Sometimes Crafter

Embroidery•Tutorials

Coffee Time Cross-Stitch

April 25, 2011

This post originally appeared at Fat Quarterly.

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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!
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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 (or waste 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.
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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.
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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.
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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!

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  2. I love your stitching – so cute. Sorry I didn’t really get to see you after the meeting the other night. Who knew the the restaurant would be overrun by PMQG!?!

    Reply

  4. Yay cross stitching! It’s always good to get other people hooked on it right?? I haven’t used waste canvas before, but have friends who love it. My mother in law uses it to stitch on clothing and stuff.

    Reply

  5. I was reading the other comments on Fat Quarterly and also wanted to let you know that once you cross-stitch on linen you’ll never want to go back to Aida cloth. The linen is so nice to work with and just doesn’t seem as stiff as Aida. Just think you won’t have to pull all those threads out by either doing your method or the easier way – using waste canvas. The only time I ever used waste canvas was when I did some designs on sweatshirts. Try linen and you’ll love it. Love your blog!

    Reply

  9. Hurray! I grew up with cross stitch and embroidery before I tackled sewing and love to see it gain in popularity again. My mom is an avid cross-stitcher and swears by waste canvas. Also linen is perfect for these projects.

    Reply

  10. Popping in to say hi and that I’m so honored to be featured in the current issue of Artful Blogging with you! Looking forward to coming back here!

    Reply

  11. I’ve never thought to do this before! Amazing! I’ve been cross stitching for about 16 years (since I was a little girl) and have loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it and asked my mom “what is this?” lol. To see a new technique to try just makes my day! ;D Can’t wait to try it out!

    Reply

  12. So you stitch on the Aida cloth and linen on the RIGHT side of the fabric and just trim away the excess? What type of scissors do you have? I honestly thought I’d have to learn how to cross stitch backwards on the WRONG side of the fabric so it would look correct on the outside.

    Reply

    • Yes, that’s correct. Layer the Aida cloth (or they also have something called “waste canvas”) onto the right side of your fabric and stitch. The key is to make sure your stitches are tight so that when you remove the Aida/waste canvas your stitches aren’t too loose. I’d say to practice on some scrap fabric by making 20×20 cross-stitched square so you get a feel for removing and your stitch tension. These are the two pair of scissors I use and really like: Cutter Bee – http://amzn.to/2m19dIX and Olfa Precision – http://amzn.to/2mjyMra Both are very sharp and have a skinny, pointed tip that make it easy to get around detail with ease.

      Reply

  13. To be honest, there are much more easier ways to stitch something on cloth. Try these quite new fabrics (soluable in water after stitching) – ok, they are expensive – but simply grand!

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  14. i have been having mental issues on how to transfer pictures to the cloth..Thank you so much..this makes sense to me!Carole

    Reply

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