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Cross Stitch – Don’t Be Afraid to Change Colors

June 28, 2017 by Sarah White

rose chart shown in two different colors

There’s a joke in the knitting world that designers will hear from people who love their patterns but have just one question: “Will it work if I knit it in blue instead of red?”

I don’t know if anyone has really asked that question, but I do know that the vast majority of people pick the exact same color yarn to work a project as is shown in the pattern.

Surely it’s the same for cross stitch.

And while it can be somewhat hard to visualize how a cross-stitch chart will look in, say, purple instead of yellow, it’s totally possible to alter the colors used in a project.

This could be as simple as using dark blue when the chart says light blue, or it could involve completely redrawing the pattern so that you can more easily see what changes you are making.

Red Tansy shows how to do this with a small chart, and its definitely easier if you’re going to have to redraw the chart to do it on a small pattern. But the same process works no matter the size, and can make a big difference in terms of the finished look of your project.

Have you ever swapped out colors on a cross-stitch design? I’d love to know how it went.

[Photo: Red Tansy.]

Looking for more Rose-themed cross stitch patterns or charts ? Check these out on Etsy  and these on the DMC threads website. 

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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]

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