Chez Mounette recently posted a small sewing supply wallet or as I like to call it a “fancy little needle wallet” because that is the main sewing supply I use. She has a front and back design, both done up in redwork and they are both sweet little vingettes with birds and snails living in harmony in the garden area. Not so much like my garden, but I won’t think about that. And, did I mention, the charts are FREE! Of course, you can always alter the color of the design if red is not your favorite color. Since my favorite colors are red and black, I might want to do one side in red and one in black. I haven’t quite decided!
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Have you read?
Quick Tip: How to Keep Cross Stitch Fabric from Fraying
One of the most common problems that cross stitchers at all skill levels have is that the cross stitch fabric can start fraying while you stitch.
Beginner cross stitchers might wonder why this happens and if there is something they are doing wrong to cause it.
The reason cross stitch fabric frays is because it is a woven fabric, and the nature of any kind of woven fabric (whether that’s cross stitch fabric, a torn up towel or a piece of fabric you’re going to sew) is that it wants to fray.
It’s not necessarily a huge deal if you cross stitch fabric starts fraying mid-project if you have left a lot of extra fabric around your stitching. But if there’s not much fabric to spare in order to be able to finish the project the way you want, you’ll want to do something to stop the fraying.
When I was growing up I remember my mom using masking tape for this purpose, but it turns out there are lots of different things that you can do to stop your cross stitch fabric from fraying.
Craft with Cartwright came up with 15 different things that you can try, which seems like a lot, but that just means you have lots of different things you can try.
If you don’t want to buy something, you can stitch along the edges. If you already have supplies like tape or glue, or access to pinking shears or a serger, there are lots of options you can try.
Some of these are more permanent than others, so it will depend a little bit on how you want to finish your cross stitch project as to which is the best choice for you. It’s a great idea to read through the whole list just so you can have them in the back of yoru mind the next time you start a project and think about how you would like to protect it.
You can find the whole list at Craft with Cartwright.
How do you like to stop fraying on your cross stitch projects? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
[Photo: Craft with Cartwright]
What a sweet little pattern, thanks for finding it and passing it on!
One note though: this design is not Redwork, it is actually Blackwork (irregardless of color of thread). The difference is in the stitching: Blackwork is ‘counted-thread’, while Redwork is ’embroidery’. The ground fabric is different, and while Blackwork is stitched from a chart, Redwork is often embroidered from a drawing (often on the fabric itself), or freehand. Nowadays, either can be in any color, although historically they were their name-color. = )