Tips to Prepare Your Cross Stitch Fabric

August 17, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I am going to be really honest here and tell you that I’ve never really done anything to prepare my cross stitch fabric before I start stitching (unless it’s a big project and I need a grid, but I hardly ever even do that).

Notorious Needle has a great post all about ways you can prepare for cross stitching that will make it easier or give you a better result. If you’re working a small, quick project for yourself you might do less of this kind of preparation, but if you’re working on a large project that will be framed, given as a gift or that you want to become an heirloom, these steps will help ensure that you start your project in the best way.

A lot of this is about making sure that you have enough fabric for the framing option that you want to use or so your project will fit in the hoop you want to use to stitch your project, and taking care of your fabric to make the stitching easier.

The post covers a lot of the basics that you might have learned naturally if you’ve been cross stitching for a while, but if you’re new to cross stitching or haven’t done a big project before, these ideas are super helpful. It’s great to get in the habit of doing these things and thinking ahead about how you might want to finish your project before you start. Then these things will just be things you do all the time and your projects are sure to come out better.

Go check out the post and let me know if you do these things. Or if you have other tips for getting started on a cross stitch pattern to make it easier/more successful, let’s talk about it.

[Photo: Notorious Needle]

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Designer Spotlight: Mama Witch Cross Stitch

You might expect an Etsy shop with the name Mama Witch Cross Stitch to have a lot of Halloween patterns, and they do, but there’s a lot more in store with this shop in Israel that offers as it says one of a kind magic patterns for witch souls.

If you do happen to be looking for Halloween patterns, you’ll find nearly 90 as of this writing, though there’s a lot in that section that could be used throughout the fall and beyond.

In fact, one of my favorites, which is featured here, is called See You in Spring and features frog and toad and a lot of great forest stuff. It doesn’t look Halloween at all to me but that’s where I found it.

This one measures 177 by 172 stitches, which comes out to about 12.6 by 12.3 inches, or 32 by 31 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric. The listing doesn’t say how many colors are used but it looks like a lot.

In addition to Halloween patterns, you’ll also find an amazing bestiary of patterns including whales and other sea creatures, mythical creatures like unicorns and jackalopes, foxes, hedgehogs and more. The patterns are colorful with a fantastical edge and goblincore vibes. There’s also a cute collection of Christmas patterns, many including animals hunkering down somewhere cozy for the winter or shown inside a holiday wreath.

There’s also a sweet collection called My Comfort Zone, which features animals in clothes surrounded by flowers, leaves, mushrooms and other stuff. It’s very similar in feel to the frog and toad piece shown here, but smaller and with single animals.

Check out all the goodies at the Mama Witch Cross Stitch Etsy shop. I’d love to hear if you buy something, and let me know if you’ve got a favorite cross stitch designer who needs to be in the spotlight!

[Photo: Mama Witch Cross Stitch]

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