Crossstitchforum - A FREE forum for Cross Stitchers

As a cross stitcher and quilter, you will want to be careful with both glue and fusible interfacing. They can both gum up the needle when you go to quilt it by machine, or will make it very difficult to quilt by hand. When we do applique we trim a quarter inch off of the fusible before attaching it,...

I'm so glad you posted this! All my life i have been running backstitching to blank areas all the way across from the nearest cross stitching, and cross my fingers it doesnt show through when finished! It never occurred to me to secure the ends in the backstitching itself! I have a pattern that i wi...

You should have enough of a margin on your fabric that you can afford to lose the bit that frays, or that you can cut off whatever you use to prevent it from fraying. I personally dont do anything to prevent fraying now that i have a scroll frame, but before that i just folded a piece of masking tap...

Re- reading my post, i thought i would clarify that i trim the kit guthread right before i use it, not all at once at the beginning.

I personally do not use needle threaders, for the same reason. I moisten the end of the thread just a bit and squeeze it flat between my thumb and finger, so it is just barely visible, then push the eye down onto it. It's kind of hard to explain... I've used this method for so long its just second n...

Thanks for all the advice! I'm feeling better about giving this project to my mom. I might even try one myself!

I picked absence makes.the heart grow fonder. :) I can see the value in parking but I think I'd be one driven crazy by the threads. I might try it on my next project. I am worried about carrying across the back, whether cross country or parking. she and I both were taught never to carry for more tha...

I see.... she is totally fine with the perfect taking her a long time, the one for my step dad took a couple of years. From reading here I think she will need to learn how to "park" though! She never had before but I've heard her say she wanted to try it. Myself I've never done a pattern c...

My mom is doing a cross stitch project for every kid and it's finally my turn. She is always complaining that what everyone else picked were too simple and she wants a challenge. She also hates backstitching and partial stitches. I read somewhere online (can't seem to find it now) that heaven and ea...

Another way to do this would be to assemble the lining and the stitching/backing separately, then insert the lining and finish the top with bias tape, which can be extended from the edge to make your loop. Then you have a finished seam on the inside as well as the outside. It changes the appearance ...