Cross Stitch Basics: How to Read a Chart and Keep Your Place

This time of year is ripe for starting new projects, and possibly new hobbies, or even just for trying new methods of doing things you’ve been doing with less success in the past.

I am the worst, for example, when it comes to properly reading and following cross-stitch charts. I know that it’s totally basic and I should be able to pay more attention to where I am in a cross-stitch pattern, but I always seem to mess it up a little bit.

Oh well, that makes my project unique, right?

If you’d rather stitch the project the way it was intended, this advice from Funk & Weber about keeping your place in a cross-stitch pattern should be helpful.

They recommend enlarging and magnifying patterns and using highlighters or other tools to mark the row you’re on.

Again, pretty basic stuff, but a good reminder that we could probably all stand to follow a little more closely.

How do you keep track of where you are in a chart? I’d love to hear your tips.

[Photo via Funk & Weber.]

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30 Bookmarks To Cross Stitch For Kids

If you’re a fan of detailed and colorful cross stitch patterns, Design for Cross Stitch might have a pattern you want to try. This Etsy shop is based in Spain and has more than 50 designs with a focus on animals, holidays and landscapes.

I’m just going to start with the first pattern that caught my eye when I visited the site, which is this Sakura by the Lake project. This pattern is 200 by 200 stitches and the whole background is stitched, so it’s definitely not for a beginner, but it’s stunning and would be amazing to make for someone who loves Japan. Despite the detail it only uses 24 colors. Worked on 14 count fabric it will measure 14.64 inches, or 37.19 cm.

There are a few other landscape designs, including a canal in Venice and a few cabins in the woods.

The shop also has some cute animal cross stitch, with big, round faces and often holding a warm beverage. Holiday projects focus on Christmas and Halloween. Most of the patterns have a cute, chibi-like feel, but there are some that are more detailed and realistic as well. Take for examples the flower patterns, which are full of details and soft colors.

You’ll also find some fun bookmark cross stitch patterns with a watercolor feel, as well as some that look kind of like paint pouring turned into stitches.

If this sort of stuff sounds like fun to you, check out their Etsy store at Design for Cross Stitch.

Do you have a favorite cross stitch designer who I haven’t featured yet? Let me know in the comments or share more about them by clicking on “suggest a DIY” at the center top of the page and let me know the details. I’d love to share the designers you’re enjoying with a wider audience.

[Photo: Design for Cross Stitch]

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