A Great Way to Manage Thread on a Big Cross Stitch Project

I’ll admit that most of the cross-stitching I have done and most of what I share here are pretty small, easy projects that don’t require a lot of time, colors or effort to complete. That’s just what works for my life, and cross stitch isn’t my main hobby, so that’s the kind of project I tend to like and focus on.

But if you’re into big, artistic, complicated cross stitch patterns, this information from Peacock and Fig about the parking method of thread management might be helpful.

It explores a way to work a complex cross-stitch pattern where you work across a row and “park” the threads you aren’t using until you need them again.

It makes a lot of sense but I’d never really thought about how to do this (the hair clips are genius; bobby pins or safety pins would work, too).

Do you like complicated or large cross-stitch projects? I’d love to know how you approach them.

[Photo: Peacock and Fig.]

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Tips for Stitching Large Projects: Parking Versus…

I’ll admit to not taking as much care as I should when finishing cross stitch projects. Just like blocking in knitting or crochet, taking the time to finish a cross stitch project right means it will look its best, whether you’re making it as a gift or to keep.

And when it comes to cross stitch, the best method for finishing is washing and pressing.

Kat and Catkin and Lillie makes the argument that you should always press your finished pieces, and wash them the vast majority of the time as well.

Washing of course will help if there is any visible dirt that got on the project while stitching, but it also helps remove oils and skin cells you can’t see but that can speed up damage to your project in the long run.

Washing and pressing also help remove creases from the hoop or from storing the project, and if you use heat-erasable marking pens to grid your fabric, this will remove any visible marks.

So we’ve got the why down, but what about the how?

Kat has a great step by step tutorial on how to wash your cross stitch projects and how to iron them safely. You probably have everything you need to do this, it just takes a bit of time to go through the process. It’s certainly worth it, though, if you’ve spent a lot of time on a project and are gifting it or framing it and want to show it off to its best.

Click over to the post at Catkin and Lillie for all the details, plus some really good thoughts on times when you might not want to wash a project and how to test the colorfastness of your threads so you’ll know if a project is safe to wash.

Do you wash and press your finished cross stitch projects? I’d love to hear all about your process!

[Photo: Catkin and Lillie]

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