The World of Cross Stitching - UK (2019-12)

36 The World of Cross Stitching http://www.cross-stitching.com

Your Questions Answered

a special

Madeira twist

construction,

these threads

are also specifically designed

to resist the friction of pulling

through the fabric, which helps to

stop it from splitting or tangling,

as sometimes happens with other

types of metallics.

Q

I’m making some

cross stitch tree

decorations as gifts for the

first time. What’s the best

way to attach the aida to

felt or other material?

Emma Louise,

via Facebook

Fiona: You could use

a simple running stitch if

you’re hand sewing the

fabric to felt, or carefully

machine sew it using a

straight stitch setting. Use

cotton embroidery thread

or, if hand sewing, a

single strand from a skein

of stranded cotton will

also work just fine. You

can always use a sparkly

thread to attach your

cross stitch decorations to

the felt backing to make

them even more festive!

Good luck, Emma!

QU ICK

Q&A

Q

I was wondering

if you could please

recommend a website that

sells Anchor threads now

that SewandSo are closed?

Thanks, everyone.

Catriona Doyle,

via Facebook

Hannah: It’s a shame

SewandSo have closed

down, but you can still

get your hands on Anchor

threads from Minerva

Crafts*, who stock Anchor

threads priced at £1.19 for

each skein. You may also

have some luck in local

craft and haberdashery

stores. Call ahead first

though to check stock

before visiting, to make

sure they have what

you need.

Lane Line: I always use

acid-free double-sided tape

for my designs rather than

using a glue as you have

more control of the mount.

Debbie Webb: I prefer

tri-fold aperture cards. I love

embellishing with stickers and

other bits that I’ve picked up

around the place – anything

sparkly, usually!

Vikki Climpson: I like

to use aperture cards, but

do use single-fold cards too,

especially for unusual sizes.

Samantha Campion:

Gorilla mounting tape holds

amazingly well. If I’m using

a tri-fold aperture card,

I’ll also cut some wadding

slightly smaller than the

aperture and stick that to the

backing – it just makes your

stitching pop a little more.

Louise Mackin: I used to

use aperture cards, but these

days I prefer to mount on the

front of a card with patterned

paper underneath in the

same theme as the design.

Sally McGaffin: Keep

the back of your work neat

so it will stay flat. If you use

backstitch in the design,

make sure it’s short (instead

of using longer stitches)

as people’s fingers or the

envelope will get caught on it

and possibly ruin your work.

Shari J Sinclair-Forbis:

Sometimes, instead of fraying

the edges, I’ll outline the

stitched motif with glitter

glue to add sparkle.

Christine Rembo: I back

my card stitching with iron-

on vilene to protect the back

from any stickiness. I also

make separate frames that

are then applied to my card.

Find us on Facebook

and join in with the

chat. If you’re lucky,

your tip might appear

here! Just log on to

http://www.facebook.com/The

WorldofCrossStitching

and hit ‘like’ at the top

of the page!

Friendly advice

We asked our Facebook fans for their tips and tricks for

making cross stitch cards – here’s what they said...

Metallic matters

Q

I’m getting ready to use the Madeira metallic

threads that I received with my magazine

subscription. Are these to be divided into single strands,

and if so, do you use two for cross stitches? Thanks

so much – I do enjoy your magazine!

Linda Wells, Illinois, USA

A

Fiona: I love this subscription gift, Linda, and it’s

great you’re looking at putting them to good use

already. Available in 24 colours in Madeira Spiral Packs,

Metallic No.4 is a four-stranded floss (instead of the

usual six) and is made with 40% metallised polyester

and 60% viscose. The metallic strands are the same

thickness as the non-metallic stranded cottons by DMC,

Anchor and Madeira, making them easy to work into

your projects, no matter what thread brand you use.

These threads are packaged in Madeira’s unique

StickTwist Spiral Pack, which keeps the lengths of thread

wound correctly, as well as clean and tangle free until

you need them – simply pull where indicated from the

packet to ensure they come out the right way, making

them easy to thread correctly. Once you have split the

threads to get the amount you need for cross stitch

or backstitch, as indicated by the pattern you’re doing,

you can just stitch with it as normal. Made with

TECHNIQUE FOCUS

KNOW

• HOW

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stockist list on page 90