BEGINNERS INSTRUCTIONS

Cross-stitch is really just like painting by numbers.  Only with stitches.  A good design will allow you to create your own really beautiful pictures in thread.      Following a graph, where Symbols represent a particular colour thread, you can build up your design one colour at a time. New Trends in X-stitch, see the addition of sparkling metallic threads, beads and small tokens to embellish.

CROSS-STITCH BEGINNERS INSTRUCTIONS, HINTS, AND TIPS!
First take a good look at your graph, understand that each square, represents one square, of whatever fabric you are using, (sometimes, Aida, Linen, Waste Canvas etc). A design size is measured in the "Count" width and height. That is how many squares there is in the design.  Cloth is also measured in "Count", when it is said that something is in 14 Count, that means that there are 14 little squares to an inch.  22 Count is 22 squares per inch.  This means that when you stitch your design onto the fabric, the larger the count, the smaller the overall size of the design will be.

Separate two strands from your length of embroidery cotton.  The standard is that there are 6 strands, this will give you 3 lots of double strands.  Thread your needle.  You should use a blunt ended darning needle.  It can help to mark the middle of your fabric with a pin, or to run a line of running stitch with some other thread up through the centre from top to bottom and side to side, so that you have a large cross marking your Aida into four quarters.  These threads are only a guide, and would be pulled out on completion of your design.

See where you should begin, and begin.  Do not knot your thread, simply hold the tail end of the thread so that the first few stitches stitch over the tail end.  A standard cross-stitch is performed by bring your needle up through the Bottom Left hole of a square and down into the Top Right hole, then up through the Bottom Right hole and down into the Top Left hole, thus completing a cross-stitch.  If you are doing a line of stitches, then complete all the diagonal from Bottom Left to Top Right working along the line, and then complete all the stitches by travelling back the way you have come, going from Bottom Right through into the Top Left.  That's it, it is that easy.  

Some more rules of thumb, regard ending off each thread.  Do not knot your threads underneath, simply pass them back on the underside, through several stitches next to your last stitch.  This tucks the end in and stops it from coming undone.  And try not to "travel" far between groups of stitches, it stays much neater, if you end off the thread and start again at the new position.  As a guide, do not "travel" more than an inch.

HINTS AND TIPS:

Metallic Threads

Stitching with metallic threads can be more difficult than with normal stranded cottons.  But these handy hints, make the process easier.  

• Try to leave any metallic thread cross-stitches till the last.  
• Depending on your thread you choose to use, it may require anywhere between 1 and 3 strands in your length, to give proper coverage. 
• Sometimes it can work better to use one thread plain, with one thread metallic.
• To stop the metallic thread fraying, use smaller lengths of metallic thread.
• Try using a needle with a large hole.
• Use this handy hint - Instead of passing the end of your thread through your needle, pass through a turned over loop, then whilst it is poking through the hole, pass the tip of the needle through the loop and ease the knot down into the eye of the needle.  What this does is stop the thread moving back and forth through the hole and causing it to fray.

Beads

The addition of beads on your cross-stitch design, can add that special other dimension, as it shimmers and catches the light.  Stitching a bead on can be done in a few different ways, depending on whether your designs has large areas of beads or just highlights.  I use a plain cross-stitch to attach my beads.  Using a single thread I pass the needle through the bead each time I complete a diagonal stitch.  This makes the bead sit square on the design.

If you were to have a lot of beads in one area, depending on your Aida count, too many beads would jostle with each other for space, this is when it is good to use this second technique.  Bringing the Needle up on the Top Left hole of the square, pass it through the bead and down into the Bottom Right hole.  The beads will sit at a diagonal angle, but will nestle in behind each other well, when you have large groupings of beads. 

What else can I do with my cross-stitch pattern?

Stitch your designs onto Plastic Canvas, or Perforated Paper, use it in conjunction with Scrap-booking, to make that special cover for a book.  Use Waste Canvas to stitch it onto shirts, hats, bags, or any other cloth you can think of.  (Waste Canvas allows you to stitch onto other fabrics, and remove the canvas later, leaving the design on other fabrics. Cross-stitch graph patterns, are easy to follow and maps out blocks of colour for you to create an overall design.  This same process, could be used in many crafts.  Have you tried, bead weaving?, what about Colourwash Patchwork! (A kind of patchwork involving sewing together small squares of the same size of different materials .  The overall effect is like a mosaic, or one of those paintings made of geometric blocks of colour.

To see our own beautiful embellished Cross-stitch Designs

click below: