Tips for Cleaning Cross Stitch Projects

Sometimes it happens that a cross stitch project is set aside for a long period of time. Maybe you were stitching something for a holiday and didn’t quite get it done in time. Or maybe you just wanted to start something else and it took you a long time to get back tot he other project.

It would be great if we always put our projects on hold in a safe place, like a bag, where they will be protected while we aren’t working on them. But stains happen, whether while we’re working on a project, while it’s in storage when we aren’t working on it, or even after it’s finished.

Cleaning a cross stitch project isn’t always easy, and there are no guarantees, but these tips from Leisure Arts on cleaning cross stitch projects are really helpful. The highlights: use cold water, be gentle and be persistent. But check out the post for more details, as well as how to store projects so you can prevent stains in the first place. (DMC has a great page on cleaning cross stitch, too, by the way.)

Have you ever successfully removed a stain from a cross stitch project? I’d love to hear what worked for you.

[Photo via JB Cross Stitch.]

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How to Wash Cross Stitch Projects

The designs from Bella Rose Craft look like they would be good for beginner cross stitchers and others who like relatively simple and small designs that are quick to finish for gifts or decor.

I’ll mention up front that this Etsy shop based in Indiana has no organization whatsoever. There are two categories: kits and patterns. So it’s a bit of a treasure hunt to find what you might be interested in.

As mentioned there are lots of minis and small looking projects with simple lines and minimal colors. There are holiday projects, animals, summer motifs like palm trees and beach umbrellas, a bathtub with a rubber duck, some text based designs (like hoppy spring and merry and bright), some biblical and religious designs, flowers, bunting and more.

On a site like this its difficult to pick something representative of the whole page, but I liked this bees and beehive design, so it’s the one I picked to share. This one illustrates a lot of my general points about the patterns from this shop. It’s small (2.79 by 2.57 inches, or about 7 by 6.5 cm on 14 count fabric), it looks like it’s all whole cross stitches and probably uses only six colors, and a couple of colors are only used for a handful of stitches.

Of the 300 plus cross stitch patterns available as of this writing, 140 are also available as cross stitch kits. These would be great to give as gifts if you’re trying to get someone interested in cross stitching. The kits include the pattern, fabric and floss, and you can choose to have it include a needle or not. The hoop is not included but the patterns explain what kind of hoop is shown if you want to get one to match.

So if you’re looking for cute, beginner friendly patterns for yourself or you’re trying to be a crafty enabler for someone else, check out Bella Rose Craft on Etsy.

[Photo: Bella Rose Craft]

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