Aida or Evenweave?

[Nicola Main]

Probably one of the most basic questions asked in cross stitching. Which do you prefer aida or evenweave and why? I've only ever used aida before but I am tempted to try evenweave in the future. I'm quite good at doing half stitches and fractionals but splitting the aida can be a right pain (especially with a needle that isn't sharp enough). How difficult is it compared to aida? I've heard that evenweave is softer than aida but does it still stay taut in a hoop or frame? Which make is the best in your opinion?

That's a lot of questions so far so I think I'll stop Thanks in advance everyone!

[Offe]

Evenweave looks nicer, but sometimes, especially with small and simple designs I like to use aida because it is easier. For cards and coasters I use aida because it is stiffer and will stay flat. I never found it difficult to stitch on evenweave, but I need to take more care while stitching to make the stitches look nice, so it is a bit slower. I don't use a hoop or frame for either.

[Serinde]

Really it's horses for courses. On an heirloom project (say, for a baby keepsake), I'll use evenweave or linen, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with aida. Evenweaves do take some getting used to, of course, but after a bit of experimentation, you may find how simple it is to do fractional stitches, pin starts and finishes, and all those little things. I like both, and use both.

[Athalie]

It's very much a personal choice. I have stitched on everything from sackcloth to linen, used aida for years but since discovering linen and evenweaves never use anything else. I make a lot of my work into wall hangings and find they hang better in the softer fabrics.

[fccs]

I like both, and use both.

I also stitch on both. While Jobelan and Lugana are my favorite fabrics, I also enjoy stitching on linen and on Aida. Sometimes I choose based on the project/design, and sometimes I choose based on what I have on hand (or what I'm drooling over online).

[Squirrel]

I too use both and like Debby (fccs) it sometimes depends on the design I am stitching. Evenweave needs a little more care in the beginning when stitching over 2 to make sure you are going over 2 threads and not 1.

Have a go with a small design and see how you cope/like it.

[mauveme]

I like evenweave, but it has to be stiff like Monaco, I don't like it with too much softness and play.. That's why I also like aida. Depends on what I am stitching

[Allyn]

As others have said, it's a personal preference. I prefer linens and evenweaves. I only use aida if the project is solid stitched so no fabric is showing. If fabric is visible, I use a linen or an evenweave. I like the slubby look of linens; not everyone does. I don't do small pieces. Everything I work on is in a scroll frame on a stand, so how stuff or soft the fabric is doesn't matter. I approached my first evenweave project with trepidation, but once I started working on it and saw how easy it was, I never wanted to go back to aida.

[Nicola Main]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I was going to try and stitch my recent purchase (red squirrels) on evenweave but as it would be by first time using it and it's quite a big project (25cm x 25cm) I think it would be 'safer' to stick with aida and maybe do something smaller in the future with evenweave

[richardandtracy]

I wouldn't really say that starting on a small project is necessarily a good idea. I did my Luis Royo project as a first attempt on Linen. In stitch count it's quite low (10394) but stitching 2 over 2 on 32 count Belfast Linen the resultant image was 19cm wide by 47.5cm high. The final picture is as below:



It was a more difficult material to start with, I accept. After a while (2000 stitches or so) I was starting to get used to it and by the end of the project felt comfortable going on to a 28 count 2 over 1 tent stitch project on evenweave. I think if I had finished a small project before the 2000 stitch mark, I might not have gone back to the material, thinking it too difficult because I wasn't sufficiently used to it.

To be honest, looking at your current quality of work, I really doubt if you'd have as much difficulty as I did going over to Linen or Evenweave.

Regards,

Richard.

[wendywombat]

Really it's horses for courses. On an heirloom project (say, for a baby keepsake), I'll use evenweave or linen, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with aida. Evenweaves do take some getting used to, of course, but after a bit of experimentation, you may find how simple it is to do fractional stitches, pin starts and finishes, and all those little things. I like both, and use both.

I'm with Serinde on this one. Anything that will be kept or is 'special' I'll use evenweave. I prefer cotton evenweave to linen, though. I don't like the different thickness of the weave in linen...some can be really difficult to get an even tension. I'll use it for small 'specials'.
Also I like 28 or 25 count...can't cope with 32...although I can manage 16/18 count Aida!!! Bizarre...must be the holes are better defined.

[rcperryls]

It is completely a personal decision, as everyone has said. I started with aida and did some very large projects involving blended threads and fractionals ( Teresa Wentzler charts) being afraid of linen (didn't know about evenweave then). I then started stitching almost exclusively on 18 ct afghan fabric and stuck with that for nearly 20 years. Didn't really think about fabrics. Once I joined this forum I discovered a whole new world. I much prefer evenweaves (Lugana and Jobelan) and linen. I was having difficulty with tension but found that Q-snaps generally provided enough tension and more recently the No-Slip Hoop by Morgan Products, which I love.

Carole

[lavenderbee]

I used Aida. I did have a small kit with evenweave & it was soft to touch. After the first row of stitches I found it difficult to count & got uneven stitches so went back to Aida. So as others have said personal preference. On the question of fractionals, split the Aida square middle with a pin before pushing needle through. That saves tussle with the fabric.

[Nicola Main]

Thanks again everyone! I use this site quite a lot and this is where I buy my aida (I buy the Charles Craft 14ct roll for £19 and it lasts me ages) but was wondering if any of you could tell me if this Monaco 28 ct evenweave would be good for an evenweave beginner?

http://www.stitcher.co.uk/view-product. ... eave-large" target="_blank" target="_blank

Also in my new squirrels kit by Riolis, I've noticed it mentions blending 2 colours of thread for some of the design. I'm taking it you can't use the loop method with this so is it best to just knot them together and do it that way?

[Allyn]

Thanks again everyone! I use this site quite a lot and this is where I buy my aida (I buy the Charles Craft 14ct roll for £19 and it lasts me ages) but was wondering if any of you could tell me if this Monaco 28 ct evenweave would be good for an evenweave beginner?
Also in my new squirrels kit by Riolis, I've noticed it mentions blending 2 colours of thread for some of the design. I'm taking it you can't use the loop method with this so is it best to just knot them together and do it that way?

I don't think I've stitched on Monaco. When I stitched shop models, I just used whatever I was given so I can't be sure. It looks like it would be fine to use as your first venture into evenweaves.
You are correct in that you can't loop-start when blending two threads. Use away/waste knots or run the tail under a few stitches to start and finish.

Richard brought up a good point. If you do something small for your first project, you won't have gotten the "hang" of it before you are done and may not persist long enough to get comfortable with it.

[wendywombat]

I bought my Monaco from that supplier. I haven't used it yet as it seems stiffer and more closely woven than the Britney and some 'Jubilee' I have. ( no longer made I think but I had a load of it!) I also like 'Linda' which is 27 count. It's pure cotton, I like that.
I get my fabrics from http://www.sewandsew.co.uk" target="_blank They have lots of different fabrics and are very helpful...they also post quickly and at good rates.

[muguet]

I learned how to cross stitch on evenweave so I don't really have an opinion on Aida. I love linen the best, just because I love the irregularities in the fabric, especially for samplers or other traditional patterns.
That said, while kitting up my first HAED, I decided to go with evenweave over aida, just because it's second nature to me to stitch over two. Maybe one day I'll try aida in a kit but so far I've only bought evenweave or linen.