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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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Check Out This Great Method for Framing Cross Stitch

When you put all the time and energy you do into making a great cross stitch project, it’s worth taking the time to frame it in a way that will make it look its best.

Often for smaller designs we’ll choose to frame projects in a hoop, which is cute and a fine option, especially for seasonal projects you might want to change out through the year. Others will send their finished projects for professional framing, which is a great option for gifts and heirloom items that need to be preserved, but it can also be quite expensive.

Crewel Ghoul has a great tutorial for a way that you can easily frame your cross stitch projects at home with just a few supplies.

She uses adhesive mounting board (but you can use non-adhesive board if you have some one hand or you need a size that’s not available in an adhesive version) and a few other basic supplies to secure the sides and corners of the cross stitch fabric around the board before putting the design in the frame.

This requires a bit of hand sewing, but we’re cross stitchers so I’m sure we can handle that.

Framing your cross stitch like this gives it a little padding in the frame, which makes it look better than if it were just flat in a frame with no special finishing. It’s also a great idea to use a frame without glass or to leave the glass out of the frame so it doesn’t crush your stitches.

And though this is super secure it’s not 100 percent permanent if you decide you don’t want the project framed in that way any more. Or you can take it out of the frame and the edges are still all nicely finished so you can display it a different way without having to do anything else to it.

Check out the tutorial at Crewel Ghoul.

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul.]

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