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To make it easier to finish back stitch on cross stitch I tend to use a smaller needle than I have cross stitched with. ie if I have used a number 24 I use a number 26 for backstitch, if I have used a number 26 for cross stitch I then use a number 28 needle.
Hope that this helps anyone who is struggling with backstitching.

Very good tip!!!! Thanks for sharing.

I struggle with backstitching- but not because of needle size, I just hate to do it. Its so boring and you don't see your progress like you do when adding the color. But with so many designs, the detail in is the backstitching- as is the case with my current project. I see it as a necessary evil.
Thanks for the needle tip though- I might try it with this one. Any tips on how to get through the boredom of backstitching?

Good tip, I may have to try this on my current project.

Maggie - if I have a lot of backstitching on a project, I do it as I go. So I'll complete a page of the cross stitch and then do all the backstitch on the same page before moving on. Although I don't mind backstitch too much, it keeps it down to a manageable level. Also, you get to see the project really popping out of the fabric as you go which is great encouragement rather than having to wait to the end to see that effect.

I think that besides doing the backstitch as you go, breaking it down into smaller time frames definitely helps. I don't mind doing backstitch, but you could always aim to do 1 or 2 thread lengths of backstitch a day. It does add up quickly. If you have another project waiting to be started, tell yourself that you have to do the little bit of backstitch on the other before you can work on the new project each day you stitch.

ohh i do the same thing!

and I love the backstitching..makes it really star to look like something..all crisp and outlined and..well..finished! lol

I use an ordinary neeedle to do my back stitch makes it so much easier to go through the fabric and stitches as its sharper. I don't really like doing the backstitching but I love the end result so makes it worthwhile!

On a project I've just finished there was quite a lot of backstitch, which I could've done as I went along but I didn't have the thread colour - so I started the design while I was waiting for my thread to arrive. I was more than half way through the cross stitch when the backstitch colour arrived, and didn't want to stop! I decided to cross stitch with one colour until I got to the end of the thread and fasten off, then backstitch until I got to the end of the thread, and so on. It meant both the backstitching and the cross stitching went really fast, and I wanted to finish the next cross stitched bit faster so I could backstitch it and get the "finished" look already!

i do the 1 or 2 lengths then go do something else makes it go quicker

I did a lot of backstitch on my current project last night and it made feel a lot better about the progress I'm making. I hate the idea of finishing all the regular stitches then being faced with ALL that backstitch all at once.

- Judy

I might get stoned saying this, but I love to backstitch . I think that is when it all comes together. I do however go over two whenever possible because I think it gives a straighter line.

I'm with Armymom, I love backstitching too! It just adds so much to a piece...I'll admit that it is partly to blame for my holding back from the HAEDs I purchased. Even with the amount of stitched detail...I'm worried I might miss my backstitching!