Cross-Stitch Basics: How to Clean Cross Stitch

Despite our best efforts while we are working on a project, our cross-stitched objects sometimes get a little dirty.

Prevention can help a lot: always wash your hands before you stitch, don’t eat and stitch (or drink colored/sugary liquids), store your project out of reach of childrens/pets/other people who might accidentally get it dirty while you’re working on it.

But washing a cross-stitch project before you finish and frame it is a good idea even if there aren’t visible stains on it.

If you’re familiar with hand washing laundry, it’s a pretty simple process, outlined in a little more detail at Tiny Modernist. Use dish soap or your favorite wool wash/hand wash detergent and lukewarm water.

Allow the piece to soak for about 15 if there are no visible stains that need to be treated. Drain the water, then gently rinse (or fill the sink with clear water and put the project back in to rinse off the remaining soap), press between two towels to get most of the water out, then lie flat on a towel to dry the rest of the way.

What if you do have stains? Check out the tips on About.com Laundry for a good process for dealing with stains and cleaning vintage cross-stitch projects.

Do you wash your cross-stitch projects? I’d love to know how you do it.

[Photo by Raquel Philips, via Flickr.]

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How to Wash Cross Stitch Projects

As the year comes to a close, you might be thinking about things you want to do, or do differently, in your life in the next year, and your crafting life should definitely be part of whatever resolutions or goals you set.

I feel like one of the most common goals for crafters of all varieties, not just cross stitchers, is to be more organized. Earlier this year I shared a post about organizing cross stitch supplies, and in the vault you’ll find ideas for storing embroidery floss in particular, as well as this post about how one cross stitcher uses a Caboodles box to keep her projects contained.

You might also want to finish projects that you’ve started but abandoned in the past, or to let go of some things that you know you’ll never finish (if you need help decluttering your craft supplies, I’ve got an ebook to help!).

Making more time for your crafts is another good goal, and may be especially important if you’re trying to avoid the news or social media. Start small, with scheduling in an extra 10 or 15 minutes a day, or declare that after supper is craft time, or whatever you need to do to hold that time for yourself. Doing something like a 100 day project is an easy way to commit to working on a craft regularly.

Another resolution you might consider is learning new skills or trying more difficult projects. I’m guilty of staying in the beginner zone when it comes to cross stitch for a really long time, but writing about it here has inspired me to try bigger, more colorful and more difficult projects, which is the challenging kind of fun. If there’s a project you’ve always wanted to do but were afraid to try, make this coming year the time you do it.

And if you are still learning the basics of cross stitch, check out my learn to cross stitch guide over at Our Daily Craft.

Do you have a cross stitch related resolution or something you want to learn this year? I’d love to hear about it!

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