This article provides a collection of basic tips and reminders that are all-to-often overlooked when we try to snatch a few precious moments to indulge ourselves in this fascinating hobby of ours.

Fabric tips

1. Cut off any selvage from the edges so that your stitches don't become misshapen. Then bind the edges with simple masking tape. This taped edge can be cut off when you finish the project and the edges will stay neat and un-frayed while you work.

2. When you are not stitching, try to keep your fabric rolled as apposed to folded because crease marks can be difficult to iron out of some types of fabric.

3. If your fabric become dirty from a lot of handling soak it in a bowl of cool water with a mild soap for around ten minutes and rinse it well. Do not wring excess water out as you will stretch the material, simply lay it flat in a towel and iron it on a cool setting until it is dry to the touch.

Thread tips

1. Watch the color of your threads as some dyes have a shrinking effect on certain types of thread. You may need to adjust the ply of the thread you are using if it doesn't blend in with the rest of the colors.

2. Never assume that a thread is color-fast just because it says it is. Residual dye left over from the washing stage of manufacture can remain in the strands so that when you wash your work it bleeds out and spoils the whole piece.

3. Test the threads before you stitch with them by soaking them in cold water and running a paper towel along their length. If the towel becomes coloured then the threads will bleed.

4. For a realistic look, especially when you are cross stitching animals, try using furry yarns instead of the ordinary ones that are recommended. The way you stitch with these yarns is different to the normal cross stitching and so you should find a book that gives instructions before you start.

Tips for when you are travelling

1. Cut your threads into working length pieces before you leave. This will ensure that you don't have to mess around in a moving car or on a bumpy train with a pair of sharp scissors.

2. Choose a small simple project that only uses a few colours. The light in a car or in a train may be poor and trying to tell one shade of green from another may prove to be quite difficult. Also you don't want to be smothering your fellow passengers with a cross stitch 12" in diameter.

3. Use a simple plastic bag to keep your cross stitch safe but bear in mind that it may very well get dirty or damaged anyway. Thus, don't attempt a masterpiece that cost you the earth if your travel plans involve three changes of train and two buses.

4. Take a couple of spare needles; there's no point taking it if you break your only needle before the train has even left the station.

5. Find an old cosmetics bag that has a number of zipped compartments inside so that all your equipment, threads and fabrics can be stored neatly and safely while travelling.

Where to find more tips

There are hundreds of websites that provide a new selection of excellent, practical tips every week. Many are written by actual cross stitchers (as opposed to needlework/embroidery specialists) and so are bound to be helpful to everyone reading them.

Pretty well all cross stitching magazines have sections where readers and professionals alike can write in with their tips and advice. So no matter what kind of problem you have there is sure to be a website or magazine with the answer somewhere. You can even post your own great tips for others to read.

Of course all of these features are already provided by your own club at  www.PatternsPatch.com