I consider myself a barely intermediate cross-stitcher, so there are a lot of things you can do with cross stitch that I haven’t done (yet! I’m working on it!).
One of the gaps in my knowledge or skills or whatever you want to call it is cross stitching on linen. It looks beautiful but I’ve always been a little intimidated by it so I haven’t tried it yet.
The good news is, there are plenty of smart and experienced cross stitchers out there to show us the way when we don’t know how to do things.
Catkin and Lille wrote all about their experience working with linen, the pros and cons and how you actually go about stitching on linen. It turns out it’s not all that different from using regular cross stitch fabric, except you are stitching over two threads at a time instead of one.
Also it’s easier to work projects with fractional stitches on linen because the squares have a hole in the middle, which makes it easier to make half or quarter stitches that are consistently sized.
There can be a learning curve when it comes to cross stitching on linen because the weave is not as even as standard cross stitch fabric, and the softness of the fabric can make it a little trickier to get your tension consistent. But as with everything else in cross stitch and in life, a little practice will make it easier.
You can get all the tips, pros and cons and other information about cross stitching on linen fabric at the post over on Catkin and Lille. But I’d love to know if you have ever worked with linen for cross stitch and how it worked out for you. Especially if you have any tips to share because this might be something that I finally try this year and I will probably need all the help I can get!
[Photo: Catkin and Lille]
