Why is the back so ugly??

[jennleemat]

I've tried and tried but I can never make the back of my work look decent. It starts off looking ok, but in the end it looks like the thread threw up all over the back!!! Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent this? Or could someone show me a picture of what it should look like so I can have a goal??

Thank you!!

Jennifer

[Mabel Figworthy]

Hi Jennifer, we all know the stories of people whose work is framed back to front because the back is so neat the framer couldn't tell the difference, but few of us aspire to that sort of perfection -- personally I feel that if the threads at the back aren't visible from the front, and they don't make nasty lumps when you try to iron your work, then don't worry too much.
A few easy ways to keep things rasonable tidy are:
* use a loop start (only possible with an even number of strands) -- so if you work with two strands, cut one strand twice as long as you need, fold it double and thread the two cut ends into the needle. Start your first stitch but don't pull the thread through entirely, take your needle through to the back and catch the loop that's there. Then pull tight (not too tight!) and hey presto, your thread is secured without any trailing ends.
* Don't carry the thread over too long a distance. It's tempting I know, and I certainly don't finish off and start again nearly as much as I should do, but it keeps the threads from showing through at the front, and keeps the back from becoming bulky and tangly.
* When you've finished off your thread by threading it behind previous stitches, cut it off very close to the fabric -- no straggly ends that can get caught and pulled to the front!

Hope this helps!

[Busy_B]

Neat backs? That doesn't exist in my house! As Mabel said, as long as you can't see the threads thru the front and no noticable lumps and bumps, I don't worry too much about it. You're the only one who knows about it.

[mags]

I think Mabel has said it all - if nothing shows through and it isn't lumpy then who is to know?

Having said that I do try to keep it neat but usually give up after a while

[agi]

Don't you believe what Mags says - just look at her gallery, she has a picture of the cat from the back and you can hardly tell it from the front!

[agi]

Don't you believe what Mags says - just look at her gallery, she has a picture of the cat from the back and you can hardly tell it from the front!

I also try to keep it neat, but if I have more than two colours I can't do it - although I follow all the "rules".

[~threadbear~]

I'm not a great one with my back. I start off with really good intentions and I have no idea how it ends up the way it does ... but sadly, it just seems to have a mind of it's own.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[minij]

I'm pretty much like TB but I will probably be in trouble for saying this but if I need to take my thread across more than 2/3 stitches to do a couple of odd stitches in the same colour I do sometimes run the thread through the back of some stitches (like when you are fastening off ) and it does save having a loop across the back to try to keep it a bit neater, hope that makes sense

Runs off to look at Mags gallery

Mags how do you do that it's fantastic

[Fljotsdale]

Yeah... I never have known how some people manage to have neat backs to their work; mine are almost always a mess. BUT, it does depend a lot on how complex the stitching is, and how many colours you use in any given 10x10 square. Cartoon characters tend to have solid blocks of single colours and you don't even have to think about keeping the back tidy - it happens naturally. Designs that use a lot of colours in small patches, or scattered stitches and/or lots of quarter stitches (like TW designs), I find impossible to keep neat at the back!

[mags]

[quote="benceagi"]Don't you believe what Mags says - just look at her gallery, she has a picture of the cat from the back and you can hardly tell it from the front!
quote]


I made a special effort with that one and there were only 11 colours so it wasn't so difficult. You will notice I haven't posted any other 'back' pictures
In any case, Jilly's backs are better than mine

[Becca]

Personally i think the back doesn't matter, mine are all messy but no one's going to see so i'm not going to waste my time on it.

[Rose]

Personally i think the back doesn't matter, mine are all messy but no one's going to see so i'm not going to waste my time on it.

Thank you Becca that is exactly what I tell people that start worrying over their backs. What does it really matter it will be covered and the front is the most important side anyway. As long as the back does not show through I don't worry and I even tied a knot once in a while . I know how people feel about knots but if I feel I need a knot then I use one. I have never had anyone return a project because they thought the back was too messy or because there was a knot used. Relax the back is the back for a reason.

[RosemaryH]

When i was working I used to stitch in my lunch hour sometimes and was amzed how many of my non-stitcher colleagues would automatically look at the back of my work. Cheeky monkeys!!! I was taught at school by a very strict needlework teacher to take as much pride in the back of my work as the front so my colleagues were always suitably impressed with what they saw. Now that I stitch more (and no-one is checking) I am finding that the neatness of the back very much depends on the picture, the number of colour changes and whether there are small amounts of stitches scatterd over an area. I am a human being not a machine so neatness is not a given and as has been said befoe it is the front that is seen and the back is hidden. Go with the flow and relax, worry about the important things and let the others go.

Rosemary

[Jilly]

Thanks Mags
I am rather keen on keeping the back neat, sort of like some people are house proud, (I am not!! just clean is fine by me ) it's just something that if the back is not neat it bugs me. it's also easier to frog if there are errors, (I do plenty)
I have put a photo of one of my backs in my gallery.
It's just me really, I also get told off at work for striving for perfect card sections Nicely though, I just take too long

[agi]

Oh, Jilly, I would also love to have a perfect back, but I can't - however hard I try. I usually start with a loop end, and I don't carry over threads, still...
When I start stitching the first colour, it normally looks ok, but when I add the second and the third, especially if it is a small project, it becomes so full off woven in ends that it becomes bulky. What's your secret?

[wendywombat]

I'm pretty much like TB but I will probably be in trouble for saying this but if I need to take my thread across more than 2/3 stitches to do a couple of odd stitches in the same colour I do sometimes run the thread through the back of some stitches (like when you are fastening off ) and it does save having a loop across the back to try to keep it a bit neater, hope that makes sense

I have to echo what everyone else says. I, too run the thread through at the back and try not to have 'shadows' showing through.

Some one once said if when you show your stitching they turn it over and look at the back then.......... SHOW THEM THE DOOR!!!!

If you are happy with the result once it's framed then what the HECK!!!

[Fljotsdale]

....if the back is ... neat ... it's ... easier to frog if there are errors, (I do plenty).

Now that IS SO TRUE! A messy back is one of the 2 reasons I avoid frogging if I can get away with it! (The other reason is laziness. )

[xGailx]

The only time I ever do neat backs is when i'm sewing embroidery, and thats only when its visible i.e. tableclothes....pictures off cross stitch, like yourself, start off neatly then finish up a tangle with ends everywhere, but nothing shows from the front view, so I dont bother, after all its framed!...if it cant be seen I dont think it matters?

[Fljotsdale]

I think it's a relic of the days when embroidery and blackwork were used on garments where it could be seen from both sides - such as those stiff, upstanding ruffs, and scarves, handkerchiefs, etc; I bet they didn't bother when the back couldn't be seen!

[burgundyice]

I start with knots, finish off with knots, carry the thread across the back for a couple of inches (and more...), weaving it through some stitches on the way so it doesn't mess up the tension too much. Actually now I'm thinking about it, it must be an advantage that my HAED on 28ct has such small stitches, then it's more likely there's ones of the same colour not as far away as they would be on 14ct....


Louise