Lazy Days & Sundays: Cross Stitch

You can buy cross stitches either as a chart or as a kit and if you're just getting started you may find having a go at a small kit as your maiden voyage the best way to go. There is nothing worse than buying a kit that you really like and then not being able to make head nor tale of what you're supposed to do and feeling completely deflated and overwhelmed before you even get started..

I love starting a new project and all the preparation it entails to start. Your kit will contain all you need to complete your project. Along with the chart there will be a piece of fabric, detailed instruction leaflet, all the silks you require to make your project and a cross stitch needle. The only pieces of equipment you will need to purchase is a pair of embroidery scissor and a hoop to hold your fabric and keep it taut. I have used a hoop for the last 25 years but you could go for either a hoop, Qsnap or wooden frame depending on the size of your project and you can find out more about these here.

Every kit will come with a piece of aida, evenweave or linen fabric. I would advise that on starting out that you pick a kit with aida. It will tell you on the outer packaging whether it has aida, evenweave or linen inside the kit.

The edges of aida, evenweave or linen can fray very easily from where it has been cut off a role. To prevent this I use masking tape around the edge. This will come off easily once finished, I usually take it off when I wash the finished cross stitch at the end, alternatively you could put a running stitch around all four edges it won't stop it fraying altogether but it will prevent it fraying past the running stitches. For those clever people who machine sew you could over-lock the edges if you wanted but I am not one of those clever people.

In most cases your chart tells you to start in the middle and work your way out. Only in very large projects will you be advised to do otherwise and by the time you start a large project you will be a much more experienced stitcher or a braver women than me. To start stitching you will need to find the centre of your aida. I find the easiest way to do this is fold into four put a tea towel over the top and rub a warm iron across that will then give you a clear definition as to where your centre is. Some people then put a running stitch across the centre so they know where to start but unless I'm using a very high count evenweave I don't tend to bother and work by eye.

Even after all these years of stitching I still use a pencil to gray out the squares on the chart once I have stitched them so I know where I am up to, and it makes it easier to follow the chart. If you have access to a photocopier you could do what I do and make a working copy and if necessary enlarge it a bit to make it easier to follow. I use pencil so that should I ever want to stitch the chart again for someone else I can rub out the pencil markings and start the process again. I once made the mistake of using a coloured pencil and that doesn't work in the same way and I never use a highlighter or felt tip as you won't be able to reuse at a later date and I have been known to stitch the same chart more than once if its a gift.

Your chart will have arrows at the side and top/bottom to help you define where the middle of the chart is. You can either follow from the top and side with your fingers to find your middle stitch. Some charts, like this one, will have it marked out for you or you could use a ruler and put a feint pencil line from the top and from the side till they meet in the middle and then you will be able to see where to start.

On the chart there are little icons, each little icon depicts the colour silk you should be using. Kits will come with all silks needed but in some you will need to sort them into colours and match to the icon on the chart, others will come with all the silks sorted for you on the silk holder supplied and has the matching icon printed onto the card but not all suppliers do this. The instructions will tell you how many skeins of silk you should have in each colour and will tell you how many strands you need to stitch with. Most are two strands for cross stitching and one strand for back-stitching but I always check the instructions before I start as I've can be caught out before

You're almost ready to start now. Secure your fabric onto your hoop by placing the first hoop (no tension screw) underneath your fabric and the hoop with the tension screw on top of the fabric. Adjust your fabric until it feels taut and then using the tension screw turn until it has closed the hoop around the fabric and the hoop underneath until it feels secure.

I find the centre of my chart and using the colour that matches the icon on the chart I make my first stitch at the centre of the aida . Following the chart I continue to stitch any stitches with the same icon/colour working from the centre out. Where possible I will carry on stitching with this colour until the thread runs out before finishing off and starting the next colour. I tend to complete one quarter of the chart at a time including any back stitching.