The World of Cross Stitching - UK (2020-05)

Beginners’ Guide

96 The World of Cross Stitching http://www.gathered.how/woxs

How to...

CHOOSE YOUR

ESSENTIALS...

Start with these must-have items

1. FABRICS

Begin with either aida or evenweave.
Aida is best for beginners, with regular
woven blocks and obvious holes. It’s
stiffer than evenweave, but will soften
slightly as you work. The most common
fabric is 14-count aida. It’s harder to work
fractional stitches on aida, as you’ll need
to make an extra hole in the fabric, in the
centre of the aida block.
Evenweave is a lovely fabric to work on
when you have a little more experience.
The fibres aren’t woven in blocks as with
aida, so it’s softer and the fine weave
has more threads-per-inch – the most
commonly used is 28-count. One stitch
is usually worked over two threads of the
fabric so it has an equivalent design size
of 14-count aida. Cross stitching fractional
stitches is easier on evenweave, as there’s
a central hole spare so you don’t need to
split a block as for aida.

START CROSS

STITCHING...

Make sure you hit the mark the first

time every time with our top tips!

Choose your project... Using the

Factbox guide in every one of our projects,

you can make sure you choose the right level

for you. Absolute beginners should aim for

a design without fractional stitches.

Buy your materials... Use our

Shopping List for each project, which

specifies everything needed, like size of

fabric and finishing materials. Using another

fabric with different HPI (holes per inch),

will give a different finished size of design.

Calculate your fabric requirements like this:

Stitch count divided by HPI of ‘new’ fabric

choice = new size in inches. Add at least

10cm (4in) on each dimension to allow for

mounting, or less for cards.

Get ready... We always recommend

starting in the centre of a design and

working outwards. Our charts are marked

with two centre arrows so find a symbol

close to the centre and begin there.

Get set... Find the corresponding

centre of your fabric by folding in half and

half again. The point where the folds cross

corresponds to the centre so this is where

your central stitch should go.

Get stitching... Begin your stitches in

two strands of thread. Use a loop start, as

it’s the neatest way to get going. It uses one

double-length (80cm) strand with both ends

threaded together. See our diagrams for how

to stitch. Finish threads by weaving the left-

over ‘tail’ under a few stitches at the back.

Tapestry needle Aida Evenweave

to stitch with, and are colourfast to 95°C.

Cheaper brands are available, but they’re

less durable and may not be colourfast.

3. NEEDLES
   To cross stitch, use a tapestry needle,
   which has a blunt tip and larger eye than
   a regular sewing needle. It easily passes
   through the fibres of aida and evenweave.
   Different needle sizes are available, with
   varying lengths and widths, so choose the
   best for your fabric – see our handy guide.
   Other needles are useful too... try a fine
   beading needle for adding bead accents.
   You may also prefer a sharp-tipped
   embroidery (or crewel) needle to split aida
   blocks when stitching fractional stitches.


4. THREADS

You’ll need stranded cotton – this
coloured thread comes in 8m skeins and
is made up of six strands. The count of
your fabric will determine the number of
strands you use in your needle. Typically
for 14-count aida you’ll use two strands
for cross stitch and just one strand for
backstitch. This is indicated in the key or
instructions for your project. There are
three main brands – DMC, Anchor and
Madeira – which are all smooth and easy

Fabric choices: Aida (left)

with obvious holes is better

for beginners. Evenweave

(right) has a finer weave

Beginner? Follow Fiona’s guide to instant stitching success!

Stitching’s a breeze!

Let Technical Editor Fiona

show you how it’s done

in this reference guide