Preemptive questions for HAED

[Elybum]

Hey guys! I just had a few questions that I wanted to ask before I dive into a large (and expensive) HAED project.

First off, I know that I want to start out doing one of their quick stitch projects so I don't get overwhelmed. I was thinking about either Alice in Clockwork or Genevieve. As it says, Genevieve has 90 different colors. So if I buy one skein of floss of each color, I could spend about $31 on floss alone. For me, this is a large investment, and I wondered if anyone knows how many colors Alice has. This might help me decide which one to do.

I also wonder if I should dive right in to stitching on 25ct evenweave. So far I've only stitched on 14 and 18ct aida, so 25ct would be a shock. I plan on getting a magnifying light, so should I just go ahead and try it?

Lastly, if I do go ahead and do 25ct, I'm still confused about the 1 over 1 or 2 or whatever. If I did the 1 over 1 like HAED recommends, would I be using one strand of floss and stitching in normal x's?

Thank you!

[skitzzzzz]

well first of 25 count use a magnifier much easier
iam doing my first head thats 1 over 1 on 25 count lugana so single thread over 1 full crosses
working great
also some floss especially on mine uses more than 1 so say dmc number 125 uses 6 skeins using 2 stands so i bought 3 as iam only using 1 strand
if your really that unsure try a bookmark
as for me i like large projects
good luck

[kerbear879]

Well, first off, if you go the HAED site, there is a place where you can email Michele who is the owner and ask her if she will send you the floss color list for the charts you are interested in. She will send you that and it should have a list of how much floss you will need for each color if you do it on 25ct.

Secondly, you may want to test out some different size fabrics before you just jump into a 25ct evenweave. I had never used evenweave before or anything higher than 18ct and I tried 22ct evenweave and it was way too much for me. So I do all my HAED's on 18ct.

Lastly, 1 over 1 just means you are using one strand over 1 little box..you can do cross stitches or tent stitch (which is similar to a half stitch)..whatever works for you. The thing with HAED's are that you can adapt them to suit you. Some people don't like 1 over 1..some like to use 2 strands over 1..I use 3 strands over 1 on 18ct and full crosses.

I hope that helps and can't wait to see you start!!

[alinna]

Most HAED charts come with a floss usage list. I believe it's possible to contact them and ask for that list before buying the chart.

I jumped straight into 25ct evenweave and am doing mine tent stitched 2 strands over 1. If you're doing full x's you'd want to use 1 strand. I don't use a magnifier but I do use an OTT lamp to make it easier to see, and it's also good for distinguishing between very similar shades of floss. Would second the suggestion of trying out fabrics, before I decided to tent stitch I tried both full x and tent in various strands on the fabric first. I don't know how much confetti is in the charts you picked or how you plan to handle the threads but it may be worth trying to test stitch a confetti area to make sure it's not too difficult to stitch with your chosen method and fabric size. I've heard that some people found that using a certain number of strands on a certain fabric size fine until they hit a confetti section where they had to change a lot of threads and it was nearly impossible for the needle to go in and out of the fabric at that point.

[kimkat_tkl]

My suggestion is before you jump in with a HAED on 25ct is to get a small piece of the fabric and find a small design that you like (there are plenty of freebies out on the web) and try that first. That way you can see if you like 25ct (not everyone does) and maybe try varying the number of threads etc and see what suits you.

[andrea42]

Hi I have most of my haeds on 18 ct. Now the larger ones I do on either 22 or 25 I dont work on them for long periods of time as I need my bifocals, a magnifyer and a good light lol. I am doing the large storykeeper on 18 count though. As far as Alice goes she has 90 colors I dont think im breaking any rules answering that one. But yes as kerbear suggested Michele will send you a list of how much of each color is used. A TT(tiny treasures) I think may be a bit smaller here is mine its purple dragon stitched on 18 ct 2x1

[andrea42]

Oh and there is a spot on the haed website that has some things finished on all different types of counts and so far i havnt seen anything that loses detail at all they are all beautiful

[Rose]

I can't answer alot ogf the HAED questions but if you go to the General Section of this forum you will see a Post the is titled Glossary Terms in that post you will find answers to teh one over one question and also some pictures that will show you the difference between aida stitching and evenweave. It can be a great help for you.

I also agree that before you buy a large piece of aida or evenweave you should try a small piece just so you can see what it is like to stitch on the different sizes and I bet there are ladies here on the forum that would be happy to pass on some sample sizes of the different evenweave fabric. Just ask.

[Daesania]

I just started my first HAED and like you, had only stitched on aida. I just posted my SAL for the HAED in the SAL forum.

I picked out 25 count laguna and am doing 1 over 1 full crosses (1 strand). It makes for tiny stitches but I still have good eyes so I dont even need any additional light yet. I would recommend using a neutral color fabric, or so the lady told me at the store. I have very very dark back ground and very very light big sections on my HAED, so we went with a light tan so that it wasnt too light for the black and too dark for the light areas.

I hope that is clear for you. Let me know if you need any more help! I'd be glad to give my newbie insight!

[stitchingmae]

i have no info one the HAED? HEAD? patterns but I did get a magnifying light reccently. I went to a local store and got mine (had a 40% of coupon) I was planning on buying a better desk lamp for when I stitch while in bed and hubby sleeping but then thought instea of that i would get one of those lights that would help laters too. mine is made by mighty bright. it has led bulbs so you don't have to change them..plus it is light weight and catch this...it can run of an plug in or batteries..stitching when power out anyone??? OR a bright lamp to help see!!!

the brand name is mighty bright...uhhh gonna post a link to a shop that carries it hope this is okay and not advertsing....

http://www.nordicneedle.com/Merchant2/m ... ange_high=" target="_blank

(as a side note I have never ordered from this website...I do get their catalog in the mail, I ran into a little lady in a local shop who told me about the site she said she ordered from it alot...she also gave me her number to call if i had any questions and my hubby threw the card away thinking it just had websites on it. and it still bothers me)

I live in a small town that does not carry much CS supplies so...site like this are always helpful.