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Basic Cross Stitch Instructions
Below you will find cross stitch information,
instructions and tips to help you complete our patterns.
Fabrics
Cottons
Needles
Stitching Tools
Stitching Instructions
Fabrics
Aida Cloth
- Aida cloth is the most common
fabric used for cross stitch. It can be purchased from your local craft
shops or online stores.
- It comes in various stitch counts. 14 count is the most popular. 14 count
means there is 14 stitches per inch of fabric. Other popular sizes are 16
and 18 count. One square is equal to one stitch on the pattern.
- Our patterns can be stitched on any size aida
cloth. The higher the aida count the smaller the completed pattern will be
but as the stitch count becomes higher it can make it more difficult to
stitch especially if you have poor eyesight as the holes are not as defined.
- We recommend to stitch on white or off white
aida for all of our patterns unless stated otherwise on the pattern.
Occassionally we will suggest black if there is alot of black background to
save you stitching it but this can be harder to stitch on, especially at
night.
- You can purchase premade aida items for
bookmarks, coasters, paperweights and many others items for our small
patterns and bookmarks. If you search in a search engine for premade cross
stitch or stitchables you should will find them.
Evenweave and Linens
- Stitching on linens is harder for beginners as
unlike aida cloth the stitch placement is not as easily defined.
- For even weave and linen fabric the main difference to aida is instead of
stitching over one thread you stitch over two.
- The most common evenweave sizes are 28 count (equivalent to 14 count aida)
and 32 count (equivalent to 16 count aida)
- These fabrics give a more rustic and professional look than aida cloth and
are generally more durable so are good for items which will require alot of
washing such as tablecloths, napkins etc.
Waste Canvas
- Waste canvas is a useful material used to stitch designs onto fabric
that does not have a weave. You can stitch on any items such as towels,
clothing etc.
- It is available in various different counts.
- Cut the Waste Canvas at least 2 inches (5cm) larger than the completed
design size.
- Line up the Canvas threads with the grain of the fabric.
- Tack around the edge of the waste canvas onto your fabric to hold it into
place.
- Stitch the design working each stitch individually through the waste
canvas and your fabric. Aim for the centre of the hole in each waste canvas
square to keep the stitches tidy and to help in the removal of the waste
canvas.
- When stitching is complete remove tacking stitches around the edge of the
waster canvas and trim the waste canvas to around an inch from the design.
- Slightly dampen the waste canvas with cold water using a damp paper towel.
- With a pair of tweezers pull the waste canvas threads out one at a time
varying the direction from left to right and top to bottom to avoid
distortion of the fabric.
- What you are left with is your design stitched onto your garment. You must
use colourfast cottons such as DMC, Anchor and Madeira to avoid the cottons
running in the wash. Wash garment in normal wash but where ever possible turn
garment inside out to iron so you do not iron directly over the stitching or
place a tea towel or handkerchief over the stitching to iron.
How to determine how much fabric you need
for a design.
To determine finished size, divide stitch
count by Aida count or cloth you are using for e.g.100w x 100h stitches on
14 count would be 7"wide x 7"high. Times inches by 2.5 for cm.
Also allow at least 3inches (7.5cm) around each
side of your work to assist in framing. So if your pattern is 100w x 100h
stitches and you are stitching on 14 count your would need to measure and
cut a piece of aida 10" x 10" (25cm x 25cm) to complete your work.
It is a good idea to purchase your cloth by the
metre if you plan to do alot of patterns than you can just cut the aida to
size for you patterns at home.
There is a free fabric calculator you can find
on this page if you need help.
http://www.findstitch.com/resources/
Cottons
- We use only DMC cottons in all of our patterns
as these are the most popular brand used.
- We suggest using two strands of floss for all of our patterns except where
backstitching is used, then we suggest only using one strand of floss.
- Trying to keep your threads from getting tangled or lost can be annoying
so it is a good idea to set yourself up with a system for organising and
storing your floss. There are plenty of organiser systems you can find in
craft stores. I store my large supply of different cottons in a pocket
storage system by LoRan. However when I start a new project I make up my own
kit to store the cottons needed for a project. To organise the cottons I
will cut a piece of thick cardboard into a rectangle shape and down one side
I will use a one hole punch to make holes down one side. I will then write
the number for the cotton next to each hole.
- I then cut the six stranded cotton into one metre lengths. I fold this in
half and insert the loop up through the hole bring the tail around through
the loop to hold onto the card.
- This makes it really easy to separate the cottons as I get my needle and
separate one strand of cotton and pull to remove from the card.
-To estimate how much DMC floss you will need from the colour
distribution chart on our old charts, generally 30 stitches uses 1 metre of 1 strand of
floss. DMC stranded floss is usually sold in 8 metre lengths with 6 strands. Therefore you
get approx 1440 stitches (6 x 8 x 30) from one lot of floss. On our newest charts we give
you a list showing how much floss you need to buy.
- I do have people ask if they can replace DMC cottons into another like
Anchor for my patterns. I have only created the patterns using DMC cottons
so I cannot guarantee the outcome if you use different cottons. However
below are links to where you can find conversions charts.
http://yarntree.com/index.htm
http://www.findstitch.com/resources/
Also DMC have discontinued some colours.
Although I do not use any of the discontinued colours in my new patterns,
some of my very old patterns may contain these colours so below are their
replacements as per DMC.
DMC 504 is replaced by 3813
DMC 731 is replaced by 732
DMC 776 is replaced by 3326
DMC 781 is replaced by 782
DMC 806 is replaced by 3760
DMC 971 is replaced by 740
DMC 3773 is replaced by 407
Needles
- The needles you use for cross stitch are blunt
ended tapestry needles. If you have alot of quarter stitches it can help to
switch to a sharp ended needle for these if you have problems splitting the
fabric.
