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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Summer is the time for sweet treats, whether eating them or stitching them. This collection of patterns is full of designs that are good enough to eat. Almost.

This year of ice creams from Simone Balman Art is lots of fun, and you could also stitch up these treats individually if you’d rather. The full piece is 210 by 300 stitches, though it’s not full coverage. It uses 25 colors and comes out to 13.6 by 20.1 inches, or 34.5 by 51.2 cm, as shown on 14 count fabric.

These mini Popsicles from Mariana Gonclaves ART as super sweet and quick to stitch. These would also be a fun border to another summer project. The full design is 43 by 46 stitches, which is 3.1 by 3.3 inches, or 7.8 by 8.3 cm, on 14 count fabric.

Sam X Stitch has this fun sweet treat sampler, which again would be fun to stitch as individual pieces (maybe on napkins?). In all it calls for 18 colors and measures 153 by 153 stitches. That comes out to 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm on 14 count fabric.

Another great sampler is this one with ice cream and other sweet treats from Cute Patterns by Maria. At 119 by 132 stitches total, working the full pattern would be about 8.6 by 9.4 inches, or 22 by 24 cm on 14 count fabric, and it uses 33 colors. You can also stitch individual designs, which range in height from 35 to 45 stitches, and in width from 11 to 28.

This collection of four sundae patterns from Stichrovia would be fun to make for a kitchen or a teen’s room. Each pattern is around 40 by 50 stitches, so they should fit in a four or five inch hoop if worked on 14 count fabric.

Or stitch up one of the treats from Stitch Chart Studio‘s collection of seven ice cream cross stitch patterns. These range in size and in number of colors needed, but most would fit in a five or six in hoop (and one in a four inch hoop).

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