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 might think this may just be the opposite of the bad habits. But great cross stitching doesn’t just mean avoidance of bad habits.
Do you usually take your latest completed piece to a professional for framing cross stitch? You’re certainly not alone since many stitchers do. Perhaps that’s what you too have done in the past, and are perfectly happy with the results.
On the other hand, you may have done your own cross stitch framing and have been less than happy with the results. Or you may simply feel it’s time to try and do it yourself…
In my last article, I wrote about storing your threads (floss) in such a way that they would remain easy to find, store and identify – to spare the frustrations of losing important shades of thread just as you needed them. Today, I’m going to focus on another challenge relating to threads – that is how to prevent and deal with tangles and knots, which is my idea of thread heaven…
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.
Periodically I’m asked, “What benefits do I see from washing cross stitch?”. Well! If you’re anything like me you’ll tend to end up with a few marks on your newly completed piece. Plus, while you were stitching, natural oils from your hands were being transferred to your material and threads; dust was settling on it as well.
These need removing before they turn to stains. Any fabric that isn’t clean is also subject to discoloration within a few years. Thankfully, you can remove all but the most stubborn of marks and stains by carefully washing your cross stitch piece.
We’ll show you in this article what to do and what to avoid when cleaning your recently completed cross stitch picture..
