Memorial Day, which many of you are celebrating along with me here in the US today, has always been the harbinger of Summer. It certainly didn’t feel like a summery day when I took my little doggy out for a walk this morning, but once the sun came out the temperature began climbing upward very quickly. In honor of the summer season, Happiness is Cross Stitching has provided the sweetest little kitty cat chart fit for a summer’s day. This chart will stitch up in no time. You could use it as an ornament, add it to a tote bag or even stitch it on a t-shirt. DMC has soluble canvas that will make adding the design to a tote or t-shirt a snap. A stitching friend of mine used it for a recent project and she reports that it worked perfectly. Get the free chart.
Have you read?
Everything You Need to Know About Embroidery Hoops
One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark).
But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see.
I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops.
The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need.
It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way.
Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch.
Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]