Learn How To Stitch Here!
Welcome!
You are about to dive knuckle-deep into some cross stitching action! Below are some basic instructions to help you on your cross stitch journey. I suggest you find a comfy spot where you can sit for a while. I prefer to go to a nearby pretentious coffee shop, sit on a nice patch of grass, or lounge on my couch with the relaxing sounds of reality television on in the background. Whatever floats your boat!
The Tools
To stitch out a pattern and complete your masterpiece, you will need to use the following tools:
The Fabric – Cross stitch fabric is called aida and it will be the canvas for your masterpiece. You will see a grid with holes and squares across the aida. These holes and squares will be the guide for your stitches. Each “X” will use 4 holes and edges of the boxes are shared with joining stitches.
Prepare your Fabric – To begin your journey, it is most helpful to find the center of the fabric. You can fold your fabric in half and then in half again. Where the two folds intersect is the middle point and center of your fabric.
The Hoop – Your hoop actually consists of two hoops: An outer hoop with a screw and a smaller inner hoop. You will be placing your aida fabric centrally over the smaller hoop. Once you are satisfied with the placement, place the larger hoop over the fabric and smaller hoop and tighten the screw to keep the fabric in place. As you are tightening the screw, gently pull the fabric taught. Tighten the screw until the fabric stays firmly in place, but don’t tighten it too much! You don’t want your hoop to crack. If you are not happy with the placement, dust yourself off and try again.
The Thread – I use DMC brand floss for my patterns and have included a color key chart with DMC colors with this pattern. You will see that the floss is made up of 6 strands, and you will be separating them into 2 or 3 stands for your stitches. I usually use 3 strands for fuller-looking stitches on my patterns, but the standard is usually 2 strands for 14 count aida (You do you, boo).
Cut the floss to a usable length (I like to use about 12”). Then take 2 strands and VERY GENTLY pull them apart from the other 4. Repeat to split the 4 strands of thread and you will be left with 3 threads made up of 2 strands. If you would prefer to use 3 strands (like me), take the 3 strands and AGAIN, VERRRY GENTLY, pull them apart from the other 3 strands. Heck yes! Strands separated. Keep the rest of your strands somewhere safe and away from any cats.
The Needle – Your needle will be the paintbrush for your masterpiece. Don’t use the needle to poke the eyes of your enemies. Or anyone…Ever.
You will thread your needle with your floss using a needle threader (sold at your local craft store), or use your eagle eyes and ever-steady hands to put the thread through the eye of the needle. The power is yours!
The Scissors – Used to cut your threads and fabric.
The All-Purpose Craft/ Tacky Glue – Found at your friendly neighborhood craft store. Used to cover the butt of your finished hoop with another fabric, such as felt (this item is totally optional).
The Coffee – Not optional. Because everyone loves coffee. I assume.
Time to make Grandma proud!
Your pattern contains all of the information you need to stitch your masterpiece. The thread color key chart shows the symbols that correspond to each color on the pattern. The squares on the pattern correspond to the squares on the fabric. Every square on the pattern that requires a stitch will contain a symbol.
It is important that you center your design! Follow the two arrows in the center on the top and left side the pattern and they will guide you to the center point. It is best to start stitching from the center of the design and work your way out from there.
Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of your thread. For one whole stitch, you will be making two small diagonal stitches / and \, and overlapping them so they make an X. Start by bringing the needle from the back of the aida (into hole “1” on the diagram) to the front and pull the thread until the knot has caught. Then, cross diagonally and return your needle through the opposite upper corner (hole “2” in the diagram). Pull the thread taught to start the next stitch. Next, come back from underneath your fabric at the opposite lower corner of the square (hole “3” in the diagram), and then again, cross diagonally and return your needle into the opposite top corner (hole “4”). Repeat! You will do one half of your stitches in one direction, and then come back to finish the top half of the stitches. Use this same process for stranded single stitches.
Use the pattern as your guide to count where your stitches should be. In cross stitch, it is good form to have your top stitches always going in the same direction. It doesn’t matter which way you prefer (/ or \), but if you form the habit when you first start stitching, it’s a lot easier to always do it that way. You want your top stitches facing the same direction so your masterpiece will look top-notch. It’s super effective!
