23
Apr
Apr
Be Our Guest: The Sometimes Crafter
Posted by
Christina is a long arm quilter and pattern designer who loves everything crafty. As a stay-at-home-mom she fills her day trying to sew around a busy two-year-old’s demands. She shares her adventures on her blog The Sometimes Crafter – www.sometimescrafter.blogspot.
Cross-Stitching on Linen
Thanks to the beautiful patterns by The Frosted Pumpkin my love of cross-stitch has been renewed. For a few years now I’ve seen some small pattern companies pop up in local shops with new cross-stitch designs, but found while cute, they weren’t really to my taste. Then along came Amanda and Ashley with their adorable patterns! I found myself digging through bins in the garage searching for all of my old supplies and getting to work on their Toast BFF’s pattern and was once again hooked. Then I began thinking about how to expand beyond stitching on Aida cloth (the cross-stitch fabric with holes all in a grid) yet still keep my stitches even and neat. Remembering a technique I saw in a Japanese craft book a few years ago, I decided to give it a try. That is what I would like to share with you today!
I realize there may be many of you that have not tried cross-stitching yet, but I assure you it is very easy. You will need just a few supplies: your pattern, Aida cloth, floss in your desired colors and a cross-stitch/tapestry needle. Cross-stitch/tapestry needles have a blunted end and can make for a better looking stitch. You may find if you are using a needle with a sharp end (like an embroidery needle) that your needle will split the strands of floss as you go up or down through your material where floss has already been stitched, where as the tapestry needle with help to slide next to the strands of floss instead. If you find yourself unhappy with how your stitches look, and you are using an embroidery needle, try switching to a tapestry needle.
Next, you need to know about the basic stitch. Patterns are made up of little x’s to form the overall design. The most important part of cross-stitching is to stitch your x’s all in the same direction. When I’m stitching I like to start off by going from the bottom left corner to the top right, and then coming back over that stitch from the bottom right to top left. If I have a row of the same color, I stitch all of the first part of my x’s (bottom left to top right) first and then come back and complete them all. Why do I do it this way? Because this is how I was taught. You should of course do whatever you are most comfortable with. You can find all sorts of videos and tutorials around the web should you like more detailed explanations.
With a brief overview of the basics out of the way, let’s get to the fun part. I begin by placing my fabric I want the stitching to be on (linen in this case) inside my embroidery hoop. Next I cut a piece of Aida cloth to the right size and stitch it down to the fabric in the hoop with a single strand of floss. I make it something I can easily see, and use it as my center grid to help me begin stitching my pattern. Next I get to work stitching the design, one color at a time.
After the pattern is stitched, I remove the fabric from the hoop and trim away the majority of the excess Aida cloth. Then I begin to pull out the strands of Aida cloth, a few strands at a time. I find if I pull out the strands all in one direction first, it makes removing the strands in the opposite direction quick and easy. When that is complete I like to give the cloth a quick steam press on the back side to help the thread shrink up a little. If I find that some of my stitches are a little loose, I might use my needle on the backside to snug them up. I insert my needle under the bit of floss that is connected to the x, and gently lift if up. I find this technique of removing the Aida cloth is best done on a smaller design and I also try and keep my tension pretty tight as I am initially stitching the pattern.
I find cross-stitching to be very relaxing and loving thinking of new ways to incorporate it into my sewing. Thank you to the Fat Quarterly bunch for having me here in this space and happy stitching to all of you!
Category : be our guest
- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
Retreat Sponsors
Website Sponsors
Christina, that is so cool! I’ve never cross stitched, believing it is one sure way to put myself into bifocals before my 45th b’day, haha, but one other reason is that I don’t really like the look of aida. Now this has me thinking I should give it a try! Thanks for sharing.
Wow I like cross stitch but would never have thought of adding it to sewing like this. Thanks for the idea.
Wow, that’s a cute little pattern, it might actually tempt me back to cross-stitch too
And I love your idea of incorporating your motif in a quilted project.
I have seen your technique described in a magazine, but using something called “waste canvas”. I think it has a more open grid (less threads between the holes) than aida, so it might be easier to pull the threads out after stitching.
Adorable! Looks so cute and tidy on the linen.
The easier way to deal with that is to use “waste canvas”. It’s available at craft stores. That way you can stitch on any fabric and then you can easily pull out the warp and weft strands. Thanks for posting this designer. I haven’t seen them before and their stuff is SO cute! =)
Waste canvas can also be softened by misting with water. There is much less starch holding the fabric stiff so it almost immediately collapses, allowing an easier time to remove the threads. I use tweezers to remove the threads. Also, it’s not as thick as Aida cloth, so when the threads are removed, the stitching is not as loose against the true background fabric. I used waste canvas extensively when cross-stitching small motifs on my children’s towels and clothing when they were very young. It worked really well.
What a wonderful piece and tutorial on how to put it on fabric without the backing showing.
Debbie
Thanks to Fat Quarterly for letting me share a post! In all my years of cross-stitching, I’ve never heard of waste canvas, but next time i’m at Joann’s i’m going to pick some up and give it a try! From everyones descriptions it sounds like it will make the job a little faster. Thanks to everyone that shared about it in their comments, i’m always learning new things.
You can also buy Linen Evenweave needlework fabric to cross stitch on in various thread counts. That way, for example, the cross stitches can be worked over 2 threads with 2 strands of floss to measure the same as 12, 14, 16, or 18-count Aida cloth, etc. These are some of the most popular counts, but other ones are also available and a multitude of fabric colors are also sold. When utilizing Linen Evenweave fabric, you don’t need to use waste canvas at all.
Wow that is clever! I’ve often wondered how on earth some people appear to be cross stitching SO neatly without a grid line. Definitely going to try this!
molto bello grazie per il tutorial ben spiegato.un bacio ele