How to Begin to Cross Stitch
Cross stitching is the art of sewing stitches to create a picture. Learning this art can provide many relaxing hours as you create beauty for your home. You can easily find pattern books, fabric, embroidery floss and other supplies at your local hobby store or online. Cross stitching is related to needlepoint, but needlepoint does not use fabric with the even-weave holes woven in. Here's how to get going with cross stitching.
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Things You'll Need
- Instruction and pattern book
- No. 14 Aida cloth
- Embroidery flosses
- Embroidery needle
- Sharp scissors
- Embroidery hoop
Instructions
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Prepare by reading your instruction and pattern book. Familiarize yourself with the tools of your new craft: Aida cloth, needles, embroidery flosses and hoop. Choose a simple pattern which does not have too many different floss colors. Look for a pattern which is visually simple, as well.
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Prepare your fabric by cutting a piece large enough to accommodate the area your pattern will cover. You will center your design on your fabric; fold the fabric in half, then in half again. Make a crease on both folds with a fingernail. These creases will meet in the center of your fabric; the center of the fabric will be the center of your design area. Don't count the holes; count the square in-between each hole.
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Open an embroidery hoop and place the fabric on top of the inner half of the hoop. The outer hoop will "lock" the fabric on the inner hoop. Some hoops are wooden, with a screw to loosen and tighten the outer hoop and hold or release the fabric. Others are plastic and are operated with tension handles. Place your fabric on the hoop, with the lower part of the fabric being caught and locked into the hoop. Make sure the fabric is taut with no folds in it.
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Using a ruler as a guide, place a mark on the center of the design. Hold the ruler at the horizontal then the vertical arrows. The point where the arrows meet is the center of the design. Take a needle and carefully count up to the mark you made. Do the same counting horizontally and to the left. Write down the number of vertical and horizontal stitches. Each color of floss will be marked with its own printed symbol on the pattern page. This is how you will know when to change floss colors and where you need to stitch to create the pattern on your fabric.
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Ensure that your design will be correctly centered on your fabric. Again, count the center of the square in-between each hole. Starting at the center of your fabric (where the creases meet) count down the same number of stitches that you counted on the pattern. Now count the number of stitches going left to the beginning of your pattern at the lower left side. This is where you will begin to stitch. Mark this spot on your fabric with a straight pin.
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Separate the strands you need. Your patterns will specify the number of strands you should use for the design area. Cut a length about 36-inches long. Carefully separate two strands from the length. Slowly and gently pull the two strands. It helps to have someone else hold one set of strands while you use both hands to separate the two strands you need to stitch. Wind the length of cut floss around the skein of floss. Thread your needle, but do not knot the floss.
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Beginning at the point you marked with the pin earlier, stick your needle into the fabric from the bottom. Using a "stab-stick" method, push the needle up through the hole where you are to start stitching. Slowly pull the needle and floss up. Hold one or two fingers on the floss under your fabric. When you are close to the end of the floss, stop pulling. Hold the floss firmly as you start a second stitch. These subsequent stitches will catch and anchor the tail of your floss. Make sure your floss on the underside catches and holds the floss tail securely.
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Create the first "leg" of your stitches, moving from the left side of the fabric to the right. Each stitch will begin at the lower left of the square and end at the upper right of the square. Each new stitch will begin directly below the stitch you just finished. You will be making only the first half of each stitch; when you have reached the end of the area indicated by the symbol on your pattern, you will "return," beginning those stitches at the upper left side of the square and completing on the lower right side. When you finish each stitch, you have an "X," thus the term "cross stitch." It is important for the final look of your project to make sure you are consistent in starting at the lower left, then returning by starting the "return" stitches on the upper left side of each square.
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Tips & Warnings
As you come close to the spot where the fabric is being held by the hoop, you will need to move the hoop. Ensure that you leave enough room to stitch when you place your hoop in the new spot.
Try not to pull your stitches too tightly, since you will distort the fabric by doing so. Keep an even tension in your floss.
Never knot your floss before beginning stitching!
Do not allow your floss to "travel" too many stitches over, especially if it is a dark-colored floss. It will be visible from the front of your fabric.
Always begin a new project by carefully counting the number of stitches vertically and horizontally on the pattern. Do the same on your fabric to ensure you have a properly-placed design.
Do not wash your cross stitch in the machine. Once you have finished stitching, hand wash using a gentle detergent to remove lotion and oil deposits from your hands. Allow the design to air-dry, then iron inside a barely damp towel.
