Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

How to Keep Your Place in a Cross Stitch Chart

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I love to help my fellow cross stitchers to make this craft easier and more enjoyable, so I love sharing tips when I come across them that will make it easier to have success.

When you’re working a small project, it’s generally pretty easy to keep track of where you are in the project relative to the chart. I usually stitch something small from one side across (or up or down) rather than from the middle out, because it’s just easier to follow the chart that way.

But when you’re working on a big project and you need it to fit exactly, starting from the center is the way to go, which can also make it harder to keep track of where you are in the pattern. Add in working in a lot of different colors, and it’s a potential recipe for confusion.

These tips on how to keep track of where you are in a cross stitch pattern from Stitched Modern are super helpful. The idea of having a working copy of you pattern that you can mark up and make notes on is a great one, so if you ever want to stitch it again you’ll have a clean copy.

I have learned through the years doing a lot more knitting than cross stitch that the more notes I can leave myself the better, and the same applies to working big cross stitch projects. Especially if there’s any possibility you might stop working on it for a short (or a long!) time, you want to make it as easy on yourself as possible when you come back to it.

Check out the tips from Stitched Modern, maybe go buy some highlighter tape, and let me know if you have any other tips for keeping your place in a cross stitch pattern.

[Photo: Stitched Modern]

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Cross Stitch Patterns Fit for a Pool Party

I don’t know why it still surprises me that there are cross stitch patterns available for almost anything you can think of. I wasn’t looking for pool themed cross stitch patterns, but in scrolling around Etsy looking more generally for summer cross stitch patterns, I found a lot of pool patterns so I figured I should share them.

I love the colors in these designs, almost as cool as sliding into the pool on a hot day.

The first one I found was Pool Party by Milky Stitch. It features someone lounging in the pool, someone lounging next to the pool, and some fun accessories you might need for a day at the pool. It uses 20 colors and was designed for 11 count fabric, which means it comes out to 12.2 by 8.2 inches, or 31 by 21 cm.

Pastel Pool from Stitch Me Good Designs looks like it would fit right in with Pool Party on a gallery wall. This one uses seven colors and 14 count fabric and fits in a 7-inch hoop. 

Speaking of gallery walls, if you want a room full of summer sun and pool themed cross stitch, check out this trifecta of pool designs from Craft Bundle Lab. There’s a women floating in a pool with a large hat, a float in a pool and several floats and pool toys in another pool with a fun checkerboard bottom. Each design uses 12 colors and they are about 14.6 inches/37 cm square worked on 14-count fabric.

This designs from Cross Stitchers United shows three people floating in a pool in different ways. This one has cross stitched water, or you can stitch it on blue fabric and save yourself some time. As shown it uses nine colors and is 94 by 94 stitches, which is 6.7 inches or 17 cm square on 14-count fabric.

The Swimmers in a Pool cross stitch pattern from Thread Nova Studios is delightful. It’s stitched with everyone wearing red suits, but you could change up some of them — or even just one of them — to change the look of the project. This one uses 14 colors and is 200 by 200 stitches. That’s about 14.3 inches/36.3 cm on 14 count fabric, though the pattern includes sizing for other stitch counts, too.

And finally the pool pattern from The Lady at Home just makes you wish you could jump right into it. The pool with floats looks super inviting, and it is stitched on 14-count fabric with a finished size of 5 by 7 inches/12.7 by 17.8 cm.