- Needle as usually nickel plated and some stitchers may have allergies to
these so you can switch to gold plated needles.
- When you have finished stitching it is best to store your needle in the
very corner of your fabric in case you do not stitch on the project for a
long time as it may leave rust marks and this way they would be hidden
inside the framing.
- If you have trouble threading your cottons onto the needles you can
purchase needle threaders from a craft store to help you.
- Needles come in various sizes. Below is a grid to help you work out the
needle needed.
|
Tapestry Needle size |
Aida
count |
Evenweave count |
| 18 |
6 |
- |
| 20 |
8 |
- |
| 22 |
11 |
22,25,27 |
| 24 |
14 |
28 |
| 26 |
16 |
32 |
| 28 |
18 |
36,55 |
Stitching Tools
- Frames and Hoops are not essential to use. I
prefer stitching without them especially on larger projects. They do help to
keep your fabric taut however if you stitch without them and your fabric
becomes a little distorted this is corrected in the finished framing
process.
As I am not an expert in this area here are some links to give you more
information on frames and hoops.
http://www.cross-stitching.com/kh_page.asp?id=152
http://crossstitch.about.com/od/basicsupplypreparation/ss/fabricinhoop.htm
- If you have difficulty reading patterns or seeing the holes in the aida
when stitching there are lamps and magnifying products available on the
market to assist you.
Here are some links to companies which sell
cross stitch accessories. You can find others in our cross stitch links
page.
http://www.sewandso.co.uk/cat29.html
http://www.wimblebees.com/h_A__Accessories.htm
http://www.stitchez.com/
Stitching
Instructions
- The best way to start is to make yourself up a
kit. Print the pattern you are wanting. Look at the distribution list to see
what cottons and how much to purchase. Purchase the fabric if you do not
have a stash of it and purchase a needle if you do not have one.
- Then cut the fabric to size (to work out the size see the fabric section
above). Cut the cottons into metre lengths and store them on a card
(described in cottons as above).
- In a plastic zip lock bag you can then store the fabric, cottons, needle
and pattern so they are ready to use and go with you wherever you wish to
stitch.
- You may need to wash the Aida cloth to avoid it shrinking
if you are wanting the design for a cushion cover, etc. If fraying around
the edges does occur you can put masking tape on the edges or overlock them.
- To start stitching you should always start in the middle of your pattern
and on the middle of the fabric this will make sure your pattern in centred
on your fabric.
- To find the middle of the fabric, first fold
it in half horizontally and then in half vertically. Where the cross meets
in the centre is the centre of your fabric.
- Each square on the cross stitch pattern chart represents a square on the
Aida cloth. On our old patterns we mark the centre of the patterns for you
with a circle, this is where you start from.
On our newer patterns to find the centre of the
pattern it is just a matter of locating the arrows at the top and left hand
side of the patterns, they are determined by dividing the stitch numbers
wide and high in half. Where the two points meet that is the centre.
- To put our newer patterns together look in the top and bottom corners. The
page numbers in brackets () show which page number it joins up to. Page 1
always starts at the top left hand side of the pattern. Our older patterns
have a pattern layout to show you how to put the patterns together, they
start from the bottom left hand corner.
- With larger patterns you do have quite a few pages. I prefer to start on
the page in the middle of the pattern and stitch that whole page before I
move onto an adjoining page. I find this easier. It is totally up to you
what you prefer in organising and stitching your patterns. Some people do
have trouble remembering where they are on a pattern so you can use
highlighters to mark the pattern to help you.
- Make sure your hands are clean before you start
to avoid marking the fabric.
- Thread one strand of floss
through needle until ends are even, do not use knots to secure. Always use
two strands of floss per stitch. Use 1 strand of floss for back stitching
unless instructions on a pattern state otherwise.
- Begin stitching by inserting needle from back of Aida cloth
at starting point (as shown below) leaving a small "tail" at the back. Hold that
"tail" in a way that your next few stitches will cross over it to secure. End
the same thread by weaving it under 3 or 4 stitches at the back and cut excess cotton off
to keep neat. Make sure all your stitches are done in the same direction to keep the
pattern even (as below). For the next stitches you can then start and finish by weaving it
under 3 or 4 stitches at the back.
-Every 8-10 stitches you should drop your needle to let the floss untwist.
- Don't worry about how the back of the pattern will look at the end, it can
look quite messy. One of the most annoying things about large patterns is
having to change colours often. Some people only stitch one row at a time
and change colours as they go. I find this frustrating and too time
consuming so I stitch one page at a time but if there is alot of one colour
I will start off with that and I stitch big blocks of colours at the same
time so I can change my needle less. It is ok to run your cotton under a few
stitches at the back to get to a different area but it is best not to do
this behind blank cloth which will not be stitched on as your cottons can
show through, especially dark cottons.
- Make sure you sit in a comfortable place to stitch that is well lit to
avoid strain on your joints and eyesight. It is an addictive hobby once you
get started and you can find yourself stitching for many hours straight.
-These counted cross stitch instructions should help you complete
our
cross stitch patterns, yet if you need any further instructions or information please contact us
and we will help as best we can.
Most of our patterns only use
straight cross stitch, especially our large patterns but some of our smaller
patterns may also use quarter stitch and back stitch so I have included
pictures below.
If you are
looking for information on cleaning and framing your cross stitch once
completed please click here. 
Single stitch
Row of
stitches in same colour
Quarter stitch
Back Stitch
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