Some other fancy stitches that you may (or may not) use in this pattern
Quarter Stitch - Quarter stitches are, as they sound, 1/4 of a completed 'X' shape in a cross stitch. These can be used to add subtly curved lines and lots of detail. To create a 1/4 stitch, bring your needle from the corner of one of the boxes and poke through the center of the box with your needle. This should create a single leg of the "X" shape.
Three-Quarter Stitch – this stitch is made by doing a half stitch (a complete diagonal stitch) and a quarter stitch. The appearance is of an "X" with only three legs instead of four.
Half Stitch – A complete diagonal stitch from the bottom corner of one box to the top opposite corner of the box.
Back Stitch - To create a solid border and add flair to some patterns, use a single strand of embroidery floss and back stitch around the marked backstitch parts of the pattern. First, make a single, straight stitch across one box. Continue along your pattern line, but come up a space ahead and bring your needle back down into the same hole at the end of the last stitch you made. Get it? You are bringing your stitch back to the end of the last one. That’s one basic stitch.
French Knots – Sometimes, nature calls for some French knots. First, pull the floss through to the front of the fabric.
Wrap the floss that's between the fabric and the needle around the needle 1, 2, or 3 times. (One time is a small knot, 2 is medium, 3 is large.) Hold the floss tightly so that it is wrapped around the needle. With your other hand, push the needle through to the back of the fabric very close to where the floss emerged. Keep holding the floss taut and pull the needle all the way through. Sounds scary, but once you get the hang of it, you will KNOT be disappointed!
This isn’t the easiest thing to explain on paper! For visual aid, “Make it Coats” on YouTube has made a quick and easy tutorial that is fantastic! Here is the link to the page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Z-LZFqpy0
Just end it already!
To end a thread, run your threaded needle under the last few stiches on the back of the aida, then clip off the end of the thread (be sure not to push through the front of the aida). Cut off any excess dangling thread. After you re-thread the needle to continue, simply run the needle under several stitches on the back to secure the thread and resume stitching (or just make a knot if that’s easier for you to start with).
Quick tips:
• Don’t pull the thread too tight when stitching, just enough so it doesn’t sag and look loose.
• I find it best to use one color at a time. Count over from your previous stitches to start on the next color.
• Don’t get it twisted! When stitching, make sure your thread lies flat. If your thread becomes twisted while stitching, drop the needle and allow it to hang freely. The thread will do its thing and untwist itself.
• You will use up a lot more floss if you carry your threads too far across the back. Plus, you will most likely see that thread through the front of your piece. I suggest only traveling only 1-2 squares over at most.
• Remember to always reference your pattern and make sure you count correctly!! Always check your work with the pattern. Ripping out mistakes is NOT. FUN.
Cover Your Butt!
Once your masterpiece is completed, you might want to cover up the back of the aida and all of its naughty bits. Take your fabric off of the hoop and place the larger hoop over the fabric/felt you have chosen to cover the butt. Trace over the outside of the hoop with a pencil onto the fabric and then cut out the tracing of that circle. Make sure the circle isn’t larger than the hoop so it won’t show from the front of your masterpiece. Save that fabric circle.
Take your finished masterpiece and place it back in the hoop. Make sure the pattern is placed centered, or to your own liking, on the hoop.
Once you have the hoop tight and the fabric is taught, trim the excess aida from the edges of the hoop leaving a border of around 1 inch. With your needle and some thread, use a running stitch to sew around this border and gather the fabric to the back of the hoop, by cinching up the running stitches (creating somewhat of a ruffle). When this fabric border is all gathered up at the back of your project, finish off the thread ends neatly and make sure the gathers are evenly spaced.
Then grab that fabric circle you saved a couple of steps ago and place it over the back of your hoop. You may attach it to the back of the aida with small stitches or grab some craft glue and glue the fabric to the wood on the back of your hoop.
OR, if you’re not into that sort of thing, simply cut and fit your masterpiece to the frame of your own choosing!
Celebrate the fruits of your labor
Congrats! You’re all done! Now you can show off your masterpiece to all of your friends and fam! Or not! ☺
**Just a friendly reminder**
All of Grandma Girl Designs cross stitch patterns are for PERSONAL USE ONLY! Under no circumstances should the contents of my shop be replicated, reproduced, or commercially distributed. Please understand that a lot of love and work go into making my patterns. Please let me know if you have any questions. No, I cannot help you with your math homework.
Tag! I’d love to see your finished masterpiece!
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