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

I recently came across a post from Lord Libidan talking about embroidery floss packs and whether it’s worth the money to buy a set of threads all at once instead of one skein at a time.

With the closure of Joann some people were buying these bundles as a way to build their stash/stockpile if they didn’t have another place to buy locally. I did the same thing when I first started cross stitching again after a break of many years, because I wanted to get a bunch of colors all at once without the overwhelming job of picking colors from the wall of thread when I didn’t have a particular project in mind.

And I think for this purpose buying a package with colors you like or some basic/popular colors is probably a good idea and relatively cost effective.

My Joann didn’t have any floss packs when it was closing (in fact it didn’t have cross stitch floss at all for a month or more, then suddenly go a bunch about a week before closing) but I might have bought one just to have the variety if they had been available.

If Amazon is going to be your source for cross stitch supplies going forward, I think buying packs of cross stitch floss when the colors make sense is definitely going to be a better deal. As I write this a pack of 36 popular colors was running $39.50, or about $1.09 a skein. I used to pay 66 cents per skein at Joann, but buying a single skein of black floss on Amazon would run you $4.29.

Herrschners sells DMC floss for $1.05 per skein or less, but shipping isn’t free and you’ll have to buy a lot (or a lot of other things, too) to meet their minimums for free shipping when they offer it.

Check out the post on Lord Libidan for his thoughts and let me know where you are buying cross stitch floss now if you used to buy it at Joann.

[Photo via Herrschners]

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