Beginners’ Guide
96 The World of Cross Stitching http://www.cross-stitching.com
How to...
CHOOSE YOUR
ESSENTIALS...
Start with these must-have items
- 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. 14-count aida is the most
common. 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 first
time, every time with our top tips!
Choose your project... With our
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 with a loop start for
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.
6-count8-count11-count14-count16-count18-count22, 25 & 27-count28-count32-count*36 & 55-countTapestry needle Aida Evenweave
18 20 22 24 26 28 *Also includes 22-count Hardangerto stitch with, and are colourfast to 95°C.
Cheaper brands are available, but they’re
less durable and may not be colourfast.
- 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.
- 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 forbeginners. Evenweave (right)
has a finer weave: see our video
at http://www.cross-stitching.comBeginner? 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