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It’s easy to get into a stitching rut. I know how easy it is to keep to the same sorts of designs, safe in the knowledge that it’s the easiest route to getting good results. I’ve started stretching myself a little more, over the past few months, and I am surprised to discover just how much better a stitcher I am for my efforts AND how much more cross stitch fun I’m having.

If I can do it, so can you. I am not a patient person, and I am certainly no natural expert. Here are five strategies for improvement I have learned. I wish someone had told me about them when I first started cross stitch.

Read moreCross Stitch Fun: 5 Ways To Increase Your Cross Stitch Pleasure – Right now!

If you are new to the world of needlework and embroidery crafts, you might consider trying counted cross stitch. Cross stitch is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which you use x-shaped stitches to form a picture. It is called counted cross stitch because the stitcher counts the threads in each direction so that the stitches are of uniform size and appearance. It may sound a little complicated but, believe me, it isn’t. To get started, you’ll need a few counted cross stitch supplies…

Read moreCounted Cross Stitch Supplies For Newbies Made Easy.

In my last article, I wrote about the seven bad habits of cross stitching – those dark secrets that lurk in everyone’s cross stitching past – and even persist when we become more skilled. Today, I’m thinking of the opposite – cross stitching tips: the 7 essential secrets of the best stitchers. You’d think that this may just be the opposite of the bad habits. But great cross stitching doesn’t just mean avoidance of bad habits.

Read moreCross Stitching Tips: 7 Essential Secrets of the Best Stitchers.

It’s so easy to get into bad habits, isn’t it? Very often, impatience or laziness or time constraints can cause us to cut corners or to be sloppy with our work. Not surprisingly, if bad cross stitch habits are not corrected, they soon become cross stitching “sins”.

Sins that rarely save us any time at all, and the results of which can be oh-so-clearly seen in finished projects. This is a real shame, especially when we have worked hard to produce something of intended beauty. So! Let me tell you what these seven bad habits are and how we can eliminate them.

Read moreBad Cross Stitch: 7 Habits to Avoid

Introducing specialty threads for stitching

As we all try to make an extra effort to add shimmer and style to our special occasion stitching projects, there are many challenges that may arise. We know how great specialty threads are – and what they can add to the finished results of our sparkling projects. Metallic or rayon/viscose threads can make the difference between a good project and an extra-special one.

However, these threads can be difficult to work with, and it can be tempting to lose patience with them when they tangle, break, fray and do not lie flat on the fabric as other cotton or silk-based threads do. Let’s see what we can do to make life a little easier…

Read moreSpecialty Threads: Great Tips for Cross Stitch Success

Many cross stitchers start out happily using thread made by two of the best-known manufacturers: Anchor and DMC. And continue to do so throughout their stitching careers. While these two companies produce high quality threads, so do other notable manufacturers of cross stitch threads, and all are well worth your consideration.

Below is a list of six alternative cross stitch thread manufacturers, all of whom produce unusual and versatile threads:

Read moreCross Stitch Threads! Six Exciting Alternatives to DMC and Anchor