel for how to get cracking.
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Roland
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Re: How to get started...

Post by Roland »

I stitch like Mable with one exception. I no longer stitch across a row with one diagonal then back with the other diagonal. I always do complete one stitch and then move on.

There are two reasons. First, since most of the pictures I stitch have a lot of confetti stitches, it's easier. Second, when I went to pioneer village I was talking to some of the employees in costume about the crafts. They were saying the pictures done one stitch at a time held up better over time. Since most of my work is in usable items, I want them standing the test of time. (I dream that 100 years from now some of my stockings will hang in a museum. :lol: :lol: )
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fccs
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Re: How to get started...

Post by fccs »

Hello from Colorado! I usually start with the loop method (which I learned here, thank you, forum members). I don't stitch all of one color before going to the next; I tend to stitch cross country and just pick a section or part of a design that calls to me (although sometimes I try to be more logical about it). If a very light color is surrounded by a very dark color, I will stitch the light first. The reason for that is if the dark is stitched first and involves a carried thread, that color might show through when stitched over by a light color. Does that make sense?
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