Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Tips for New Cross Stitchers

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beginner cross stitch tips

If you are new to the craft of cross stitching or just want to improve your skills and have better results and more enjoyment in your projects, check out this list of 7 things I wish I knew before I started cross stitching from Hannah Hand Makes.

Some of these are really solid, such as understanding that there are different sizes of Aida cloth and how to best work with colored cloth. I’m not sure about the one about cutting the skein of thread before you get started so you have pieces of uniform length to work with as you stitch. Have you ever tried that?

Do you have something you wish you knew when you were starting out? I’d love to hear your tips!

[Photo: Hannah Hand Makes.]

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Comments

  1. Not so much a tip, but I find it helpful to always leave my needle threaded and ready so it is easy to pick up my project again.

  2. For as long as I’ve been stitching, since about 1976 or so, I have always cut my floss to about 12″-16″ inch lengths. That way I don’t need to stop and keep cutting it. With some of the newer flosses, like the metallic, light effects, etc. I cut my floss in shorter lengths to keep it from fraying. This also makes it much easier to keep on my floss card for each WIP.

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Haunted Frames

Cute spooky and fantasy cross stitch patterns is how the designer behind Haunted Frames describes their shop, and I have to agree with them. These designs are cute and Gothic and a little bit spooky all at once. There’s a heavy focus on book themes, which you know I am a fan of, so let’s get into it. 

Stopping first in the books section, there are lots of designs that are literally on book shapes, but if you know my love of both books and cats, you’ll know I had to share the Midnight Book Cart cross stitch pattern. As the name suggests it’s a design with a witchy book cart, complete with a spiderweb, bats flying out of a book and what it describes as a ghost cat (though I would have to make a black cat instead of a white one since I have a black cat, and that fits with the vibe). 

The design is 65 by 97 stitches and is worked in 17 colors. It’s shown on 16 count fabric, which makes it 4.1 by 6.1 inches, or 10.3 by 15.4 cm. 

I also love the winter themed little free library design, which would be perfect to stitch up for the little librarian in your life (or to drop at a neighborhood book space). 

Projects with a book theme make up the majority of the patterns that are categorized in this shop, but you’ll want to scroll through all their patterns to see what else is available, since it doesn’t look like everything is in a category. You’ll find castles and dragons, more cats of course, some more obviously Halloween and Christmas themed projects and those that would suit for spooky season or any other time of year. 

If cute and dark is your aesthetic, you’ll want to check out all the patterns at www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedFrames, which you can find on Etsy. 

[Photo: Haunted Frames]