Finish Your Cross Stitch with Washing and Pressing

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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35+ Sunflower Cross Stitch Patterns

For some reason I missed out on the beginning of the Labubu trend (my teen isn’t into it) but now that I’m seeing it everywhere it seems like a good time to look into Labubu cross stitch patterns.

These creepy cute little monsters show up in all sorts of cute outfits, which makes them fun to stitch for a Labubu lover of any age.

In cross stitch the pink Labubu seems to show up the most often. You can stitch up this one with a slightly sinister face from MK Cross Stitch Shop. This one is 23 by 43 stitches and uses eight colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to 1.64 by 3.07 inches, or 4.17 by 7.8 cm.

There’s also this fuzzy little monster from Alya Cross Stitch, which uses six colors on a project that’s 100 by 169 stitches.

Or try this lovely little Labubu with a flower in its hair. This one is by Stitch Heart UA, and would be perfect for a little kid’s room or as a decoration for spring. It measures 93 by 128 stitches, which comes out to 6.6 by 92. inches/16.9 by 23.3 cm on 14 count fabric. It uses 17 colors and 5 blends.

If you want to just stitch the faces, I like this collection of Labubu heads to cross stitch in different pastel colors. This design from Stitched by Sophie AUS has 23 colors and measures 120 stitches square. That comes out to about 8.6 inches or 22 cm square on 14 count fabric.

Or you can make a little collection of different characters with this set from Sampler Cross Stitch. Stitch one or stitch them all. Each one is 30 by 60 stitches, or 2.57 by 4.57 inches/6.5 by 11.6 cm.

How about a Halloween themed Labubu? I love this one from Handiwork of Natalie, who also has some other themed Labubu cross stitch patterns. This one is 66 by 99 stitches and uses 12 colors. It suggests cross stitch fabric that’s 4.75 by 7 inches or 12 by 18 cm.

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